Today's Birthdays

Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936)
Dame Elizabeth Lutyens (1906-1983)
David Diamond (1915-2005)
David Zinman (1936)
Paul Chihara (1938)
John Mark Ainsley (1963)

and

Oliver Sacks (1933)

Diverse program and spectacular musicianship as Chamber Music Northwest continues

Tuesday July 7th saw a performance by a number of well-known musicians at the Catlin Gabel School as part of Chamber Music Northwest's summer festival. Mandolin expert Chris Thile and violinist Leila Josefowicz, among others, took part in a program entitled the 'Bach-Haydn-Mendelssohn Loop,' the title a reference to 'looping,' a technique used in electronic music.

The night opened with a fascinating transcription of a Haydn piano sonata for violin, piano and cello with Thile playing the mandolin in place of the violin. In Trio in G Major for Violin (Mandolin) Viola and Cello after Piano Sonata Hob. XVI: 40 the blend was superb, the performance the very epitome of high classical delicacy and elegance. Balance between the players was key, and this was spot on with Paul Neubauer, violist, and Fred Sherry, cellist, keeping their more powerful sounding instruments under wraps in a superb fashion. The mandolin with its thin, silvery sound and rapid decay can easily be subsumed by more powerful instruments but Neubauer and Sherry never allowed this to happen. Consequently, Thile was free to demonstrate his brilliant technique and sparkling finesse. After the first movement a smattering of applause broke out at the sheer animation and perfection of Thile's playing.

John Adams Shaker Loops for String Septet (1978) was next, featuring Josefowicz on first violin. This was a programmatic work, meant to portray some aspects of charismatic Shaker worship ceremonies. Very minimal harmonically and melodically, it consisted of tutti tremolo in complex patterns that slowly built in infinitesimal yet measurable dynamic gradations, eventually reaching the climax of an extended crescendo with a rhythmic, cleaver-like hacking as if a final paroxysm had suddenly felled an ecstatic congregant who lay supine on the floor. The movements were linked, and the next began with strange squeaks and wails that morphed into a hive of wildly buzzing bees that became still again. Sighing glissandi from one instrument then another, starkly contrasting yet gently executed, formed an important textural break. This withering, almost non-stop torrent of shifting sonic patterns that continued for almost a half hour was an exercise in the will to continue for both performers and listeners alike. It was truly a difficult undertaking, but the performers responded with bravura.

The opening of the second half marked the second time in a little over a week that I heard a live performance of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major, BWV 1048. In contrast to the historically informed performance at last week's Oregon Bach Festival, Tuesday night was a fresh arrangement by Rob Moose that substituted one fretted, plucked instrument in each of the three groups that make up this concerto (a mandolin substituted for a violin, a banjo for a viola and guitar for cello). The playing was by and large excellent. A slackening of the tempo occurred during the third movement, but the group seemed to sense it and brought it roaring back to life. It was also occasionally plagued by intonation issues but in all was invigorating and innovative.

The night closed with Mendelssohn's Sextet in D Major for Piano, Violin, Two Violas, Cello and Double Bass, Op. 110. The work really served as a miniature concerto highlighting Anna Polonsky's exceptional skills at the piano. Her playing was so leggieremente it felt like singing. The tempo was fierce and Polonsky seemed to be in a world of her own; the strings were having a conversation while the piano thundered and whispered in its own monologue, with Polonsky displaying supreme command of all registers of her instrument. The work was bookended by a pair of Allegro Vivace movements, and Polonsky's spritely dexterity was utterly astounding, as was the flawless accompaniment. The air is truly rarefied at CMNW, where a piece like this can be played this perfectly at this level of artistry. It was a simply exceptional interpretation. Bassist Paul Kowert deserves special mention for performing in every piece except for the opening of this wildly diverse evening.


