Last night (Tuesday) at the Old Church I had the great fortune to attend one of the most mind-blowing performances I’ve ever seen. The violinist was the Oregon Symphony’s (and Arnica Quartet’s) own Shin-young Kwon, and she played, in one concert, all of the six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27 by the great violin
Yes, the 2011-2012 Oregon Symphony season is about to start. Wednesday morning marks our first rehearsal of the season, working on the repertoire for Thursday’s Waterfront Concert downtown. The Portland Youth Philharmonic under David Hattner is our opening act (they always sound terrific) at 5 pm, and the OSO takes the stage at 7 pm.
Many of you who live in the Portland metro area have heard the terrible news that our retiring bassoonist, Robert Naglee’s, grandson Michael was mauled and killed by a family dog, on the eve of his first birthday. It is the kind of news that leaves one speechless, and in mute horror. All of us
Tchaikovsky Competition winner Sergey Antonov plays the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto tonight with the Astoria Festival Orchestra under Keith Clark. The concert takes place in the historic Liberty Theatre in downtown Astoria at 7:30 p.m. tonight.
The Calder Quartet – lately of Los Angeles (by way of LA, NYC, and Berlin) – is doing a residency in Portland which will culminate in their performances for Portland Friends of Chamber Music on Monday, March 14th and Tuesday, March 15th (7:30 p.m. both nights) at Portland State University’s Lincoln Performance Hall.
Portland’s Third Angle New Music Ensemble will be presenting the first concert of its 2010-2011 season on Thursday and Friday evening at PSU’s newly-renovated Lincoln Hall Room 75. Music of Tan Dun, Tomas Svoboda and George Crumb will be featured. [link] When: Thursday, November 11, 2010 – 7:30 PM Friday, November 12, 2010 – 7:30
This past week has been slow for the Oregon Symphony, but I’ve been quite busy with rehearsing and performing with 45th Parallel, one of Portland’s newest chamber music collaborations, now in its second year. It was especially nice to get the chance to work musicians with whom I haven’t had the chance to share the
If you’re looking for a way to keep cool and hear some great music this evening, head on down to the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall to see the Oregon Bach Festival presenting Mendelssohn’s Elijah tonight at 7:30 p.m. Highlights? The phenomenal OBF chorus, and two exceptional singers: baritone Thomas Quasthoff, and alto Roxanna Constantinescu. And,
Want to get your viol on? Or get a bit of the ultra viol-ence? The Viola da Gamba Society of America is having their 48th Annual Conclave in Forest Grove this summer (see info below), and they will be offering a free class for local residence and guests of conclave participants during the week of
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
[Justin Kagan, cellist and coffee roaster extraordinaire, was at the Itzhak Perlman recital Tuesday evening - the following is his exclusive review. - C.N.] AN INFORMAL “REVIEW” OF ITZHAK PERLMAN RECITAL @ THE SCHNITZ 4-27-2010 Since my esteemed friends and colleagues of the OSO were doing yeoman’s work in Salem (four straight nights of Tchaik
With the local news all a-buzz about the red-tailed hawk chicks hatching in downtown Portland, I thought that a bird of another feather might appreciate a moment in the limited lime-light that this blog is able to provide. I present to you “Bird”, a peacock who lives near the Badbeard Roastery off of Johnson Creek