Tag: Instrumental

Simone Dinnerstein impresses at Meany Theater

By Philippa Kiraly

Bach, to my mind, is the only Baroque composer whose music always survives with triumph, whether it’s played on period instruments, modern instruments, steel band, sung by the Swingle Singers, or given a rock beat.

Simone Dinnerstein‘s instrument of choice is the modern grand piano, and her program Wednesday night on the UW President’s Piano Series incorporated one of the composer’s English Suites, No. 3, and three transcriptions of different well-known Chorale Preludes by Bach from well-known pianists of their day: Italy’s Ferrucio Busoni, Germany’s Wilhelm Kempff and England’s Dame Myra Hess.
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Week in classical music: Alexander Bishop, Michael Nicolella, and Monteverdi

Stephen Stubbs. Photo courtesy Pacific Musicworks.

It’s been a busy week for Cornish College, the college’s faculty, and one of the school’s talented soon to be graduates. A new president was unveiled — a violist — Nancy Uscher. That evening student composer Alexander Bishop’s music for viola was the focus at Poncho Hall. Toward the end of the week — innovative guitarist and Cornish faculty member Michael Nicolella took to the Nordstrom Recital Hall stage as part of the Seattle Classical Guitar Series. Up the hill at St. James Cathedral, Steven Stubbs (who has been tasked with building an early music program at Cornish) led the first historically accurate performance of Monteverdi’s path blazing 1610 Vespers.
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Lara Downes’ American program kicks off 2010/2011 President’s Piano series

Lara Downes

By Philippa Kiraly

Young American musician Lara Downes opened UW’s President’s Piano Series Wednesday night with an enlightening program of 20th century American music. All the composers but one are well known: Roy Harris, Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, plus Florence Price, and all were born close together around the turn of the century, with Barber the youngest, born 1910, and Price the oldest, born 1888.

Price was a rarity at that time, a recognized woman composer with a large body of works under her belt, and even rarer, a black woman composer. She attended the New England Conservatory of Music, became head of the music department at Clark University and won first prize in the Wanamaker Competition and a performance of her first symphony by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
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On Bach’s birthday: the gift of Suites for Solo Cello

Not quite sure how to celebrate Johann Sebastian Bach’s birthday this year? It’s coming up this weekend you know. And if somehow you’ve neglected to plan for the birth anniversary of this genius of Western Music, I understand the sense of guilt you carry. But really, there’s no need for panic or embarrassment. Here’s the solution.

For more than 20 years the cello playing community in Seattle and across Washington State has hosted a Bach birthday bash like no other. The party is open to all. It’s a casual affair that doesn’t cost any money. You can drop in at any time and leave when you need to. And instead of bringing the gifts, you receive them.
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Shmidt discusses Kurtag’s Kafka Fragments

Here is my second interview with Mikhail Shmidt.  In this video Shmidt talks about Hungarian composer Gyorgy Kurtag’s “Kafka Fragments,” a piece he will perform this Saturday as part of Icebreaker V.  “Kafka Fragments” is no ordinary piece; it is one of Kurtag’s most important works and one of his most difficult.  People describe it as part song cycle and part autobiography.  Based on my own survey of the piece and Shmidt’s assessment, “Fragments” is daunting for musicians and listeners.  Saturday’s performance may end up as one of the best concerts so far this year.

Mikhail Shmidt discusses Kafka Fragments from gatheringnote on Vimeo.

Following on TGN’s successful live blog of “Drums Along the Pacific,” I will be live blogging “Kafka Fragments.”  “Fragments” is well suited for live blogging.  Songs tend to be short, many lasting less than a minute.  Perfect for snap judgments and short bursts of commentary.

If you can’t attend the performance of “Kafka Fragments,” do the next best thing and check out the live blog on the Live Blogs page.  Closer to the event, I will set up a dedicated post where you can follow the live blog.

Information for the concert can be found at http://www.ontheboards.org

Review: Ancestors of the Guitar

By Lorin Wilkerson

In a concert entitled ‘The Ancestors of the Guitar,” Portland lutenist/guitarist Hideki Yamaya presented an insightful look into three early instruments on Friday night, January 29th at the Little Church in NE Portland. Despite a delayed start as the artist waited for latecomers (there was a mistake in The Oregonian directing listeners to the Old Church downtown), the small hall was nearly full as Yamaya played several sets, first on the vihuela, then on a Renaissance lute, and finally a Baroque guitar. Throughout the performance Yamaya put the intimate setting to good use, taking time to set the works in their historical and social contexts, frequently interpolating vignettes on the evolution of the guitar and other plucked string instruments.

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Review: Matt Haimovitz plays the Tractor Tavern

He played the jazz composer David Sanford’s “7th Avenue Kaddish,” which Haimovitz commissioned after the 9/11 attacks: he described the piece as a hybrid between a sax and a cantor as the buildings collapsed, inspired by Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme.” He played another Canadian composer, Gilles Tremblay, who uses microtonal music (“so if it sounds like I’m playing out of tune—he asks for that”), Eastern-inspired, in his “Threnody for Lebanon.” Steven Stucky’s “Dialoghi,” inspired by Italy, written for one of Haimovitz’s students, wandered through Lutoslawski territory, concluding in a beautiful finale.

The audience applause that burst out when the first encore began just shows the power of the hit tune you’ve been waiting all evening for: the prelude from Bach’s first cello suite, followed by the allemande from Bach’s 6th suite. The need to remember where home is touches even the most adventurous programmer, and even his most enthusiastic fans.

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.