NOTE: Quite often there are observations or insights from a particular performance that don't quite belong in a more formal review. As a consequence, I have decided to start writing a series called SideNotes at my own blog, Musical Oozings. I won't necessarily post a SideNote for every review, but when I do, I will simply link to it at the end of the review, saying "See SideNote here." The first one is about how I almost go to meet my mandolin hero Chris Thile.

--L. W.

Portland musicians at summer festivals

This summer many Portland area instrumentalists are performing at summer festivals. Here's a partial list:

Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra

David Buck - principal flute
Todd Kuhns - clarinet
Aaron LaVere - principal trombone
Karen Strand - oboe
Brenda Liu - viola

Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra

Julie Coleman - violin
Gregory Ewer - violin
Joël Belgique - viola
JaTtik Clark - Tuba
and
Amy Schwartz Moretti - concertmaster (ASM was the former Oregon Symphony concermaster)

Britt Festival Orchestra

Camilla Wilson Scott - violin
Barbara George - violin
Brenda Liu - viola
Catherine Barrett - harp

Sunriver Festival

Charles Noble - viola
Heather Blackburn - cello
Jun Iwasaki - soloist on August 14 - (Vaughan William's The Lark Ascending for Violin & Orchestra)
Jeffrey Work - soloist on August 22 - (Hummel's Concerto in E for Trumpet & Orchestra)

Also, Amy Schwartz Moretti is performing at the Seattle Chamber Music Society's Summer Festival and will be in Portland to direct the new Portland Summer Ensembles program, which is sponsored by Chamber Music Northwest.

Today's Birthdays

Percy Grainger (1882-1961)
George Antheil (1900-1959)
Billy Eckstine (1914-1993)
Susan Chilcott (1963-2003)
Raffi Cavoukian (1948)
Zhou Long (1953)

and

Philip Johnson (1906-2005)
J. F. Powers (1917-1999)

NEA stimulus grants awarded to the Oregon Symphony, the Portland Youth Philharmonic, and the Eugene Symphony

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced direct grants to 631 nonprofit arts groups totally almost 30 million dollars. The Oregon Symphony will receive $50,000 and the Portland Youth Philharmonic will receive $25,000, and the Eugene Symphony will receive $50,000. For the complete list of awardees, click here.

I received notice of these awards because I'm a member of the Arts Action Fund, which lobbied hard in Washington DC for government spending on the arts. (I donated $50 to this organization.) Here's the message that AAF sent to me:

We wanted you to be the first to know that today the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced direct grants to 631 nonprofit arts groups, totaling $29.775 million as part of the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These direct grants are in addition to the 63 state and regional sub-grants previously awarded in April, totaling $19.8 million. Both of these funds are part of a $50 million federal stimulus package being allocated by the NEA in support of job recovery programs for nonprofit and local and state public arts agencies.

It was your tireless work during our “Arts=Jobs” campaign that made these grants possible. More than 100,000 arts advocates and local, state, and national partners sent more than 85,000 messages to their members of Congress encouraging them to include funding for the arts in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. An additional 15,500 letters and blog entries were written and sent by advocates to local and online media in order to educate the general public about the very real role of the arts in the economy and what’s at risk.

“In just five short months since the passage of the economic recovery bill, the NEA enacted a plan that quickly and efficiently distributed $50 million to reach arts organizations in every corner of America. Many jobs will be saved and arts programs continued as a result of these much-needed funds. The tireless advocacy efforts of our nation’s arts community has truly paid off,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts.

Vancouver Symphony (WA) receives grant from Paul Allen

The Vancouver Symphony has just announced that it is the recipient of a $40,000 grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. That's a major boost for this orchestra, which supports 65 professional musicians on a part-time basis. The Vancouver Symphony was the only classical music organization to receive a grant this year. Portland Center Stage was awarded $45,000.

For more information on the organizations that received grant awards, click here.

