Arguably one of the great violists of the 20th/21st century, Kim Kashkashian has made many critically-acclaimed recordings (almost all on ECM New Series) of both the standard repertoire and new works, many written especially for her. Born in Detroit, she was a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Md., but ended up spending much of her early career in Europe, teaching at several music schools in Germany (Freiburg and Berlin) for years. Luckily for American violists and music lovers, she recently returned to the US to take a position at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Mass.

I was fortunate to take part in a week-long master course with Ms. Kashkashian in 1993 at the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh, England. It was a great experience, and one of the most profound and concentrate periods of musical learning that I’ve experienced - the results of which I’m still processing to this day.

There’s a great interview/performance program that aired on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday today - click here to take a listen. It’s centered around her recent ECM recording release: Asturiana.  It’s an excellent recording that I do own, and I’d recommend it highly.

Thanks to B. Moran for the tip.

The Seattle Times’ classical music critic Melinda Bargreen reports on the bizarre classical music news that occurred around the world in 2007. Unfortunately (and am I sensing a pattern here?) she neglected to mention a couple items from her own backyard: [Read more →]

John Terauds, the classical music critic for the Toronto Star, writes in a recent column that younger audiences are turned off by crossover efforts, and just want the “straight stuff”. [Read more →]

David Stabler

David Stabler, the classical music critic of the Oregonian newspaper, has listed his top classical music happenings of 2007. [Read more →]

An article that I’d heard about but not read until today - it’s in this week’s Seattle Weekly, and ostensibly it’s a review (by the excellent writer/critic Gavin Borchert) of the Chiara Quartet’s concerts in two completely different Seattle venues: Meany Hall and the Tractor Tavern. [Read more →]

This is the review that did it for me - New York Times music critic Anthony Tommasini fairly wetting himself over the Philharmonic debut of conductor it-boy of this decade, Gustavo Dudamel. [Read more →]

Douglas McLennan has written a very interesting blog entry about his take on the state of the fine arts in this country, which might include the fact that classical music and/or the fine arts might be the next mass cultural phenomenon. Far fetched? Maybe, but his decidedly non “the sky is falling” approach to the subject is laudable and encouraging. A brief sample:

In 1950 there was only one full time orchestra in America. In 1965, there were only three state arts commissions. Now there are 18 full 52-week orchestras, and more than 3,000 arts commissions at the local and state levels. The 1990s were the biggest expansion of arts activity in American history; we went on a construction binge, building more than $25 billion worth of new museums, theatres, concert halls and cultural centers. Since 1990, almost one-third of all American museums have expanded their facilities. Major American museums such as the Met and the Museum of Modern Art are now so crowded the experience of visiting them has degraded.

I just ran across this story from the Salt Lake Tribune about the possible succession of Keith Lockhart as music director of the Utah Symphony by their former principal conductor Pavel Kogan. Kogan was also a candidate for music director here in Oregon, but Carlos Kalmar was chosen instead. [Read more →]

UPDATE: Oregonian music critic David Stabler gives his expanded list of Poets/Scientist conductors here.

Last night we played our second of four iterations of the Classical 6 program (three in Portland and a run-out to Salem on Tuesday night) under the direction of Finnish guest conductor Hannu Lintu. I was recently reading another blog which explored the nature vs. nurture conundrum in the area of young musical talent, and was struck by a similar dichotomy in the world of symphonic conductors.

It seems that there are (at least amongst the talented few in this field) two basic types of conductors: The Poet and The Scientist. Many conductors start out as The Scientist, but end up in their old age as The Poet. Some stay at either end of the spectrum for their entire career. Examples? I’d say that Herbert von Karajan started out as The Scientist and ended up as The Poet. If you’ve heard his amazing recording of Strauss’ Death and Transfiguration and Metamorphosen, you know what I mean. Pierre Boulez has been and ever shall be The Scientist. And Carlo Maria Giulini (a violist, natch) was born as The Poet.

Our guest conductor this week, Hannu Lintu, is decidedly The Poet. Everything about him is lyrical. His long arms flap sometimes to indeterminate effect if you’re looking for where beat three is, but you know where the phrase is going, and what the underlying emotion of the entire movement should be. I had suspected that Lintu was The Poet last time he came here, when he spoke of Sibelius and his love of the swans outside his home on the edge of the forest, and of the great “swan theme” that emerges from the depths in his Fifth Symphony. Now I am certain of it. He seems to be a deep thinker, perhaps prone to melancholy, but with flashes of impish humor - just like the composer whom he understands so well, Jean Sibelius. A most interesting conductor who I hope we will see again and again over the years.

By contrast, Carlos Kalmar, our music director, seems very much to be The Scientist - but I can see The Poet trying to take control every now and then. He’ll be very interesting to watch down the road about 20 years. His repertoire will be vast, his control of an orchestra will be beyond conscious thought, and he will have learned to let the reins down a bit more and reap the enormous rewards that bit of freedom will bring forth from the right orchestra. Don’t get me wrong - I very much admire the control and intricacy of how Carlos dissects familiar pieces, giving them new life. I also like the clarity and knowledge that he brings to new works, either from centuries past or from our own time. His musical intellect is really like a powerful laser, able to find minute changes in balance and tempo that produce remarkable new interpretations.

But I also like to play my heart out, and that’s what I’ve been doing this week.

Oregonian classical music critic David Stabler has posted his list of 10 guest artists that he’d like to see at the Oregon Symphony.  It’s a good list - I’d add Jonathan Biss, pianist; Tabea Zimmerman, violist (I know, I know…); Janine Jansen, violinist; and Daniel Barenboim, conductor/pianist, among others…