Spring is in full bloom around Seattle, from the University of Washington’s famed cherry trees to the patches of tulips poking up in home gardens around town. With these seasonal transitions come musical changes as well; local ensembles and concert venues look towards warmer weather this month with music of growth, rebirth, and summer sunshine.
April 8 — Trio con Brio Copenhagen performs as part of the UW World Series. Comprised of two Korean sisters and a Danish pianist, the ensemble performs classics by Beethoven and Mendelssohn as well as a piece by Danish composer Per Nørgård.
April 11 – 19 — Pacific Northwest Ballet‘s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream combines Mendelssohn’s beloved score with gorgeous choreography by 20th century master George Balanchine. PNB completes the magic with whimsical pastel-hued sets and costumes.
April 12 — A Russian composer of Jewish heritage, Maximilian Steinberg completed his 1927 choral masterpiece Passion Week just before Stalin’s ban on religious music went into effect. As a result, the piece was never performed. Choral ensemble Cappella Romana sheds light on this lost work with world premiere performances in Portland (April 11) and Seattle (April 12).
April 20 — Portland Cello Project rolls into town with the folk singers of the Alialujah Choir, a fellow Oregonian ensemble. The cellists and vocalists bring an eclectic mix of tunes to the stage at the Triple Door.
April 22 — Cellist Joshua Roman is back in town with a new program of musical gems for Town Hall audiences. The Town Music series artistic director is joined by Lithuanian pianist Andrius Zlabys for music by Stravinsky, Schnittke, and others.
April 24 & 26 — Seattle Symphony concertmaster Alexander Velinzon takes the stage for Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D Major. Afterwards, the spotlight shifts to the symphony in Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra.
April 26 — Guest harpsichordist Alexander Weimann leads the Seattle Baroque Orchestra in “Delirio Amoroso”, a program that explores George Frideric Handel’s visit to Rome. Hear Italian music of the early 18th century alongside pieces the young Handel composed during his stay in the capitol.
April 29 — Intrepid violinist Hilary Hahn has covered vast musical territory in her career, from Baroque sonatas to contemporary composers. HerUW World Series solo recital features a medley of works by Mozart, Schubert, Schoenberg, Telemann, and others.
Ludovic Morlot at Opening Night at Seattle Symphony, 2011 (Photo: Ben VanHouten)
Seattle Symphony showcased the talents of one of their own this past weekend, featuring principal cellist Efe Baltacıgil in a performance of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B Minor. A bustling Thursday night crowd at Benaroya Hall greeted the charismatic cellist, who has won many fans among Seattle audiences since his arrival in 2011. Though the Dvořák concerto seemed to be the highlight of the evening for many symphony-goers, the March 27 concert included two 20th century gems: Claude Debussy’s La Mer (“The Sea”) and Edgard Varèse’s Déserts.
Premiered in 1896, Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B Minor remains a favorite among audiences for its memorable themes and wide range of musical colors. Like many of the composer’s other works, the piece draws inspiration from folk tunes of Dvořák’s native Bohemia (part of today’s Czech Republic). Full of appealing melodies and exciting exchanges between orchestra and soloist, the concerto has plenty to offer for new listeners and seasoned fans alike.
Cellist Efe Baltacıgil (Photo: Christian Steiner)
This interplay between cello and orchestra makes Dvořák’s concerto the perfect work for Baltacıgil. A skilled chamber musician, the cellist blended well with the orchestra on Thursday evening. At times, the performance felt like an intimate conversation between Baltacıgil, Morlot, and the symphony. I particularly enjoyed Baltacıgil’s numerous duets with flutist Christie Reside throughout the concerto’s three movements.
Baltacıgil also knows how to take a good melody and make it sing. His lyrical solo passages in the first movement oozed tenderness, while tumultuous sections of the third movement were full of passion. The piece’s second movement balanced between the two, equal parts sweet and stormy. Although he looked quite exhausted at times, Baltacıgil handled the quick transitions between emotions with finesse.
Any signs of tiredness disappeared at the start of the third movement, the most exciting and energetic of the three. Baltacıgil tucked in eagerly, like a schoolboy reaching for a second slice of cake. He kept the energy building all the way up to Dvorak’s deliciously drawn-out finale, bringing the audience to its feet as the last notes faded.