Cappela Romana to present music of Arvo Pärt

Cappella Romana will sing the music of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt in a series of concerts that lead up to performances at Music Fest in Vancouver, British Columbia. Entitled "Odes of Repentance," Cappella Romana's concert will feature Eastern Orthodox hymns that Pärt has set as well as a selection of his English and Slavonic works. The program includes:

- Triodion
- The Woman with the Alabaster Box
- The Kanon of Repentance (excerpts)
- Ode 6, Kontakion, Oikos, Ode 8, Ode 9, Prayer after the Kanon

Here is the performance schedule:

Portland: Fri, Aug 7, 2009, 8pm at St. Philip Neri Church (SE 18th & Division)

Seattle: Sat, Aug 8, 2009, 8pm at Holy Rosary Church (4139 42nd Ave SW - at Genesee)

British Columbia - Salt Spring Island: Sun, Aug 9, 2009, 8pm at Salt Spring Island Arts Centre

British Columbia - Vancouver: Mon, Aug 10, 2009, 5:30pm, Christ Church Cathedral, Downtown Vancouver

Today's Birthdays

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007)
Cor de Groot (1914-1993)
Doc Severinson (1927)
Joe Zawinul (1932-2007)
Ringo Starr (1940)
Michaela Petri (1958)

and

Lion Feuchtwanger (1884-1958)
Marc Chagall (1887-1985)
David McCullough (1933)

Sing choral music with the Portland Symphonic Choir

Starting this week, you can join members of the Portland Symphonic Choir in open rehearsals of great choral works by Stravinsky, Brahms, and Bach. The rehearsal-events are called "Summer Sings" and they are held each Wednesday at 7 pm in the Moriarty Arts and Humanities Building on the Cascade Campus of Portland Community College (at the corner of Killingsworth and Albina).

Here's the schedule:

July 8 - Steven Zopfi directs the Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms.

July 15 - Kathryn Lehmann directs the Brahms Requiem .

July 22 - Ralph Nelson directs the B Minor Mass by Bach.

Admission is $10 per person at the door.

Parking is free.

The Moriarty Arts and Humanities Building is airconditioned. The seating is comforable, and you get good sight-lines.

Today's Birthdays

Hans Eisler (1898-1962)
Dorothy Kirsten (1910-1992)
Ernst Haefliger (1919-2007)
Bill Haley (1925-1981)
Maurice Hasson (1934)
Vladimir Ashkenazy (1937)

Hear a new musical instrument - the Sireole!

Leave it to the French to whip up a new musical instrument that looks like a trumpeting flower blossom. The Sireole was invented in 1997 Franz Clochard, and it combines turbines and electronics. For the past ten years the Sireole has been refined and promoted by Mecanique Vivante, and you can experience the sounds that this instrument generates by clicking here. I think that we could benefit from a Sireole installation in Pioneer Courthouse Square, and, of course, invite composers to write something for it.

A big thanks to Bob Priest for telling me about the Sireole.

Today's Birthdays

Wanda Landowska (1879-1958)
Jan Kubelík (1880-1940)
Gordon Jacob (1895-1984)
George Rochberg (1918-2005)
János Starker (1924)
Matthias Bamert (1942)
Alexander Lazarev (1945)
Isabelle Poulenard (1961)

and

Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)
Barbara Frischmuth (1941)

Today's Birthdays

Louis-Claude Daquin (1694-1772)
Stephen Foster (1826-1864)
Roy Henderson (1899-2000)
Louis Armstrong (1900-1971)
Flor Peeters (1903-1986)
Mitch Miller (1911)
Tibor Varga (1921-2003)

and

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)
Lionel Trilling (1905-1975)

Chamber Music Northwest highlights American music

Chamber Music Northwest presented a satisfying, varied program of Americana on Thursday, July 2 in the Kaul Auditorium at Reed College. A number of artists were featured on this night that celebrated American music in honor of our Independence Day weekend.

