Month: May 2009

PNB Closes Its Subscription Season With Robbins, Balanchine, and Wheeldon

(L-R) Pacific Northwest Ballet corps de ballet dancer Sarah Ricard Orza, and principal dancers Carla Körbes and Kaori Nakamura in Jerome Robbins’ Dances at a Gathering, part of PNB’s DIRECTOR’S CHOICE program running May 28 – June 7, 2009. Photo Angela Sterling
(L-R) Pacific Northwest Ballet corps de ballet dancer Sarah Ricard Orza, and principal dancers Carla Körbes and Kaori Nakamura in Jerome Robbins’ Dances at a Gathering. Photo Angela Sterling

Pacific Northwest Ballet offered all sorts of pleasures this past season, but none more than its last mixed bill which opened Thursday night at McCaw Hall.

The program, which runs through June 7, is a deft coupling of works new to PNB’s repertory and a standard bearer of its reputation. Jerome Robbins’ “Dances at a Gathering” opened the evening in a sublime fashion, followed by Christopher Wheeldon’s “After the Rain Pas De Deux,” first seen in Seattle this fall at the company’s annual gala. The summation of the night was Balanchine’s “Symphony in C,” which has been a part of PNB’s artistic profile for 22 years.

Continue reading PNB Closes Its Subscription Season With Robbins, Balanchine, and Wheeldon

Joshua Roman and David Stock at the SSO

The blurbs about this concert all blazed “Rachmaninov!” and of course anything by him is a draw, but the major interest of the Seattle Symphony concert Thursday night at Benaroya Hall was the premiere of David Stock’s Cello Concerto with Joshua Roman as soloist.

Both have connections to the orchestra and Seattle. Stock was the SSO’s composer-in-residence in the late 1990s, and Roman, like a meteor starting its run, was for a brief time principal cellist for the SSO. He left last summer to begin a solo career.

Continue reading Joshua Roman and David Stock at the SSO

SOS for Oregon Ballet Theatre

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Photo by Angela Sterling

The Oregonian reports that the Oregon Ballet Theatre is in desparate need of $750,000 by June 30th or it may have to shut down altogether. The monetary problems have been caused by a severe loss of donations and a loss of revenue due to the snowy weather during its performances of “The Nutcracker.” To help rescue OBT, nationally known dancers from around the nation will come to Portland to perform in a gala on June 12. But as the article points out, that valiant effort may reduce the debt – even cut it in half – but it will take some concerned patrons to step up to the plate and help to save Oregon’s flagship ballet company. Other creative ways for OBT to raise money may be through a special fund-raisers at Nike, Adidas, and other local companies that have an interest in artistic, athletic talent. The OBT web site contains details about the performance on June 12. Their regular season finale will take place on June 5, 6, and 7. I urge you to support OBT!

New Chamber Series: recital focuses on Seattle Symphony musicians

Composer Paul Hindemith

The Seattle Symphony’s New Chamber Series was created with one goal in mind: spotlight the talents and interests of musicians in the orchestra. Large, enthusiastic audiences turned out for a trombone recital, a performance by the Serious Quartet, and a varied recital this past Sunday featuring string players Elisa Barston (violin), Mara Gearman (viola), and Joseph Kaufman (bass). Ben Hausmann, the Seattle Symphony’s principal oboe accompanied Barston and Gearman on piano. This recital was the first time I can recall Hausmann playing piano in public. Jerrod Wendland accompanied Kaufman at the piano.

Continue reading New Chamber Series: recital focuses on Seattle Symphony musicians

Quarter notes: upcoming

Simple Measures founder Rajan Krishnaswami and Mark Salman are holding a recital at Town Hall to benefit Simple Measures. The cello and piano duo will be playing music by Shostakovich, Debussy, Chopin, and others. The two talked about the music briefly in a video (May 29, 2009).

Another cellist will grace Seattle this weekend as well. Joshua Roman left the Seattle Symphony a year ago, but kept close ties to the area. He is returning to play the premiere of David Stock’s Cello Concerto. Curiously, the concerto was written in 2001 and hasn’t been performed until now. James DePriest is guest conducting and he will also lead the orchestra in Smetana’s Overture to the “Bartered Bride” and Rachmaninov’s final composition, the Symphonic Dances.

Orchestra Seattle ends their 2008/2009 season next Sunday with “Slavic Melodies” a concert with Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto Nr. 2 and Antonin Dvorak’s Czech Suite. Mark Salman takes the bench again, this time for Rachmaninov’s daunting piano concerto (June 7, 2009).

