Gathering Note

By Gigi Yellen

A piano trio plays an all-Beethoven concert. So? So pianist David White’s sparkling standup delivery of script-free program notes, his hammy interpretations at the keyboard, and his jazz-combo-like connections with cellist Meg Brennand and violinist James Garlick combine to make an Onyx concert memorable. The program was smartly constructed, opening with Beethoven’s first published work—his first piano trio—and concluding with his majestic “Archduke.” In between, and especially well served by White’s intro, Beethoven’s much revised and strangely dramatic elaboration on a lightweight theme, the “Kakadu” variations.

Onyx has found its just-right performance venue in the intimacy of Town Hall Seattle’s downstairs space. White’s expressive gestures, his seasoned wit and enthusiastic keyboard approach, combine with Brennan’s openhearted precision to support young Garlick’s developing technique and increasingly lyrical lines. The three took great care with Beethoven’s signature dynamic shifts and tricky rhythms. You might have called this concert “Fun with Beethoven,” except that the serious stuff received its due, too.
Continue reading All Beethoven from the Onyx Chamber Players

By R.M Campbell

Arguably the most ambitious exploration of Handel ever held in Seattle — the American Handel Festival — opened Friday night with soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian singing music written for the famed Egyptian queen Cleopatra.

Along with J.S. Bach, Handel is one of the twin towers of Baroque music. It is a mountain top, rather mountain range, well worth time spent in it and gazing upon it. That is exactly what this festival aims to do via 30 performances of music by the master and his contemporaries with more than 25 organizations, such as the Seattle Symphony Orchestra Friday night, in attendance. In addition to orchestral music there will performances of his chamber opera “Acis and Galatea” and the oratorio “Esther,” as well as Bach’s “St. John’s Passion” and all manner of novelties that should attract a wide range of listeners. The American Handel Society, founded in 1981, held the the festival in its early days on the campus of the University of Maryland. Subsequently, it has gone on tour, this year to Seattle, organized by the energetic and informed Marty Ronish, who lives in Edmonds, but enjoys a national presence.
Continue reading American Handel Festival launched Friday night at Benaroya

Andriessen isn’t as well known as his American minimalist counterparts. John Adams is close to a household name even if he doesn’t fit squarely in the minimalist frame anymore. Steve Reich and Terry Rile, not as well known, are endlessly inventive. Philip Glass is the purest exponent of the style. To compare Andriessen to these three American minimalists, Andriessen seems closest to Steve Reich. Like Reich, Andriessen creates a new experience with each piece.  Andriessen isn’t content to let his music stand still, or ruminate over a musical idea or note just for the sake of it.  Yes he repeats ideas, but coupled with this repetition is a linear purpose that firmly establishes a beginning, middle, and end.

The six pieces performed Wednesday night spanned decades and differed in style, instrumentation, and emphasis. Each work cast Andriessen in a different light. Cragginess was balanced with sweetness. Elegance co-mingled with urban flair. The recital culminated a nearly week long residency for the composer at the Cornish College of Arts.

Continue reading Review: M is for Man, Music, Mozart

By Philippa Kiraly

It’s always a red-letter week when Marvin Hamlisch comes to town, and even more so this time since he brought an entire program of Cole Porter’s music with him. I caught the last of four performances with the Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall Sunday afternoon and Hamlisch, who has been doing this for 40 years or so, sounded as fresh and as inimitably witty as ever.

His trademark style always includes some conversation with the youngest concertgoers in seats near the front, and thrown-off remarks about the weather, the city, or whatever, while at the same time he is making kind and appreciative comments about the orchestra, the audience, and the soloists. It’s all very relaxed and the performance goes along smoothly appearing to be quite casual, though you know it is the end result of years of well-designed practice.
Continue reading A tribute to Cole Porter

By Philippa Kiraly

Concertgoers to the performance at Benaroya Hall Saturday night by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra had to pass a small group of pickets who presumably were Palestine sympathizers. Surprisingly there was also a noticeable police presence even after the picketers had gone, during intermission, and after the concert was over. All was peaceful, however, and nothing detracted from an excellent performance.

Tumultuous applause greeted conductor Zubin Mehta as he walked out on stage. The orchestra and Mehta are both rising 75 years old. Mehta first conducted it at age 25, and became its permanent conductor in his early thirties. It was clear throughout the evening that he knew the orchestra very well and that they knew him. His conducting was relaxed, even when he was eliciting intensity from the players. Their playing never felt forced, either.
Continue reading Israel Philharmonic celebrates 75 years with a stop in Seattle

However, the aversion to change has become so institutionalized, the concert hall of today might be one of the few places where something 100 years old is still called ‘modern’, where, if somehow miraculously reincarnated, a dazed Schubert could probably wander the halls for a week in his tailcoat and spectacles without drawing any attention (who was that little German-speaking fellow, the new violist? Shrug). The past, obsessively glorified, with its stranglehold on the present, is in no serious danger of being forgotten any time soon. For the sake of the future, the bonds might need to be loosened a bit.

From Michael Hovnanian’s Bass Blog. The entire post, titled A Country for Old Men, is a fascinating and thought provoking read on age and the modern orchestra. I found it especially fascinating because last night I read Alex Ross’s latest New Yorker column: Schubert on the Beach. Ross writes about the New World Symphony’s new hall in Miami, but he also says about Michael Tilson Thomas — the New World Symphony’s founding music director — “no other conductor today seems so alert to the entire cultural landscape around him.”

Age is at play in both pieces.  In Florida, young musicians led by their young at heart music director are trying everything in their power to enliven the concert experience.  They aren’t pandering to the audience with tricks, gimmicks, or other diversions.  Their experiments are an essential part of the concert experience.  Yet, in far too many concert halls, Hovnanian’s observations are the norm and Schubert can roam free.