Opening the program was John Williams' new work Air and Simple Gifts (2009), composed and arranged for (and famously pantomimed during) President Obama's historic inauguration ceremony earlier this year. Featuring David Shifrin on the clarinet, Jennifer Frautschi on violin, Fred Sherry on cello and Anna Polonsky at the piano, this moody yet joyful work aptly set the tone for the program to follow. After a brief introductory air the familiar tune came to the fore. Frautschi and Sherry played wonderfully; with a scaled-back yet spacious timbre that showed respect for this hallowed tune, they deftly handled Williams' tricky fracturing of the main motive between the two instruments.

Next came Leonard Bernstein's Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, (1942), Bernstein's first published work as a professional. Bernstein himself characterized it in part as a 'student work,' and its sometimes unlovely yet never uninteresting structure was a sharp break from the opening. David Shifrin, clarinettist and artistic director of the festival, displayed the smooth, buttery elegance for which he is known, and yet infused his playing with a smarmy wit, very fitting for the non-sequitur interjections which spewed from the clarinet into the grumbling, harmonically complex base laid down by Polonsky the piano.

The half closed with a composition by Aaron Jay Kernis entitled Two Awakenings and a Double Lullaby (2006). With the composer Kernis at the piano, Frautschi on the violin, Bryan Johanson playing guitar and Hyunah Yu singing soprano, this dense and complex work was a bit mystifying and suffered from some balance issues. Yu had a lovely voice but it seemed small, and she was frequently drowned out by the violin and piano, which did nothing to help with her diction issues. This piece might have been better served by a soprano with a bigger set of pipes, one willing and able to stake her place amongst the bullying strings, or failing that the violin and piano should have scaled back to fit the needs of the singer, who was really the centerpiece of this composition.

Given that, however, Frautschi was impressive all night long. The range of tonal colors she was able to elicit was exciting to hear, from high-pitched mewlings to a broad, viola-like singing. The guitar sounded nice when one was able to hear it, which was really only when nothing was coming from the violin and piano. Though Yu was drowned out far too often, there were moments of great beauty and emotionally intense import, and her murmuring glissandi and delicate, almost fragile ornamentation were important in bringing out the overall meaning of the piece. This work, especially the final lullaby, seemed ultimately overly-complicated and far too long to expound on the themes presented in the text.

The second half reverted to more traditional fare: a song cycle by Gershwin, and the same composer's Rhapsody in Blue arranged for piano, four hands. Yu and Polonsky teamed up for three of Gershwin's best-loved tunes: The Man I Love, I Got Rhythm, and Summertime. The first was a huge hit with the crowd, but it seemed as though her singing was covered, or muted unnecessarily. In the second tune Yu gave an extremely personable delivery, and it seemed that by the time she got to Summertime, everything fell into place. The last tune worked; her sultry tone and languishing, unhurried manner embodied all that this song is about. It was by far her best delivery of the night.

The Rhapsody in Blue was fun and a sure crowd-pleaser. Polonsky, playing with a sincere and entertaining physicality, was joined by Elizabeth Harcombe, and despite a bit too-heavy sustain pedal at first, they managed to find many of the right orchestral colors and were given a standing ovation.

The final piece of the night was a world premier by Rob Moose entitled New Old River Music: Traditional Melodies in Four Movements. This was performed by the Punch Brothers, a group that is hard to describe as just a bluegrass band (nothing wrong with that), though it seems that bluegrass is where they start...

Featuring young (though incredibly experienced) mandolin phenom Chris Thile, fiddler Gabe Witcher, guitarist Chris Eldridge, Paul Kowert on double bass and Noam Pikelny on banjo (joined by guest clarinettist Shifrin), the Punch Brothers served up a very different offering than the rest of the night's fare.

The first movement, based on Done Gone, began cautiously, with the main theme taken up alternately by fiddle, mandolin and banjo before exploding in glorious ensemble, with a free-flowing, improvisational feel. In the second movement (Midnight on the Water), the clarinet struck up a plaintive theme accompanied by a few ingeniously hesitant plunks from the banjo, and then the rest of the group came in for a surprisingly delicate arrangement. The song turned into a slow country waltz that began right where it started.

