Month: April 2009

Join The Gathering Note Twitter feed by clicking here and you will be entered for the chance to win two tickets to hear acclaimed pianist Leon Fleisher play a recital in Tacoma, WA on 04/19/2009 at the Pantages Theater and Fleisher’s new recording of Mozart piano concertos on Sony.  The recital is part of the Tacoma Philharmonic’s 2008/2009 season.  You can learn more about the recital and the Tacoma Philharmonic here.  Fleisher’s new Mozart disk is the first two-hand concerto album the pianist has recorded in forty years.

You can also join Twitter by clicking “Follow” on the widget in the right hand column of the page.

Twitter is a free micro-blogging service where users can receive updates through RSS (subscription feed), SMS (text messages on your cell phone), or by reading them at Twitter.

Only people currently following The Gathering Note and those who sign up before April 15 are eligible to win this Fleisher package.

It is a rare night for a symphony concert to host two concertos, and Thursday night at Benaroya Hall was a rare night.

The unfamiliar work was Sam Jones’ Trombone Concerto, “Vita Accademia,” and the familiar, Brahms’ Violin Concerto, both given stellar performances by Ko-ichiro Yamamato, SSO principal trombone, and violinist Vadim Repin.

Jones, composer-in-residence at the Seattle Symphony since 1997, is no stranger to writing for brass instruments. The trombone concerto is his third, the first being for tuba and the second, French horn. He has a gift for bringing out the virtuosity of each instrument, their tonal qualities and  dramatic breadth. His tuba concerto was astonishing for what it asked the soloist to accomplish. Who would haver thought a tuba, even in the right hands, could move so fast and sound so convincing in lyrical passages? The trombone concerto was perhaps not quite so surprising because we know the instrument better, but still, one marveled at its dynamic range and beauty of tone.

The composer did not just fashion a set of exercises to demonstrate the many lives of the trombone but created a real concerto, with all sorts of interests. Its bits of contrived collegiate nostalgia must have put a smile on many peoples’ faces. The subtitle, “Vita Accademia,” is quite justified. The work’s wit was the leavening agent for the passagework which could be heard throughout the piece, as well as its full-blooded romanticism. The work is one of his most persuasive. His duet for trombone and tuba was especially effective.

A major factor in the concerto’s success was Yamamoto, one of the symphony’s most respected figures. One does not normally hear the full range of an orchestra’s principal trombonist’s abilities. This concerto was a first-class opportunity to do so. Yamamoto did not disappoint. He has a big technique, seemingly capable of doing anything, but certainly anything Jones put before him, which was considerable. He swam through those treacherous waters with enormous confidence, no doubt justified by a lot of work. Yamamoto possesses a big, generous tone and a dramatic sensibility. He can also turn a phrase eloquently and vividly.

Repin’s assignment was wholly different: to bring a great work of art, ubiquitous to say the least, to life once again, to give it perhaps a fresh viewpoint. The Siberian violinist began his brilliant career very early — winning the gold medal at the Wienawski Competition at the age of 11. He has not stopped since then. He made his Seattle debut about a decade later at the Seattle International Music Festival where his technical and musical abilities were a revelation. All young virtuosos today have fingers; otherwise they would not be on any major concert platform. However, Repin seems to go one step further with his bravura and bravado. Not only does he play every note but every note accurately and with clarity,. The effect was often electrifying Thursday night at Benaroya. A mere technician he is not. He molds everything he does — fast and slow, soft and loud — into something musically coherent and provocative, Little is simply played as just notes: Repin makes every phrase count and come to life,  sometimes in an amazingly muscular way — really theatrically in the best sense of the word —  and sometimes softly lyrical. He can romance the music with a tone that is sweet but never cloying and always penetrating. Undoubtedly his 1736 Von Szerdahely Guarneri del Gesu violin makes a significant contribution.

Not surprisingly, Gerard Schwarz held everything together skillfully from the podium and with empathy for the soloists.

The evening began with David Diamond’s “Rounds.” There was a time when the Seattle Symphony heard a lot of David Diamond — too much. “Rounds” is one of his better pieces, even if it runs on too long. The strings played in a splendid fashion.