The second half of the program featured two 20th century pieces inspired by natural environments. Varèse’s Déserts was written after the composer visited New Mexico, while Debussy’s La Mer commemorates the composer’s love of the ocean. Speaking from the stage to introduce the two works, Morlot emphasized the power of both pieces to evoke the sensory of experience of these natural environments. “They were inspired by the same journey…by the memory of being in those landscapes.”
An innovator constantly in search of new musical timbres, Varèse was one of the first composers to experiment with electronic sounds. Déserts was one of the products of his tinkering. In its original form, the piece alternated between snippets of electronic tape and music performed by a chamber orchestra of percussion, piano, woodwinds, and brass. Though Thursday’s concert featured a later version without the tape, it’s easy to imagine the work’s jagged melodic snippets and clusters of percussion juxtaposed with early electronic sounds.
Though Déserts is abstract, lacking any suggestion of a melodic theme, it doesn’t take a huge leap of the imagination to envision the desert’s stark landscape in the piece’s collection of sounds. Percussion plays a primary role in the work, which requires a veritable army percussion instruments, from woodblocks and chimes to gongs, timpani, and a dozen drums of all sizes.
It was a treat to watch Seattle Symphony’s team of percussionists in action, briskly moving between instruments across Benaroya’s vast stage. A gigantic metal sheet made a shimmering sound when struck, evoking wavering mirages tucked in the desert’s heat waves. Snare drums positioned across the stage from each other traded volleys of taps and patters. Meanwhile, reedy woodwind notes wove between majestic columns of brass sound, which towered overhead like stone monoliths.
Like the ever-changing ocean it depicts, Debussy’s La Mer is restless, shifting through a spectrum of moods and vivid musical imagery. This is a piece that’s meant to be experienced live. Under Morlot’s baton, Debussy’s music leapt to life, full of joyous energy, with melodies and colors flowing across the stage and through the auditorium.
La Mer unfolds slowly with a first movement that evokes a morning on the open sea. Snippets of melodies are heard as the ocean awakens. Particularly tantalizing were brief solo passages by concertmaster Alexander Velinzon and English hornist Stefan Farkas. Morlot and the orchestra emphasized Debussy’s unusual rhythmic patterns, evoking frolicking waves illuminated by sunbeams peeking through the clouds.
Full of quicksilver scales and chromatic runs, the second movement showcased the Seattle Symphony’s string section. Emphatic harp plucks and swooping passages accompanied the swirling string melodies. The excitement reached its peak in the third movement, which depicts the clash of wind and water. Under Morlot’s direction, I could both see and hear Debussy’s waves rippling through the orchestra from section to section.
Seattle Symphony continues the concert season with Carl Orff’s 1936 masterpiece for orchestra and chorus, Carmina Burana. The work’s famous “O Fortuna” movement has been used in countless films and TV shows. The symphony presents three performances of Carmina Burana this week from April 3 – 6.
On March 29, new music blends with video art, literature, and drama at Wallingford’s Chapel Performance Space. Hosted by contemporary music collective The Box is Empty, this multimedia event features world premieres by two composers, local favorite Nat Evans and New York-based Leaha Maria Villarreal. Both are known for compositions that blend live acoustic music with other elements, from electronic and recorded sounds to video and spoken texts. For Saturday’s concert, the Evans and Villarreal will be joined by video artists Erin Elyse Burns and Rodrigo Valenzuela, whose work accompanies the musical performances.
Composer Leaha Maria Villarreal
Founded in 2011 by conductor Jeremiah Cawley, The Box is Empty provides a platform for composers to collaborate, share ideas, and present their work. The Box is Empty has produced several performances around Seattle, from a multi-composer showcase at the Century Ballroom to individual composer spotlights at the Chapel Performance Space. The Chapel’s intimate stage, a longtime hub for the local music and performance art community, provides an ideal setting for Saturday’s concert.
Currently pursing graduate studies in musical composition at New York University, Villarreal has developed a growing presence in New York’s burgeoning new music scene. She’s co-founder and artistic director of Hotel Elefant, a chamber ensemble dedicated to performing works by living composers. Villarreal’s compositions draw inspiration from literature and visual art, often combining acoustic and electronics elements. Saturday’s concert features several of her pieces for strings, including “The Bell for Waking/The Bell for Sleep“, premiered by the JACK Quartet in 2012.
Inspired by Samuel Beckett’s 1961 play Happy Days, “The Bell for Waking/The Bell for Sleep” is named for the mysterious tone that controls the daily routine of the play’s protagonist. Like many of Villarreal’s works, the piece reflects on notions of home, loss, and memory. Saturday’s performance of “The Bell for Waking/The Bell for Sleep” will be accompanied by a new video work by Erin Elyse Burns.