The Turtle of Laurel Lake opened with Thile's incomparable gossamer picking on the mandolin, the composition making use of the marvelous facility with which fiddle tunes transcribe to the mandolin. The movement delighted in its clever, untroubled ambience. Big Sciota sounded like slowly gathering drops of rain tinkling alternately from the different instruments in a very tricky pattern, rapidly gathering steam and making use of some surprising, satisfying harmonies and an incredible, judicious use of space. By the end, this ethereal framework had mutated into a good old-fashioned hoe-down like a bolt of thunder out of the blue.

The audience went wild for the Punch Brothers, who returned for an encore sans Shifrin to give a taste of the program being presented tonight, Saturday July 4th, at the same location. Fans of authentic, deeply-felt and impeccably performed American folk music with a twist would be hard-pressed to find a more entertaining concert.

Serendipitous connection with Michael Jackson

As a member of the Portland Symphonic Choir, I sang several times at the Cascade Music Festival in Bend, Oregon. That festival, which went out of business last year, used a huge tent for its performances, and I once asked the festival's leaders where they got that tent. They told me that it was Michael Jackson's prep tent at the 1993 Super Bowl. This is a huge tent that can seat several hundred people and include a stage for an orchestra. I wonder where it is now.

Today's Birthdays

Leoš Janáček (1854-1928)
Carlos Kleiber (1930-2004)
Brigitte Fassbaender (1939)

adn

Franz Kafka (1883-1924)
Sir Tom Stoppard (1937)

Three Mozart pieces glisten at Chamber Music Northwest concert

The audience filled every seat at the Cabell Center on the campus of the Catlin Gabel School in eager anticipation of an all-Mozart concert that took place on Tuesday (June 30). This performance ushered in the second week of concerts presented by Chamber Music Northwest with a program consisting of music for string quartet, a quintet for piano and winds, and a quartet for piano and strings.

The Orion String Quartet kicked things off with very expressive playing of Mozart’s String Quartet in G Major (“Spring”), K. 387. This piece is one of the six quartets that Mozart dedicated to Haydn, and, according to musicologist Paul Griffiths “it was highly unusual to dedicate an edition to a colleague, rather than to a noble patron who would have been flatter into providing monetary support.” In any case, Haydn confessed to Mozart’s father Leopold that “your son is the greatest composer known to me.”

One of the magical things I found in the Orion String Quartet’s performance of this piece was how violinists Todd Phillips and Daniel Phillips could hand off a theme or a passage so seamlessly that if you closed your eyes, you couldn’t tell which one was playing. I also loved the insightful way the cellist Timothy Eddy and violist Steven Tenenbom and the Phillips brothers could dig into the music and create the feeling that we in the audience were better off having heard it.

The second piece of the concert was Mozart’s Quintet in E-Flat Major for Piano, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, and Bassoon, K. 452. Mozart himself considered this quintet to be the best piece that he had ever written – at least to that point. He wrote it in 1784 when he was 28 years old, and he had already finished all of the symphonies except for the last three as well as all of the string quartets and all of the masses (save the “Requiem”).

Pianist André Watts, oboist Stephen Taylor, clarinetist David Shifrin, hornist William Purvis, and bassoonist Cynde Iverson gave Mozart’s Quintet a finely honed performance. Purvis especially put a full range of emotion into the horn parts. Watts played the piano with too much pointillism for my taste, but at least he kept his humming and other odd sounds to a minimum.

The concert finished with the Quartet No. 1 in G Minor for Piano and String. K. 478, which Mozart wrote in 1785. Violinist Ida Kavafian and cellist Peter Wiley joined Tenenbom and Watts to give a clear and vivid performance of this masterpiece. The chemistry between the players was terrific, especially with their transitions in volume and in tempo. The super-smooth tradeoffs in themes between the strings and the many soft moments in the second movement were a pleasure to experience.

