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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
In the video interview I conducted with Christopher Seaman a few days ago, his final answer to a question I posed, was obscured somewhat by a “fade” between clips. I uploaded the full answer, without any obstructing special effects. This should sate the interested.
By: R.M. Campbell
The Seattle Symphony Orchestra entered into its holiday season Thursday night at Benaroya Hall with a varied, easy–to-like concert, only some of which had any bearing to Christmas. No one seemed to complain.
That is not surprising because the guest conductor for this program, to be repeated through Sunday afternoon, was Christoper Seaman, who conducted with flair and ebullience for everything on the podium. If this music were supposed to bring simple pleasure to the audience, Seaman was determined to carry out his assignment. The seasonal offerings were mostly of Tchaikovsky, one which has become a part of the Christmas weeks nearly everywhere in America and the other which has nothing to do with Christmas.
Continue reading Seaman conducts an energetic program Thursday
December is here and the holiday concert season has begun. Tomorrow Christopher Seaman leads the Seattle Symphony in a concert which resembles a prolonged encore. Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky Korsakov, Dukas, and Humperdink are all represented on the program. On Friday, Renee Fleming performs a recital at Benaroya Hall. Fleming is one of opera’s reigning divas. Her performances routinely sell out in these parts. In Wallingford, on the same night, local violinist James Garlick and pianist Judith Cohen, perform a hefty recital of Ives, Debussy, Bartok, Corigliano, and Bach. Garlick told me over coffee at Fuel a few weeks ago, he was inspired to play the Ives second sonata after reading through the piece this past summer with pianist and Ives aficionado Jeremy Denk. This weekend, Seattle Pro Musica performs their holiday concert – Eastern Lights – on the 5th. There is another performance on the 12th. George Shangrow and Orchestra Seattle trot out their Messiah on Sunday the 6th. Currently OSSCS is leading in the “best Messiah” poll. Shangrow doesn’t cut, trim, or abridge any of Handel’s music. Every note is played. This makes Orchestra Seattle’s Messiah the longest in the region. Also on Sunday Opus 7 will perform Heaven on High, a concert featuring two early choral pieces by Mendelssohn and Rautavaara’s Canticum Mariae Virginis.
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