After my relatively short post about Tuesday evening’s chamber music version of the ENDAC concert, I decided that some sort of more detailed recap might be informative to those who weren’t there, and provoke some feedback from those who were.<\/p>\n
There were a few changes in the lineup due to unavoidable absences of key musicians, but the concert was largely left intact.\u00c2\u00a0 The concert led off with Benjamin Britten’s Fanfare for St. Edmundsbury<\/em>, which was, true to form for Britten, not your grandfather’s trumpet fanfare.\u00c2\u00a0 More meditative than triumphant, it gave our three fabulous trumpeters a chance to show their lyrical as well as staccato chops to good effect.\u00c2\u00a0 The newest member of the trio, Micah Wilkinson, played superbly and he’s a most welcome addition to the brass section.<\/p>\n The Mozart Adagio & Fugue<\/em> for String Quartet was the first of two all-string groups to play Tuesday evening, and the Mozart was an interesting and seldom-heard work, heavily influenced by JS Bach.\u00c2\u00a0 I often wonder if Beethoven got his inspiration for his famed Grosse Fuga from this piece, with its extreme (for its time) chromaticism and violent fugal counterpoint.\u00c2\u00a0 Shin-young Kwon and Fumino Ando played violin, I played viola, and Heather Blackburn was the cellist.<\/p>\n Principal violist Jo\u00c3\u00abl Belgique made his Chinese opera gong debut (!) in Chen Yi’s Yangko<\/em> for violin and percussion.\u00c2\u00a0 All three parts also called for vocalizing sounds and Mandarin words, and all parts were handled deftly and with subtlety.\u00c2\u00a0 Ron Blessinger was the violinist, Niel DePonte the other percussionist.<\/p>\n Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Assobio a Jato<\/em> (The Jet Whistle) followed, played with passion and commitment by OSO Assistant principal flutist Alicia DiDonato Paulsen and Principal cellist Nancy Ives.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s such an unusual pairing, but it gave both players a chance to shine.\u00c2\u00a0 In case you might have been wondering about the title, the breathy glissandi at the end of the piece were meant to evoke the sound of the jet engine, hence the title.<\/p>\n Filling out the first half of the concert was the second (and final) all-string work on the program, the last two movements of Mendelssohn’s youthful work of genius, the Octet<\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0 Concertmaster Jun Iwasaki, Assistant concertmaster Andrea Erin Furbee, In\u00c3\u00a9s Voglar and Keiko Araki were on violin; Jo\u00c3\u00abl Belgique and myself on viola; and Justin Kagan and Heather Blackburn on cello.<\/p>\n After intermission came the onslaught of all things wind and brass (with one notable exception).<\/p>\n A sparkling, virtuosic performance of Stravinsky’s Octet for Winds (mvts. 1, 2 & 3) had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, with so many great players to watch and enjoy, and with the characteristic wit of Stravinsky’s neo-Classic scores in full evidence.\u00c2\u00a0 Special praise is due to Principal bassoonist Carin Miller, bassoonist Evan Kuhlmann for their fleet finger work, and to trumpeters Micah Wilkinson and Jeffrey Work, who proved that the trumpet really is a musical instrument no matter what snobby string players might say.\u00c2\u00a0 Trombonists Aaron LaVere and Charles Reneau provided a great foundation and some deft passage-work throughout.\u00c2\u00a0 What a treat!<\/p>\n The evening’s injection of humor came courtesy of (who else?) the double bass and tuba.\u00c2\u00a0 Jason Schooler, Jeffrey Johnson and Tommy Thompson played virtuosic pranks on their instruments in Daryl Runswick’s Suite and Low<\/em> for double bass quartet.\u00c2\u00a0 J\u00c3\u00a1Ttik Clark provided some dazzling high notes on the tuba, and a great time was had by all.<\/p>\n As if the virtuosity of any of the wind players might have been in any doubt, the finale of the concert provided proof in spades.\u00c2\u00a0 Bassoonist Evan Kuhlmann wrote a dazzling arrangement of Richard Strauss’ Don Juan<\/em> for wind octet, and it was dispatched with apparent ease by all involved.\u00c2\u00a0 Everyone played their hearts out, and it was a bravura performance showcasing our world-class wind section.\u00c2\u00a0 Particularly good were the two french horns, played by Graham Kingsbury and Mary Grant, as well as the amazing key-work of bassoonists Carin Miller and Evan Kuhlmann (also conducting with his bassoon while playing), and the mellifluous lyrical playing of Principal oboe Martin Hebert and flutist Alicia DiDonato Paulsen.<\/p>\n Special notice must be given to the heroic efforts of Principal clarinetist Yoshinori Nakao and Assistant principal clarinetist Todd Kuhns, who filled in on very short notice for indisposed colleagues and still managed to play as if they’d been involved from the very beginning.<\/p>\n So, now my question to those of you who were in attendance:\u00c2\u00a0 did you like the chamber music format?\u00c2\u00a0 Is it something that you’d like to see once a season in the future?\u00c2\u00a0 Why or why not?