Today's Birthdays

Christoph W. Gluck (1714-1787)
Earl Hawley Robinson (1910-1991)
Frederick Fennell (1914-2004)

and

Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock (1724-1803)
Hermann Hesse (1877-1962)

Monica Huggett, PBO, and guest soloists present an epic OBF concert

Oregon Bach Festival audiences were treated to a very rare treat on Monday, June 29th at the First United Methodist Church in Portland. The Portland Baroque Orchestra, one of the nation's premier early music orchestras and a guest ensemble at this year's festival, presented all six of Bach's famous Brandenburg Concertos under the sterling direction of Monica Huggett (who did triple duty as violinist and violist as well.)

These works were composed over a ten-year span while Bach was still a young man, and presented to a music-loving (though ultimately ungrateful) prince, the Margrave of Brandenburg. They represent Bach's foray into the Italian concerto style, and like so many of his efforts they are uniquely his own and yet stand as one of the crowning achievements of the genre. This review shall present them in the order in which they were performed at this concert.

Concerto No. 1 in F Major, BWV 1046

Carla Moore, violino piccolo, Debra Nagy, oboe, R.J. Kelley, Paul Avril, natural horns

Right from the start, and continuing throughout the night, Huggett set positively brisk tempos, and these lent the works an air of excitement and forward momentum. The opening Allegro felt like it was played by a German festival band, what with this work being in some ways the most 'un-concerto-like' of them all in that there is very little in the way of clearly defined separation between the concertante (soloists) and ripieno (supporting orchestra.) The horns, as Bach no doubt intended, set up a somewhat awkward honking that stood at odds with the smooth texture of the tutti. Kelley and Avril played well, with a minimum of the warbling and quavering which seem to be a natural part of the old valveless brass instruments. The second movement (Adagio) was delectable, with Moore and Nagy engaging in a skillful badinage between the oboe and the feisty violino piccolo, tuned a third higher than the regular violin. In the third movement this small instrument was unfortunately too-often drowned out (as were the brass and winds by the fearsome choir of strings in the first.)

This first concerto stands alone in having four movements, and the fourth presented the most delightful moments of this first concerto: a main menuet theme repeated three times, separated by three sections in which the horns and oboes played alone their own menuets and a Polacca while the ripieno stood silent. The brass and winds were superb in their presentation of these savory, dancing vignettes, while the ripieno varied the da capo menuet dynamically upon each of its returns.

Concerto No. 5 in D Major, BWV 1050

Monica Huggett, violin, Janet See, flute (transverse), Boris Kleiner, harpsichord

The most virtuosic display in a long evening of such displays undoubtedly belonged to Kleiner, who in the first movement executed the extremely difficult harpsichord solo with crystalline clarity. (Huggett's performance in the Fourth Concerto rivaled Kleiner in this respect.) He segued seamlessly in and out of the dual roles of continuo and soloist, and when he reached the long cadenza all in the room, orchestra and audience alike, remained in awed, respectful silence while Kleiner absolutely tore up the keyboard, a wistful smile of amusement on his face as he played the triplet passages with fierce rapidity and yet cautious delicacy, mindful of the delicate filigree that Bach had provided.

The second movement, marked Affetuoso, was splendid, structurally simple and yet full of the sighing, weeping baroque pathos that is a hallmark of so many of the slow movements of Bach's works. Huggett, See and Kleiner played this trio with marked clarity, infusing it with tender, sombre sentiments without becoming maudlin or overly slow.

Concerto No. 3 in G Major, BWV 1048

The opening movement of this concerto, again with no real concertante and ripieno sections, rather featuring three trios of strings and continuo, was perhaps the most perfectly executed movement of the entire evening. It was thrilling to hear live a performance that was on par with any of the best recordings that I have ever heard of this work. To use a sports analogy, everyone in this group was 'in the zone,' and the relatively straightforward melodic structure that Bach employs was tossed off from one trio group to the next, constantly moving, always perfectly deployed. The ritornello, or refrain, to which Bach keeps returning over and over never became tiresome--in part because of the breathless tempo that Huggett employed. Each group pushed it forward, and everyone played fearlessly--individually, as a trio, and in aggregate.