Herb Gardner’s Comedy, “A Thousand Clowns”, is revived at Intiman Theatre

For those of a certain age, Herb Gardner’s comedy, “A Thousand Clowns,” which just opened at the Intiman Theatre, will seem like a period piece, an exotic view into the early 1960’s before they became the 1960s as they are usually regarded. For others, much older, the play will bring back memories of an era well-remembered when life seemed safer, quieter, for some anyway, predictable and conventional.

That is the apple cart the leading character Murray Burns, a burned-out gag writer for a television children’s show, wants to overturn. After a lot of ranting and raving — the entire length of the play — he returns to the show and resumes a middle-class existence. Gardner doesn’t view Burns’ capitulation to the ordinary as a defeat but as a return to a human being who cares about the people around him instead of being a narcissist.

Continue reading Herb Gardner’s Comedy, “A Thousand Clowns”, is revived at Intiman Theatre

Marian Anderson Quartet: Seattle favorite plays Piazzolla, Still, and Mendelssohn

Tuesday marked the end of a two week residency for the Marian Anderson String Quartet.  The residency began in October, with the ensemble mentoring string students in Seattle schools.  In the final week, the group continued to work with students, but also closed out the residency with a performance at the University of Washington’s Meany Hall.

The Marian Anderson Quartet has been a favorite with Seattle audiences for years now.  It’s easy to see why.  Their easy demeanor and willingness to talk, banter, and rib the audience is disarming.  This attitude carries over to their playing which is versatile, effortless, and full bodied.  It has to be.  The group tackles unfamiliar music as willingly as they delve into standard repertoire.

Continue reading Marian Anderson Quartet: Seattle favorite plays Piazzolla, Still, and Mendelssohn

I have a confession…

There is only one more day for aspiring reality t.v. hosts to submit their application videos for Seattle Opera’s “Confessions” contest.  Videos were trickling in according to one Seattle Opera staff person but picked up late last week when the Seattle Opera opened up a casting call booth before the final “Figaro.”

People will be able to vote on their favorite videos submissions after the contest closes tomorrow (Wagner’s birthday – how appropriate).

Continue reading I have a confession…

Stephen Llewellyn is one cool dude!

lewellyn-operaman

Stephen Llewellyn, Portland Opera’s official blogger and a lawyer by trade, recently won the #Operplot’s twitter contest, claimed the top prize and then gave it to a music teacher he has never met. How cool is that!

Today’s Washington Post has the entire scoop, plus quotes from Llewellyn and the Washington D.C. schoolteacher who will receive his prize.

In case you don’t have time to read it, here’s the outcome as quoted from the article:

Priscilla Barrow, who has taught music in D.C. public schools for 22 years, learned Monday, out of the blue, that she will be going to the final performance of “Turandot” at the Washington National Opera on June 4 and, the next night, the company’s annual Opera Ball at the German Embassy. In a ball gown provided by the opera’s costume shop.

Llewellyn has also posted his account of how this all happened. Click here.

Hats off to a fellow whose generosity is an inspiration to the rest of us!

Portland Symphonic Choir sings spirited Rachmaninov Vespers

psc-choir

The Portland Symphonic Choir gave a sumptuous performance of Sergei Rachmaninov’s “Verpers” on Sunday afternoon (May 17). Standing in the apse of St. Mary’s Cathedral , the 120-vloice choir, under the direction of Steven Zopfi, created waves of warm, rich sounds with excellent tonal blend. Impressive especially were crescendos that reached massive proportions and the many passages in which the basses reached notes that came from the subterranean levels of the Russian soul.

Highlights also included the bell-like sounds from the sopranos and tenors in Movement 7 (“Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will among men”) and the exposed notes held by various sections of the choir in Movement 9 (“Blessed art thou, O Lord”). Mezzo-soprano Sherry Olson sounded terrific during her solo in Movement 2 (“Bless the Lord, O my soul”), but the vibrato in tenor soloist Scott Tuomi’s voice seemed way out of control.

The choir sang the entire 15-movement, hour-long, a cappella piece in Russian with a break between movements 8 and 9 for intermission. I think that the singers were starting to run out of steam in the last movement, because their sound started to lose some of the best colors. Yet before singing the final notes they gathered their artistic might and ended the concert gloriously. The audience responded enthusiastically with a standing ovation and sustained applause.

This concert repeats at St. Mary’s Parish Church in Mt. Angel (575 E. College St.) on Sunday, May 31 at 4 pm.

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Caveat emptor: I have sung with this choir for many years, but I’ve taken my critic’s oath to not let that experience affect my objectivity in this review.