Most of the students in the area are now on their spring break, and the Oregon Symphony has joined them. Just in the nick of time, as I was in danger of being spring broken. I was up in Seattle with cellist Heather Blackburn, violinist Shin-young Kwon, and pianist Cary Lewis performing a program of French chamber music for the Camerata Northwest series. The concert was held at the excellent Good Shepherd Center Chapel – one of the gem venues for chamber music performances in Seattle. Word was that there are no evening performance slots left for the rest of 2009. Pretty amazing!
Heather and Shin led off with the Sonata for Violin and Cello by Maurice Ravel, one of the masterpieces of the duo repertoire (not to mention the chamber music genre as a whole). Cary and I then played the Elegy by Henri Vieuxtemps, a lovely but treacherous piece that shows more of the virtuosic (hopefully) side of the viola. After a brief intermission, all four of us played the rarely-heard Piano Quartet of Camille Saint-Saëns. The audience was small (it was a dry, early Spring Saturday), but appreciative, and our presenter, John Scanlon, was gracious and supportive.
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