From James Garlick’s recital a week ago, here is a recording of him and Judith Cohen playing Charles Ives’s Second Sonata for Violin and Piano. I even include Garlick’s introduction to the piece.
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
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.
Continue reading Garlick and Cohen, two of Seattle’s newest Ivesiacs
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.
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.
James Garlick plays Corigliano
Local violinist James Garlick held a recital Friday at the Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford. I will be writing about the experience and performance in more detail. Until then, here is a short clip from the concert of Garlick performing two variations from John Corigliano’s Red Violin Caprices.
Music of Remembrance: “Unconquered!”
By: Peter A. Klein
In addition to their two mainstage concerts each year at Benaroya Hall, Music of Remembrance also does a series of four free outreach concerts each year. The programs are typically drawn from past performances at Benaroya, performed for the community in a less formal setting.
I took in one of these concerts this afternoon, in the sun-drenched Italianate performance space at Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford. If you missed it, the same program can be heard tomorrow evening, Sunday, December 6, 2009, at The Congregational Church on Mercer Island, 4545 Island Crest Way, at 7:00 PM. Donations will be accepted at the door, and the performance space will be transformed into a cabaret, with refreshments served.
Renee Fleming returns to Seattle
Amelia Trio highlights early works by Beethoven, Shostakovich, and Chopin
The 2009/2010 UW World Series is well underway, bringing the best of dance, solo piano, and chamber music to Seattle audiences and the University of Washington community. Some have observed, this season’s line-up is less star-studded than in previous seasons. While this season might feature fewer marquis names, that doesn’t mean fewer marquis talents. Wednesday night’s visit by the Amelia Trio proved this all to well.
The Amelia Trio visited Meany Hall with a program of early compositions by three of classical music’s most popular composers: Shostakovich, Beethoven, and Chopin. None of the three composers are known primarily for their early piano trios. Shostakovich’s reputation rests primarily on the genius of his symphonies and string quartets. Chopin’s fame comes from his elegant to fiery music for solo piano. Beethoven’s legacy spans the entirety of his output because of his ever developing style. After all was said and done, the Amelia Trio’s warm, generous sound and their like-minded purpose proved the value of these three composers’ early piano trios.
Continue reading Amelia Trio highlights early works by Beethoven, Shostakovich, and Chopin
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