\u00c2\u00a0 Comment below with your thoughts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After my relatively short post about Tuesday evening’s chamber music version of the ENDAC concert, I decided that some sort of more detailed recap might be informative to those who weren’t there, and provoke some feedback from those who were. There were a few changes in the lineup due to unavoidable absences of key musicians, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[148,136,115,2],"tags":[159,3668],"class_list":["post-2280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appreciations","category-chamber-music","category-music","category-the-orchestra-world","tag-concert","tag-oregon-symphony"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-AM","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6697,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2011\/07\/18\/schedule-snafu-cancels-chamber-music-nw-concert\/","url_meta":{"origin":2280,"position":0},"title":"schedule snafu cancels chamber music nw concert","author":"Charles Noble","date":"July 18, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"A scheduling conflict that slipped through the cracks has caused Chamber Music Northwest to cancel a sold-out concert featuring Christ Thile and Edgar Meyer slated for July 23. Ticket holders can get a full refund through CMNW. Via David Stabler.","rel":"","context":"In "chamber music"","block_context":{"text":"chamber music","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/chamber-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1815,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/02\/03\/brahms-chamber-concert\/","url_meta":{"origin":2280,"position":1},"title":"brahms chamber concert","author":"Charles Noble","date":"February 3, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Violinist Jonathan Dubay and cellist Gregory Dubay will give a concert of chamber music for strings and piano by Brahms with pianist Janet Guggenheim. It's a selection of some of Brahms' best works for strings - the A major Violin Sonata, the E minor Cello Sonata, and the Trio in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "cello"","block_context":{"text":"cello","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/instruments\/cello\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":638,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/01\/03\/pyp-chamber-concert-coming-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":2280,"position":2},"title":"pyp chamber concert coming up","author":"Charles Noble","date":"January 3, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Ingrid Arnett Community Relations Director (503) 223-5939, ingrid@portlandyouthphil.org America's first youth orchestra presents chamber music concert PORTLAND, OR - (January 3, 2008) Members of the Portland Youth Philharmonic, America's first youth orchestra, will present a CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERT on January 13, 2008 in the Portland Art\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "chamber music"","block_context":{"text":"chamber music","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/chamber-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2254,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/03\/25\/last-saturdays-french-chamber-music-concert\/","url_meta":{"origin":2280,"position":3},"title":"last saturday’s french chamber music concert","author":"Charles Noble","date":"March 25, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The seemingly tireless Zach Carstensen of The Gathering Note posted videos and commentary from our concert last weekend in Seattle.\u00c2\u00a0 Swing by and take a look, and be sure to look around the rest of the site - Zach has put together a team of some of the best arts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "appreciation"","block_context":{"text":"appreciation","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/appreciations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":737,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/02\/06\/chamber-concert-noon-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":2280,"position":4},"title":"chamber concert noon today","author":"Charles Noble","date":"February 6, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"If you've got time in your lunch hour for a quick concert of chamber music masterpieces, come on over to the Old Church (1422 SW 11th Ave) at Noon today to hear (mostly) members of the Oregon Symphony play music by Beethoven and Brahms.\u00c2\u00a0 Here's the line-up: Beethoven - Quartet\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "chamber music"","block_context":{"text":"chamber music","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/chamber-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"mol_brownbaglunch_big.jpg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/mol_brownbaglunch_big.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":909,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/04\/04\/jun-iwasaki-friend-concert-tonight\/","url_meta":{"origin":2280,"position":5},"title":"jun iwasaki & friends concert tonight","author":"Charles Noble","date":"April 4, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"An exciting concert will be presented this evening to endow the Naomi Blumberg Endowment Fund for Chamber Music Education at the Community Music Center. The concert features OSO concertmaster Jun Iwasaki, OSO musicians, and CMC students and alumni in a full evening of chamber music. The concert will feature the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "chamber music"","block_context":{"text":"chamber music","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/chamber-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jun Iwasaki and Friends","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/iwasaki-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/303"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2280\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}