Composer Nat Evans (Photo: Erin Elyse Burns)
The natural world, particularly the ecological environment of the Pacific Northwest, plays a large role Evans’ compositions. Many of his works are written with specific locations in mind and are intended to be performed outdoors, in the settings that inspired their creation. Other pieces incorporate field recordings collected by Evans during his travels through the region’s wilderness areas.
At Saturday’s concert, Evans debuts “More Comfort”, created in collaboration with writer Chelsea Werner-Jatzke and a group of visual artists. The resulting multimedia composition explores the evolving relationship between technology and the individuals it connects, examining the ways that devices such as televisions and mobile phones are changing the fundamental nature of human communication. Evans’ work blends the sounds of a live chamber ensemble with field recordings, snippets of spoken text, and a series of video pieces by Rodrigo Valenzuela.
Saturday’s performance will be Evans’ last concert in Seattle for awhile. In late April, he embarks on a 5-month collaborative residency on the Pacific Crest Trail, which spans the West Coast from the Mexican border to Canada. During his journey, Evans plans to work on a new composition and make field recordings along different segments of the trail. As he travels up the West Coast, he’ll mail his recordings to fellow composers in California, Oregon, and Washington. These collaborators will each compose a musical response. Together with Evans’ piece, these compositions form a musical account of Evans’ journey and the diverse ecological habitats he encounters along the trail.
Anchored by the ongoing Wayward Music Series, the Chapel Performance Space hosts a diverse variety of performances and events each month. Other upcoming concerts include a program of water-inspired music by Doug Wieselman on April 3, and an April 11 appearance by the GRID ensemble, performing music from the silent film Metropolis.
The Esoterics and founding director Eric Banks (Photo: The Esoterics)
Vast and mysterious, calming and perilous, the ocean has been a source of inspiration for cultures around the world and a rich topic for generations of poets and musicians. This weekend, local choral ensemble The Esoterics celebrates the many moods of the sea with Oceana, a selection of contemporary vocal works spanning several continents. The group’s mini-tour of the Seattle area began on Friday, March 7 with a performance at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Laurelhurst. Performances continue on March 8 with a stop at Capitol Hill’s St. Joseph Catholic Church and conclude on March 9 at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in West Seattle.
Oceana is the first of The Esoterics’ series of “choral ecologies”, concert programs that feature music inspired by natural forces. Upcoming installments in the series include Sylvana, music of the forest, and Aetheria, music of the air. A portion of the proceeds of each performance will go to a non-profit organization working to conserve our natural resources. For Oceana, The Esoterics has chosen Splash, a local group working to provide sustainable sources of clean water to children in developing regions.
It’s no surprise that The Esoterics have been regulars at St. Joseph and Holy Rosary for years; both churches are extraordinarily friendly spaces for contemporary choral music, featuring acoustics that highlight layered harmonies and complex rhythms. This season sees The Esoterics branching out, adding St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church to their stable of venues. Friday’s concert marked the ensemble’s debut performance at St. Stephen’s, located on a quiet residential street in the Laurelhurst neighborhood.
With its steeply pitched roof and warm interior, the church provided an intimate and inviting atmosphere for the nuanced works on the program. Poised against the backdrop of St. Stephen’s beautiful floor-to-ceiling pipe organ, the choir’s 32 voices sounded exceptionally clear and close despite my seat halfway across the long sanctuary.
Known for exciting performances that blend technical mastery with musical drama and emotional depth, The Esoterics were in their element at Friday’s performance, whisking the small crowd away on an exploration of the ocean’s many moods, from calm waters to stormy seas. Nowhere was this more evident than in These oceans vast, founding director Eric Banks’ musical setting of nautical poems by Herman Melville.
Literary legend Melville was an experienced seafarer, his maritime voyages providing the fodder for a large collection of poetry as well as his classic novel Moby Dick. Banks’ These oceans vast arranges six of Melville’s poems in a loose narrative describing a journey through uncharted waters to faraway lands. Commissioned by San Francisco-based choral ensemble Clerestory, the 2012 work captures the spirit of Melville’s text with distinctive rhythms, harmonies, and layered vocal effects. Originally composed for an all-male choir, Banks has since adapted the work for The Esoterics.
