I attended the premiere of Scott Warrender and Jim Luigs’ original take on Wagner’s “Ring” cycle, “Das Barbecu,” in 1991. I don’t remember a single detail except that it was rollicking and a hit with audiences. The piece was reworked from a succinct one-act version to its current two acts over several years at places like Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn., and Center Stage in Baltimore, making its way to New York and Off-Broadway in 1994. Now, this remarkable coupling of “grand opera and Grand Ole Opry,” to use stage director Stephen Terrell’s telling phrase, has returned to Seattle. It opened a 30-day run Thursday night at ACT.
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg talks about her new album with the New Century Chamber Orchestra
Violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg is known internationally known for her dynamic and virtuosic performances, but over the past few years she has successfully launched her own record label (NSS Music) and just last year she became the music director of the New Century Chamber Orchestra, a top-tier ensemble that is based in San Francisco. On August 11th, Salerno-Sonnenberg and the New Century Chamber Orchestra are releasing their first album (on the NSS label) called “Together.”
“Together” contains the world premiere recording of “Impressions: Suide for Chamber Orchestra,” by Clarice Assad, “The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires” by Astor Piazzolla, “Romanian Folk Dances” by Béla Bartók, and “Bess, You Is My Woman Now” by George Gershwin. In this album, Salerno-Sonnenberg performs as concertmaster and soloist, and you can tell right away that she has inspired her colleagues in the New Century Chamber Orchestra to give each piece everything they’ve got. Continue reading Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg talks about her new album with the New Century Chamber Orchestra
The Road to Valhalla: Costumes and Props
The Ring starts this weekend, and what better way to prepare for this epic event then by two more installments of “The Road to Valhalla.”
Previewing the 2010 SCMS Seattle festival
Even as the Seattle Chamber Music Society’s Lakeside Festival was wrapping up, organizers and audience members were busy evaluating the festival’s future home – Nordstrom Recital Hall. After 28 years, the Seattle festival is moving from the Lakeside School on the Shoreline/Seattle border to downtown.
If the summer festival were exactly like SCMS’s winter festival there wouldn’t be as much uncertainty about the location. SCMS has successfully used the Nordstrom Recital Hall for a number of years now. Musicians mostly like the venue. Opinions, however, are mixed on the hall’s acoustics. And the audience appreciates the proximity to parking and other downtown amenities. But that is for the winter festival, when Seattle’s weather tends to be unpleasant and dark.
Ephemera
This past weekend, I had the chance to hear The Esoterics perform at Holy Rosary Church in West Seattle. This particular concert was titled Ephemera and was built around the fleeting joys of nature. The Esoterics are known for the committed performances of contemporary choral music. This recent concert was no exception. Every piece on the program was written by a composer born after 1920. Four of the six pieces were written by composers born after 1969. The youngest being Scott Perkins who is not yet 30 years old.
Eric Banks – Esoterics founder, conductor and composer – programmed his own piece “12 Flowers” leading the group in the Seattle premiere of the piece. I was taken by the piece. Banks sets 12 haikus by Yosa Buson to music. Banks translated twelve of Buson’s flower haikus for the piece. Interestingly, Banks didn’t employ breaks between the pieces, instead each flower flowed into the next creating a continuum of sound. Or, as Banks says in the program notes — a bouquet. Also, Banks utilized the morphology of each flower represented in the poems to guide the music. For instance, flowers that were smaller, and had more petals were sung faster and felt more scattered – like snow as Banks would say later. Imagine walking under a blossoming cherry tree and being surrounded by petals falling from the tree. Now try to imagine, like Banks did, this same experience in music. The chorus sings swiftly. The moment feels free and easy as singers flutter through the music.
Jennifer Larmore plumbs the depths of royal tragedies in brilliant recording
Jennifer Larmore has a gorgeous voice that she displays to wonderful effect in “Royal Mezzo,” an album released last year by Cedille Records. Containing secular cantatas by Barber, Berlioz, Ravel, and Britten, this recording is a treasure trove for Larmore, who soars to highest peaks and dives to the uttermost depths in each piece. In this musical journey, Larmore gives us insightful performances of privileged women who find themselves (with one exception) in tragic circumstances. In other words, there are no light-weight, frilly pieces in “Royal Mezzo.” This album is the stuff of grief and resonance. And Larmore, singing with the Grant Park Orchestra under the direction of Carlos Kalmar, combines rich timbre and urgency to get to the heart of each work. Continue reading Jennifer Larmore plumbs the depths of royal tragedies in brilliant recording
Off the shelf
Neeme Jarvi, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Boris Berman and Horacio Gutierrez (piano); Sergey Prokofiev Piano Concertos 1-5 ***
Neeme Jarvi and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra recorded Prokofiev’s five piano concertos between 1989 and 1990. For the recording, Jarvi and the orchestra are joined by Boris Berman in Nr. 1, 4, and 5 and Horacio Gutierrez in Nr. 2 and 3. Jarvi’s Prokofiev interpretations are special. Unlike Gergiev who pushes through the music too quickly in his LSO Phillips recording of the symphonies and Ozawa whose interpretation of the same music is the sonic equivalent of quick sand – slow, unpleasant, and sinking – Jarvi’s Prokofiev recordings tend to be astutely paced. This concerto set is no different. For instance, Jarvi pushes the First Concerto forward feverishly but also takes time in the middle of the piece, to hang on the piece’s lyricism. And, the Fifth Concerto zips along without sacrificing orchestral color. Along with Ashkenazy’s recording of the complete piano concertos, this re-release is a satisfying way to acquire all five concertos at a wallet friendly price.
Your favorite opera of “Der Ring Des Nibelungen”
The first Ring Cycle is less than a week away. In honor of this once-every-four-year event, take a moment to vote for your favorite opera in the cycle. The poll closes on August 14th at the end of the first cycle.
The Road to Valhalla: Part I
In conjunction with the upcoming performance of Wagner’s ‘Ring,” the Seattle Opera is releasing a series of videos depicting aspects of the production — rehearsals, props, costumes, etc. Here is the first video in the series.
Adam Neiman talks about his time at the SCMS Festival, romantic composers, and Toby Saks’s legacy
Adam Neiman is one of the musicians with the longest history at the Seattle Chamber Music Society’s summer festival. Neiman came to the festival in 1997 as a 19 year old just beginning his career as a pianist. He sat down with me moments before the final Lakeside School began to talk about his time at the festival, the need to preserve and play the music of lost romantic composers, and shared his insights on what makes a composer inspired. Neiman also shared his memories of working with Toby Saks — the festival’s co-artistic director — and the move to Benaroya Hall next year.
There is an amusing out take from this interview I plan on sharing on The Gathering Note. As Adam and I were talking, Ran Dank, a new pianist with the festival, walked through the rear door, introduced himself, and seemed perplexed about how to describe Bach’s French Suite — a piece he learned when he was 7. Dank played the piece as part of the free Friday recital.
Gathering Note 