In the late 1930’s two young composers – Lou Harrison and John Cage –  found themselves teaching at Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts.  It is doubtful many people knew who these twenty-something composers were.  Neither stayed in Seattle long, but during their stay, each pioneered new instruments, systems of notation, and sounds.  Last Thursday through Sunday, Cornish brought Harrison and Cage’s music to the forefront through the college’s Drums Along the Pacific festival.  The festival commemorated the 70th anniversary of a series of percussion concerts lead by Cage and Harrison that their mentor Henry Cowell dubbed “drums along the Pacific.”   In the process, musicians from around Washington and the country gave a convincing argument for the seldom heard music of two pioneering American composers.

Festival events were spread out over four days.  The first night devoted to Cage and Harrison’s mentor Henry Cowell.  The Seattle Chamber Players and the Pacific Rims Percussion Quartet handled a selection of Lou Harrison’s music, including his ebullient Concerto in Slendro.  The focus of the entire festival, however, was Saturday.  Beginning early in the afternoon combinations of musicians came together and played four hours of John Cage’s music – encompassing his entire output.  This four hour marathon, interrupted only by a brief dinner break, is probably the first (and maybe the last) time so much Cage was played live in Seattle.  The fourth day, presented Gamelan music by Cage and Harrison.

Of the two composers, Lou Harrison is the easiest on the ears.  Like Cage, Harrison dabbled in sound, just not as much.  The pieces on Friday night showed this experimentation.  Double Music is a product of both Cage and Harrison and is played on “found” instruments that included brake drums, thunder sheers, and tam tams to name a few.  In May Rain the prepared piano and percussion played a supporting role to baritone John Duykers.  Of course, Harrison’s “tack piano” is used in the Concerto for Slendro.  Violinist Mikhail Shmidt led two tack pianos, celesta, and an assortment of percussion in a vigorous performance that sounded larger on stage than the assembled musicians.

The new sounds produced by these instruments were never overwhelming.  Their sounds were punctuated and precise and fit well with the constant rhythmic pluck, push, and pull of Harrison’s music. It is in rhythmic invention where Harrison really excels.  Unfortunately, his music doesn’t do much more.  Perhaps that is why Lou Harrison is easier to hear than John Cage and why by the end of the night Harrison’s cascading rhythms seemed pat.

The same was not true for the next night – the Cage marathon.  We know John Cage because of his experimentation with noise as music and chance in music.  Flipping coins, found objects, and of course, the prepared piano are all associated with Cage. Less so, are Cage’s works for more traditional sounds and instruments.  The pieces chosen for the Cage marathon encompassed the composer’s entire output and balanced what is common knowledge about the composer with what is not.

I was surprised by a number of pieces over the course of the evening.  The Seasons, a piece for piano played by Cage expert Stephen Drury, teemed with tangible life even though the piano is so ordinary compared to some of the other instruments being used.  Imaginary Landscape 2 was a clattering good time.  Who knew the conch shell is played by blowing into it?  Third Construction was just as fun.  Except, twenty seconds into the piece one of the percussionists stopped and announced his cans (literally empty coffee cans turned upside down were out of order).  He switched a few around and started playing again.  The audience had a nice chuckle.  A few days later, when I explained what happened to a friend, he responded, that maybe the mistake and the interruption were intentional?  If it was intentional, the Pacific Rims Percussion Quartet played it well.  Two pieces for closed piano and voice –  A Flower and The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs –  made me reassess how I think of the piano as an instrument.  Finally, Root of an Unfocus for prepared piano, stirred so many new sounds out of the instrument I was rapt.

If I were generalizing John Cage’s output, I would say his best music is music where instruments and notation are out of the ordinary.  Crumpled paper and tin cans.  Chance run amok with the help of clearly defined parameters for the musicians.

John Cage and Lou Harrison are not everyone’s cup of tea.  In fact, I would guess very few people prefer the sweet bitterness that is Cage’s music.  But, last weekend’s Cowell, Harrison, Cage festival – Drums Along the Pacific – exhibited the best and worst of these composers.  The performances were exceptional, from some of the leading advocates of this music in the country, and the experience unforgettable.  I have been told the festival organizers are maneuvering to take some or all of the festival on the road, replicating the original Drums Along the Pacific concert tour.  If that happens, Seattle would be lucky to get a repeat performance of this beautifully strange music.

You can read a replay of the The Gathering Note’s live blog of the John Cage marathon portion of the festival here.