In the second movement Huggett engaged a Corelli-esque singing tone in her playing, and the third movement saw a return to the lightning-quick prestissimo of the first. It is hard to imagine this work played any faster than the PBO took it this night, and yet due to their countless combined years of skill and dedication there was no sacrifice of accuracy or interpretation. Concerto No. 3 was perfect.




Concerto No. 6 in B-flat Major, BWV 1051

Monica Huggett, Vicki Gun Pich, viola, Tonya Tomkins, violoncello

The only real intonation problems of the evening occured as this work opened the second half. It took a dozen bars or so for the group to settle in, both in terms of synchronicity and pitch center. When it did however, the rich, low sonority, aided by the violone and pair of violas da gamba in the continuo, lent this work its uniquely lush character: gallant and philosophically almost post-baroque, especially in the third movement despite the archaic strings for which it was scored. Huggett and Gun Pich really communicated with one another admirably after the slow start, and by and large this concerto was presented with exceptional unity by the small string band.

Concerto No. 2 in F Major, BWV 1047

Monica Huggett, violin, Kathryn Montoya, recorder, Stephen Bard, oboe, Guy Few, trumpet

In this concerto, arguably the most popular of the group, Bach most closely adheres to the concerto grosso style--that is, a clearly defined concertante that is distinctly separate from a supporting orchestral cast. And what a concertante it is: four disparate instruments forming a group that could rightly stand alone without the backing of the ripieno--in fact it is thought that the music for the concertante was originally written as a stand-alone chamber sonata for those instruments.

The nobility, complexity and virtuosity of this concerto can hardly be overstated. That great nineteenth-century Bach scholar Philipp Spitta rhapsodized thusly about the opening movement: "...How it goes past like a troop of youthful knights with gleaming eyes and waving crests! One [concertante instrument] begins a joyful song which echoes through the tree-tops in the forest; a second and a third take it up, and their comrades chime in in chorus...anon it is heard for an instant, and then wafted away by the wind and drowned by the fluttering of the leaves."

The blend in the concertante was warm and mellifluous, and unlike portions of the first concerto where the horns and winds were sometimes drowned by the strings, the soloists stood apart and there was no problem distinguishing them from the group. Even the recorder, so easily subsumed, was by and large lucid and easily heard. However, at least at the start this movement was the only part of the evening where the tempo seemed to pose somewhat of a problem, as occasionally the soloists seemed to be in a hurry to catch up.

The second movement, a dirge-like sonata a tre for the concertante (minus trumpet) left naked the soloists, demanding of them a scaled down sensibility, a focus drastically narrowed from that required by the rollicking introductory movement, and they responded with the artistry one would expect of this group. The third movement again returned to a blistering tempo, and Few managed a fiendishly difficult part for a fiendishly difficult instrument with admirable grace.

Concerto No. 4 in G Major, BWV 1049

Monica Huggett, violin, Kathryn Montoya, Debra Nagy, recorders

This concerto was very fitting as the grand finale, and it allowed Huggett to shine in a demanding violin solo that approaches any of the ferociously difficult concertante written by the great concertoist (himself a masterfully adept violinst) Antonio Vivaldi. Huggett displayed the expertly channeled ferocity and daring showmanship that is her trademark style, fitting for one who considers great rock 'n roll guitarists among her foremost musical idols. The recorders played beautifully; a finespun, pastel duo, but they were unfortunately too-often swallowed by the ripieno. I don't know how much of this might be attributed to the vastness of the sanctuary at FUMC; I noticed no such problem with these same works in the very different acoustic space in the PBO's two-concert presentation at First Baptist last year.

During the finale Hugget left everything on the floor. In the spirit of Spitta's fantasy, I might say that like Euterpe Huggett impelled her instrument to call out heroically each time the ritornello appeared--sallying forth as though a daughter of Boudicca, leading the throng back into the fray for rally after rally after rally with unflagging leadership and razor-sharp determination.