Full of rich imagery, the first three movements of These oceans vast show Banks flexing his compositional muscles. In the work’s first movement, “The land of love”, we’re transported dockside with swaggering shouts of “Hail! voyagers, hail!” The rhythmic cries eventually evolve into an accompaniment for the rest of the movement, which extols the virtues of the sea. The voyage continues with “The ledges of danger”, a sailor’s prayer which splits the choir between panicked chanting and sonorous calm. Though jarring at first, the rhythmic and harmonic lurching of “The uttermost rim” eventually coalesced into a convincing interpretation of a rowdy sea shanty, complete with a harmonious chord to accompany the final chorus of “fill up and drink”.
The rest of These oceans vast turns to the introspective, featuring a series of beautiful rising melodies in the fourth movement (“The last outpost”) and fine solo performances by Christine Bell, Elliot Kraber, Kurt Kruckeberg, and Whitney Wishart in the fifth movement (“The lagoons unruffled”). After weathering a harmonic storm, the work concludes with the joy of landfall, though soft chants of the word “sleep” suggest that we might still be adrift, dreaming of land. As Banks’ first commissioned work, These oceans vast is quite an accomplishment, showcasing the composer’s capacity for writing that engages both performers and audience.
English composer Richard Rodney Bennett’s Sea change honors the work of three legendary British poets: Edmund Spenser, Andrew Marvell, and William Shakespeare. These three literary giants paint a picture of the sea as a powerful force full of mysterious isles and hungry sea monsters. Bennett’s experience with jazz and film scores is evident in the four-part Sea change, which injects the old poems with fresh musical character.
The Esoterics brought Bennett’s work to life, from the spooky confusion of Shakespeare’s “The isle is full of noises” (from The Tempest) to the roars and growls of “The waves come rolling”, a verse about sea monsters from Spenser’s 16th century epic The Faerie Queene. The ensemble seemed to relish Bennett’s challenging setting of Spenser’s text. Sung in indeterminate pitch, the piece teeters between unity and cacophony, with lots of fun monster noises in between. It’s a light-hearted romp, but Banks and the ensemble take the piece’s technical challenges seriously, keeping the performance from descending into pure silliness.
Two haunting works from opposite ends of the globe rounded out the evening. In Gösta Nystrœm’s Tre havsvisioner (“Three sea visions”) the Swedish composer reflects on his longtime love for the ocean with a trio of meditative songs based on poetry by fellow Scandinavians. Opening with soft chants that evoke gently rolling waves, Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov’s “Coral del arrecife” (“The coral of the reef”) honors the riches of the ocean, from bright corals to precious sea salt. The brief piece, with text by Pablo Neruda, forms the final movement of Oceana, Golijov’s 1996 masterpiece for orchestra and chorus. It’s a powerful work in its original form, but The Esoterics’ rendition sans orchestra brings extra intimacy to Golijov’s gem of a piece.
The Esoterics perform the Oceana program again on March 8 in Capitol Hill and on March 9 in West Seattle.
Let music whisk you around the world this month! March’s concert offerings combine Western classical favorites with musical traditions from around the world. Experience traditional Vietnamese instruments, a collection of works by Swedish composers, and contemporary dance from Taiwan, among others. Happy travels!
Mar. 6 – 8 — Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan visits Seattle for the first time as part of the UW World Series. The contemporary dance company performs founder Lin Hwai-min’s Songs of the Wanderers, danced on an eye-opening set containing millions of grains of rice.
Mar. 7 – 9 — Hear contemporary choral music inspired by lakes, rivers, and oceans performed in three locations around Seattle. The Esoterics sing works by Osvaldo Golijov, Gösta Nystroem, founding director Eric Banks, and others, with performances in the University District, Capitol Hill, and West Seattle.
Mar. 14 – 23 — An annual favorite, Pacific Northwest Ballet‘s Director’s Choice brings together a different program of short works each year. 2014’s production highlights modern and contemporary pieces by female choreographers as well as a world premiere by Chicago-based Alejandro Cerrudo.
Mar. 15 — New York’s JACK Quartet takes the UW World Series by storm with two back-to-back performances. The string quartet’s “early show” features new music by UW composers Juan Pampin and Richard Karpen. At the “late show”, JACK will be joined by UW musicians for a program of improvised works.
Mar. 16 — Baroque stars align for a concert of gems by French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau. Local harpsichord luminary Byron Schenkman will be joined by violinist Ingrid Matthews and Elisabeth Reed on viola da gamba for this intimate program at Benaroya Hall’s Nordstrom Recital Hall.
