Now that the symphony’s season is over, there’s no reason to despair! No, in fact, there are many reasons to be happy, for there are myriad opportunities to hear live classical music nearly all summer long here in Portland and surrounding areas. Starting in just a couple of weeks is the Astoria Music Festival (June
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
I’m once again back in PDX, and pretty tired from a busy two weeks at the Sunriver Music Festival. Rachel Barton Pine There was some early drama as Andre Watts was forced to cancel due to health problems, and a last minute replacement was found in the person of Rachel Barton Pine, the wonderful violinist
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Here’s a great article by David Brewster about the much-respected and financially secure Chamber Music Northwest from the online journal Crosscut. Here’s the opening:  If Seattle is a bright beacon flashing out its grandness, Portland is a bushel basket, under which well-kept secrets gleam. My favorite example is Portland’s Chamber Music Northwest summer festival, now
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
One of my favorite music bloggers, the pianist Jeremy Denk, made quite a splash at the Portland International Piano Festival this past weekend – click here for a complete review by Oregonian classical music critic David Stabler. Here’s the lead-in: Many piano concerts are like trips to the shopping mall: safe, predictable excursions with a
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
As I noted in my last post, I’ve been performing and teaching this past week. I was taking part in a string camp that I, along with my then teacher Joyce Ramée, founded back in 1990. With two exceptions (to attend the Tanglewood Music Center in 1994-1995) I’ve taught and performed at the institute every
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Well, the Sunriver festival is now history for this year. It was a good run, very enjoyable in many ways. It was nice to have some time to hike (Newberry Crater trail) and bike (the 40 miles of bike paths in Sunriver) and just hang out with my friends and colleagues in the orchestra. The
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
This past Friday (11 August) I was pleased to give my first public performance of the Martinu Rhapsody-Concerto with the Sunriver Festival Orchestra and conductor Lawrence Leighton Smith. I was quite happy with how it went (unusual for me, as those who know me well can attest), especially for a first time, and for it
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
We’re back for just an overnight at home, then it’s off to Sunriver for some chamber orchestra action. The Methow Festival went very well. There were more than a few communication and logistical snafus, but given that Artistic Director and Pianist Lisa Bergman had to leave for Seattle during the middle of rehearsals due to
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Well, my time at the XXXIVth Int’l Viola Congress has come to an end. It was a wonderful couple days for me in the middle of the schedule of the Congress. I played the world premiere of Dorothy Chang‘s Streams for solo viola Friday morning at around 10:00 a.m. I think I represented the piece
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