The thorough professionalism and informed artistry demonstrated by the soloists and ripieno in all their various combinations throughout the evening were very impressive. The daring, the brashness that came to the fore all throughout this presentation of some of the most difficult works in the orchestral baroque repertoire left in this reviewer nothing but the greatest respect for these rarest of performers, an admiration and a local boy's pride for the beauty and wonder that the Oregon Bach Festival and the Portland Baroque Orchestra bring to the world.

Sources:

Philipp Spitta--Johann Sebastian Bach--His Work and Influence on the Music of Germany, 1685-1750. (First published in German 1873; first English translation 1884.)

Martin Geck--Johann Sebastian Bach--Life and Work. (First published in German, 2000; English translation 2006 by John Hargraves.)

Oregon Symphony administration trims and adds in quest to move forward

The Oregon Symphony is adding a new vice president and a director of major gifts in its quest to get on better financial footing.

Here's what the press release says:

While simultaneously cutting administrative staff costs by more than 5 percent over the season that ended yesterday, the Oregon Symphony has announced two changes to its senior administrative staff aimed at improving management efficiency and enhancing its fundraising efforts:

-- Janet Plummer, the orchestra’s revenue services manager, has been promoted to the newly created position of vice president for finance and administration, effective immediately. In addition to her current duties, Plummer will take on new responsibility for management of the orchestra’s information technology and finance/accounting departments.

Before joining the Oregon Symphony last August, Plummer had been chief operating officer and chief financial officer for LightBridge Healthcare Research in San Antonio, Texas; executive director of the Touchmark Foundation in Beaverton; and the founder of her own internet-based gourmet-food business. She holds an M.B.A. from Marylhurst University and an undergraduate degree from Virginia’s University of Mary Washington.

Plummer and her husband, Dr. Donald S. Rushmer, live in West Linn.

-- Bill Crane, a development professional and musician in Portland for nearly two decades, joined the Oregon Symphony staff in June as director of major gifts. Crane’s lengthy career as an arts administrator and non-profit fundraiser has included senior positions with the Confluence Project, Oregon Council for the Humanities, Court-Appointed Special Advocates for Children Inc., Portland State University, the Saturday Academy and Portland Baroque Orchestra – all in the Portland metro area – and, before that, with the American Symphony Orchestra League in Washington, D.C.

Crane is also an organist and choir director. In March 2009 he joined with Pink Martini leader Thomas Lauderdale to produce “24/7,” a highly acclaimed 24-hour-long marathon concert in Portland marking the seventh anniversary of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Crane earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music at Florida State University before completing postgraduate studies in Paris. He lives in Northeast Portland.

“We’ve been reducing the size of our administrative staff since August 2006”, said Oregon Symphony Association president Elaine Calder. “But while we may be smaller – less than 30 full-time employees compared with more than 50 in the 2005/06 season – I think we’re now a formidable team. Janet has been with us almost a year and has effortlessly moved into a position of senior responsibility, trusted and admired by board and staff alike. And we’re delighted to welcome Bill to our organization: He’s well-known and respected, with lots of experience in Portland. Both Janet and Bill are passionate supporters of the Oregon Symphony, as are all their colleagues in the administrative offices.

“Staff support is demonstrated in many ways, through their individual financial contributions, the many hours spent at the concert hall after a full day at the office and a willing acceptance of current reality: 12 additional but unpaid days off in 2009/10 and no pension contributions this year. Everyone here – musicians and staff alike – understands that these kinds of cuts are common across America, in the for-profit as well as the not-for-profit world. We’re grateful to be working in this great city and to have such tremendous support from our community.”

The Oregon Symphony, Portland’s largest performing-arts organization, completed its 2008/09 concert season in June with a record $6.61 million in ticket sales, up 17.1 percent, its second consecutive year of double-digit increases. The orchestra’s 2009/10 season begins Sept. 3 with its annual free outdoor concert at downtown Portland’s Tom McCall Waterfront Park.