Mar. 21 — Seattle Symphony‘s annual Celebrate Asia concert brings together music and performers from a variety of cultural traditions. Local conductor Julia Tai leads the orchestra in works by Asian composers as well as a world premiere by Richard Karpen that showcases traditional Vietnamese instruments.
Mar. 23 — Head to the Nordic Heritage Museum for the monthly “Mostly Nordic” series, featuring composers and musicians of Scandinavia. After each performance, audience members are treated to a Nordic smorgasbord feast. For March’s concert, Swedish violinist Karl-Ove Mannberg performs music of his homeland alongside tango favorites by Astor Piazzolla.
Mar. 27 & 29 — Seattle Symphony principal cellist Efe Baltacıgil performs Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with the orchestra. Also on the program are Ravel’s La mer (“The Sea”) and Edgard Varèse’s 1954 work Déserts.
Mar. 29 — Irish-born conductor Kevin Mallon directs the Seattle Baroque Orchestra in a program of Bach cantatas for the Lent and Easter season. Mallon’s visit to Seattle is part of SBO’s search for a new music director, a process which has brought a host of internationally-known conductors to the city this season.
For those on the go during the holidays, Choral Arts‘ annual Christmas concert provides an tiny oasis of calm during December’s hustle and bustle. The choir’s hour-long program, sung with no breaks between pieces, is perfectly tailored to busy holiday schedules. The first of two performances of this yuletide program, the December 14th concert at First Hill’s Trinity Church drew a crowd that filled most of the church’s central pews, making for a cozy atmosphere. A second performance was held the next night at the roomier Capitol Hill’s St. Joseph’s.
Robert Bode, Artistic Director of Choral Arts (Photo: Choral Arts)
Ranging from medieval chant to contemporary carols, the medley of choral gems sparkled in Trinity’s intimate space. Despite the emphasis on meditative works that invite reflection and relaxation, the hour seemed to fly by, smoothly flowing from one tune to the next. At the helm, Artistic Director Robert Bode tied the program together with clear conducting and careful pacing. As a final touch, Bode and the ensemble wrapped each piece up with a perfectly-executed conclusion, final chords hanging in the air for just a moment before fading away. This is an ensemble that has mastered art of the juicy ending.
A small ensemble with the sound of a large choir, the 26-voice Choral Arts can do it all, from the rollicking Stephen Foster tune “Hard Times Come Again No More” to Robert Young’s setting of “In the Bleak Midwinter.” While the former flowed with the ease of a hearty pub shanty, filling the Trinity sanctuary, the latter unfolded with the steady pace of footsteps in newly-fallen snow. As the ensemble sung of the frosty morning of the first Christmas, the atmosphere seemed to grow more peaceful and intimate with each stanza.
Two highlights of the program were tiny masterpiece that would be poignant at any time of year. Full of shifting vocal textures, Francis Poulenc’s “Hodie Christus Natus Est” blends unusual harmonies with moving countermelodies in the men’s voices. Jake Runestad‘s “Nada te Turbe” combines staggered melodies passed between sections of the choir with accompaniment that evokes gently rolling waves. The 27-year-old Runestad has already received commissions from ensembles around the country. It’s worth keeping an eye on this young composer as his career unfolds in the coming years.
This year’s concert saw the return of guest guitarist Robert McCafferey-Lent, who performed a series of instrumental interludes and accompanied the ensemble on several pieces. McCafferey-Lent’s mix of gentle guitar melodies and carol excerpts provided an elegant bridge between vocal works. A former Choral Arts singer, the classical and Irish folk guitarist has plenty of experience in blending with a choir. His sensitive accompaniment colored Rick Asher’s “Psallite”, which alternates between peaceful and upbeat sections, and the 16th century chant “O Magnum Mysterium”, sung with tenderness by soprano Rebekah Gilmore.
The hour of music ended with a little bit of audience participation during two classic carols, “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” and “Silent Night”. Bode turned around to conduct the crowd as the sanctuary filled with singing voices, an uplifting conclusion to one of Seattle’s most contemplative and peaceful holiday concert traditions. For those who missed this year’s “Christmas with Choral Arts,” head over to Seattle radio station KING FM’s Soundcloud page, where a streaming recording of the program is available.
Bode and the singers of Choral Arts have a busy schedule in 2014. In March, they’ll sing Brahms’ notoriously difficult “Ein Deutsches Requiem” as part of the University of Washington’s Brahms Symposium. They’ll follow that performance with a program of world folk music in May.
