Gathering Note
Notes from the concert hall
Category: Seattle Chamber Music Society
-
By Philippa Kiraly Time was, maybe 17 years ago, when Seattle Chamber Music Society’s Summer Festival was full of well known classics. We could confidently expect to hear Brahms, Beethoven, and Schumann, Mozart and Haydn, Tchaikovsky and Dvorak. Sure there was, is, plenty to choose from among much-loved works. Some amongst us grew restless, wanting…
-
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…
-
Without a doubt, hearing new musicians perform is the best part of the Seattle Chamber Music Society festival. We might be hearing them for the first time, but others, especially the musicians in the festival and Toby Saks are already familiar with their talents. Over the years, Saks has plucked players out of the musical…
-
In an alternate (maybe even perfect) universe unfamiliar composers and works would be cat nip for curious ears looking to expand their musical horizons. Dissonances would pleasantly shake listeners. We’d tap our toes to awkward rhythms and take pleasure in sorting out difficult melodies. Seats would be filled. People would be turned away at the…
-
The second week of the Seattle Chamber Music Society’s summer festival began with Andrew Armstrong’s return to the piano. An infection caused by a bug bite or some other intruder sidelined the pianist, putting him in the hospital even. Although Armstrong was missed by the loyal festival attendees, other pianists, including the incomparable Craig Sheppard,…
-
By Philippa Kiraly It seemed odd to go to Benaroya Hall, specifically the smaller Nordstrom Recital Hall, for a Seattle Chamber Music Society Summer Festival concert but, well, we will get used to it. The Society was no longer allowed to use the Lakeside campus with its lovely grounds and peaceful ambience, but it also…
-
By R.M. Campbell Just as the summer festival of the Seattle Chamber Music Society has taken a quantum leap in excellence over the past few years, so has the winter festival. The four-day event, which concluded Sunday afternoon with a splendid concert, gave evidence to that claim. This is the first year in nearly 30…
-
watch yogi bear online dvd The Seattle Chamber Music Society, and its stable of talented instrumentalists, continued its winter festival this past Friday. This year, the winter festival is celebrating the 200th anniversary of Robert Schumann’s birthday. The classical proportioned Second Piano Trio was the Schumann selection on Friday night. On either side of the…
-
By Philippa Kiraly I’ve never heard a Seattle Chamber Music Society concert more satisfying than this one, perhaps because we don’t have much chamber music on this level in the winter here (with the exception of the UW World Series) nor much in an intimate venue. Thursday’s concert at Nordstrom Recital Hall, the opening of…
-
Extraordinary weather and extraordinary playing marked this year’s Seattle Chamber Music Society’s Summer Festival, first at Lakeside School (for the last time) and for the past ten days at The Overlake School in Redmond. The programming was a little uneven, though no one can have too much Brahms (who was by some standards over represented).…