Month: July 2010
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By Philippa Kiraly Despite concerns and trepidation over its move from the bucolic ambiance of Lakeside School to the urban Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya, Seattle Chamber Music Society’s summer festival there has been an undoubted success. It managed to fill, mostly, over 100 seats more than Lakeside has for each concert and recital. It…
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By Philippa Kiraly It was Speight Jenkins, general director of Seattle Opera who persuaded bass-baritone Greer Grimsley that he should sing Wagner. That was for the 1994 production of “Lohengrin,” and Grimsley has sung in nearly every Wagner production here since. Talking with him as he prepares to sing Kurwenal in “Tristan and Isolde” which…
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Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony’s survey of William Schuman’s complete published symphonies has been packaged and is in stores now in a convenient boxed set (Naxos, 8.505228). This is a set that is years in the making. I picked up the first few disks for pennies when the Queen Anne Tower Records was clearing…
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By R.M. Campbell There has been so much to admire in the concerts that I’ve attended at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival this season at Nordstrom Recital Hall, it seems redundant to say so yet again. But it is the truth. As always there are musicians making their festival debut. A more significant new element…
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By R.M. Campbell The Seattle Chamber Music Festival used to be criticized by some for its lack of adventure in programming contemporary music. The 20th-century was well enough represented but limited mostly to well-known composer who worked early in the century. This was not necessarily a reflection of artistic director Toby Saks’ taste but a…
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By the third week of the Chamber Music Society’s festival the excitement of opening week is gone. We’ve heard enough expertly crafted chamber music to carry us through to the fall. A number of musicians have come and gone by the third week. The third week is also when repertory experiments takes place. The…
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By Peter Klein We all know about Gerard Schwarz, conductor. Lately, we’ve been hearing more and more about Gerard Schwarz, composer. Schwarz’ latest work, a “Trio for Violin, Horn, and Piano” (Horn Trio for short), will receive its world premiere at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival on Monday, July 26 at 8:00 PM in Benaroya…
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Summer is finally in full swing. Seattle is warming up. We are in the thick of the summer chamber festival. And, the new symphony seasons are still a few months away. Even though the number of classical performances have thinned out, it doesn’t mean there aren’t events worth mentioning or worth seeking out. The biggest…
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By Philippa Kiraly Each year for the past decade or more, I have been saying that Seattle Chamber Music Society surpasses itself with a season which is even better played with even more superb (and young) performers than the year before, and with programming which is far more interesting than it used to be. This…
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By Philippa Kiraly Seattle Chamber Music Society’s Summer Festival is a joy in the midst of July’s usual musical dearth. Concerts come up three times a week, each with stellar performances and programs which are never boring. Even very familiar pieces receive illuminating performances which bring out facets not perceived before. Friday’s performance at Nordstrom…