Month: December 2009

Mozart and Manfred

Manfred being saved by the hunter

Last Friday, UW’s University Symphony gave a lively performance in Meany Hall. The orchestra began their concert with Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491 featuring one of my favorite pianists: Craig Sheppard. I’ve been a fan of Sheppard’s since I heard his live recordings of the 32 Beethoven Piano Sonatas – all of the sonatas were performed and recorded chronologically over sixteen months in 2003 and 2004. In his recordings, Sheppard engages the listener by exploring the composer’s journey through the music and creating a separate journey of his own. The same explorative qualities that make his recordings so wonderful materialized in concert last Friday.

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Snarky and the sublime: the Esoterics and the Seattle Men’s Chorus

Alfred Schnittke

Some ensembles pad their December concerts with traditional holiday music ranging from GF Handel’s Messiah (which the composer never intended as the holiday staple it has become) to tapestries of Christmas carols, often set in new or unfamiliar ways. A handful of ensembles in town buck these traditional formulas for programs that are different, but in the holiday spirit. Orchestra Seattle’s performance of Saint Saens Christmas Oratorio this weekend is in this spirit. On the extreme ends of the spectrum are two groups – the Esoterics and the Seattle Men’s Chorus – with completely different points of view on what makes a successful choral performance.

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“Messiah” with Handelian size forces

By Philippa Kiraly

This time of year, we hear Handel’s “Messiah” sung in myriad venues with forces of all sizes and professional levels, but we rarely hear it done as Handel himself was apt to hear it, as in its initial performance in Dublin in 1742.

Thanks to The Tudor Choir and Seattle Baroque Orchestra who have joined once more to perform it, we heard it again Saturday night as it might have been performed then, and in a place, Town Hall, of somewhat similar size to the New Music-Hall in Fishamble Street, Dublin.

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More art, not less in these troubled times?

Courtesy of the Miami Herald is a story about Michael Kaiser’s (currently president of the Kennedy Center) view of arts organizations during the current economic downturn.  Kaiser believes the way forward isn’t for arts organizations to cut staff and reduce programs.  He believes exactly the opposite.

Questioning Gary Thor Wedow

I’ll be doing a video interview with Gary Thor Wedow Monday. Wedow is in town to conduct the Messiah with the Seattle Symphony. Wedow has conducted the Seattle Symphony before and the Seattle Opera, but I suspect most people are unfamiliar with him as a conductor. Wedow is an active opera conductor and proponent of historically informed performances. One of Wedow’s accomplishments this fall was to lead a new production of Don Giovanni at the renewed City Opera. I’ll be preparing to interview Wedow this weekend, but what do you, the Gathering Note’s loyal readers, think I should ask Wedow?

OSSCS Messiah remains a Seattle holiday tradition

By: Dana Wen

Seattle’s Messiah purists got their annual fix this past Sunday during Orchestra Seattle & Seattle Chamber Singers’ single performance of Handel’s masterpiece.  OSSCS, led by George Shangrow, is well-known in the region for their true-to-the-score Messiah (no cuts or abridged versions here).  Sunday’s concert was held at the First Free Methodist Church in Queen Anne, which has hosted the OSSCS Messiah for the past several years.

Garlick and Cohen, two of Seattle’s newest Ivesiacs

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When a musician is hard working and hungry for success there isn’t much they can’t accomplish. That includes convincing a music writer to turn down a chance to hear Renee Fleming and come to their recital instead. A few weeks ago, over espresso at Fuel in Wallingofrd, that is exactly what James Garlick did. Regular readers of the Gathering Note know Garlick is a bright, talented local musician who has one of the busier calendars in Seattle. He plays with the Cascade Symphony, Northwest Sinfonietta, Seattle Baroque, Onyx Chamber Players, and collaborates with a number of other musicians on a variety of chamber projects.

That morning at Fuel, Garlick ran through a lengthy list of projects he is working on. We spent most of our time talking about his concert at the Good Shepherd Center and the pieces he chose for the event. From the very beginning, Garlick was trying to get me to come hear him play. When I told him I was thinking of hearing Renee Fleming sing instead, he admitted, sheepishly, that she was stiff competition. He launched, undeterred, into an explanation of the program and the pieces: Bartok, Debussy, Bach, Corigliano, and Ives. We spent some time talking about Bela Bartok’s solo Violin Sonata and recordings we liked. At almost exactly the same time, we both muttered Christian Tetzlaff’s recording on Virgin as one of our favorites. This was the moment I decided to go hear Garlick play. I couldn’t say no to someone who liked Christian Tetzlaff’s Bartok as much as me.

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Opus 7 celebrates Christmas at St. James

By: R.M. Campbell

Opus 7, one of the most esteemed musical groups anywhere, has little interest in musical trinkets of the season, at least this year. At its annual Christmas concert Sunday night at St James Cathedral, the vocal ensemble looked to Mendelssohn as well as Einojuhani Rautavaara and Georg Schumann instead. All proved to be fascinating.

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NY Phil season pass

An interesting concept has come from the New York Philharmonic — a NY Phil season pass on iTunes.  Everyone knows iTunes is a destination point for downloading music, but it has also become a source for downloading just about every other type of content as well (from podcasts to television shows).  Until know, iTunes season passes were primarily used for television shows and other serial media.  This season, the NY Phil is experimenting with selling a pass for the orchestra’s concert season.  The concept of having concert performances available for download soon after a concert is over has been kicking around for sometime now.  Some, like the Berlin Philharmonic, are making concert broadcasts available online and the Metropolitan Opera offers current HD productions as well as a vast catalog of previously recorded operas available for viewing.  Both come at a cost and both enrich the audio experience with visuals.  I believe the NY Phil’s iTunes season pass is the first to offer a subscription for audio recordings only.

The season pass makes perfect sense and I hope the NY Phil continues to offer season passes in future seasons. For many orchestras, concerts over the course of a season, aren’t always just a string of stand-alone musical events.  Concerts reinforce and build off of one another.  In Seattle a few years ago, the SSO had a season highlighting music by composers who emigrated to the United States.  Alan Gilbert’s first season on the podium may not be defined by one, overarching musical idea, but that’s not to say future seasons won’t be.  Where seasons are tied together by one idea or series of ideas, a season pass would be an invaluable tool to experience the artistic concept as it evolved over a series of months.