Tag Archives: cellos

Arts & Entertainment, Music

An Eclectic Easter With the Portland Cello Project

Portland Cello Project (Photo: Jason Quigley)
Portland Cello Project (Photo: Jason Quigley)

Portland Cello Project knows how to rock. They also know how to jazz, to funk, to rap, and to classical. It seems like there isn’t a musical genre that hasn’t been lovingly remixed by this roving band of cellists. Since 2007, the dozen-or-so musicians of PCP (as they’re lovingly called by members and fans) have pursued their mission to to boldly go where no cello has gone before, from rock clubs and art galleries to sports arenas and dive bars.

The ensemble’s adventurous arrangements and cello-playing chops have won them legions of fans in the Portland area and beyond. After wowing Seattle audiences in 2013 with an eclectic mix of Beck, Bach, and Brubeck, the band returned to the Triple Door on April 20 for an Easter Sunday concert. They were joined by the Alialujah Choir, a band of fellow Portlanders who blend folk-inspired tunes with layered vocal harmonies.

Alialujah Choir (Photo: Tarina Westlund)

In true PCP spirit, Sunday’s program had something for everyone. Hits by Radiohead, Kanye West, Beck, and Fleet Foxes figured prominently, along with fallen hometown hero Elliott Smith. A nod to the cello’s classical roots came in the form of Rossini’s William Tell Overture and a tribute to British choral composer John Tavener. The ensemble’s take on Dave Brubeck’s “Blue Rondo à la Turk” was one of the most interesting arrangements of the evening, the ensemble tossing Brubeck’s energetic piano theme from cellist to cellist.

Sunday’s concert was performed by six of the ensemble’s rotating group of cellists, all fine players at the top of their game. I was impressed by the quality of PCP’s arrangements, which utilize the full range of the cello and often play with timbre in clever ways. Their arrangement of Tavener’s “The Lamb” brought a buoyant quality to the solemn choral piece, shedding a new light on the Easter-appropriate work. In contrast, the arrangement of the theme from Princess Mononoke echoed the film score to a tee, evoking the soaring string melody of the original.

The six cellists received support on some songs from a backup band of drums, bass, trumpet, and keyboard. Though the rhythm section added a lot of energy to the ensemble, the songs with drums and bass guitar sounded muddled and too busy. The reverb on the bass guitar drowned out the nuanced cello arrangements in some of the more rocking tunes like Radiohead’s “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” and Beck’s “Paper Tiger”. A jazzy cello solo in Brubeck’s “Blue Rondo à la Turk” was barely audible amidst accompaniment from the other cellists as well as the backup band.

Vocalist Patti King also joined the cellists for a few numbers. She quickly became a crowd favorite, drawing cheers for her performances of Radiohead, Beck, and her own original song, “My Arrow”. PCP and King joined forces for a couple of numbers from Beck’s Song Reader, the artist’s 2012 album that was released only in sheet music format. The wry “Last Night You Were a Dream” was full of charm, with King’s sunny vocals floating over cello harmonies.

Not surprisingly, PCP sounds best when focusing on what its members know best: The cello and its vast musical capabilities. My favorite piece of the evening was “Denmark”, an original work written for the ensemble by composer and founding member Gideon Freudmann. A tentative pizzicato phrase kicks off the tune, transforming into a countermelody as the layers of the piece slowly unfold, revealing an elegant theme that’s passed around the group. It’s a short, relatively simple little piece, but “Denmark” goes far in showcasing the range and versatility of the cello ensemble.

In the spirit of Portland-flavored DIY, Sunday’s program was a true community effort, bringing together arrangements by different members of the band. With a repertoire of over 800 songs, it’s easy to believe that no two PCP shows are alike. I appreciated the opportunity to hear from each of the six cellists during their Triple Door performance, whether it be in the form of a solo passage or through a piece they arranged.

Alialujah Choir opened the evening with a brief set. With one band member missing due to illness, guitarist Adam Shearer and pianist Meredith Adelaide struggled to impart fullness to the group’s brand of wistful folk tunes. Their efforts were valiant indeed, with the pair’s lovely vocal harmonies floating in perfect balance with intertwining instrumentals. However, without the harmonizing power of the full band, the typically-rich songs felt a little hollow and repetitive after the first few numbers.

Keep an eye on Alialujah Choir for a chance to catch them in full force and health. They’ll be touring Oregon, Idaho, and the Southwest with Blitzen Trapper this fall.

Arts & Entertainment, Music

Joshua Roman’s All-Star Cello Extravaganza Rolls Into Town Hall

Joshua Roman and an all-cello ensemble perform music by Mason Bates, Richard Strauss, Astor Piazzolla, Hector Villa-Lobos, Arvo Pärt, and Led Zeppelin at Town Hall Seattle on Tuesday, June 19, 2012, at 7:30 p.m.

Cellist Joshua Roman has been making waves in Seattle since 2006, when he was named principal cellist of the Seattle Symphony. After a two-year tenure with the Symphony, Roman left to pursue a solo career, but has remained a strong force in the local classical music scene. As artistic director of Town Hall’s popular TownMusic concert series, he’s brought innovative classical music programming to Seattle audiences, with a special focus on new music and emerging artists.

The 2011-12 TownMusic season concludes this Tuesday with an all-star cello concert featuring Roman and seven prominent local cellists. The diverse program spans centuries and genres, including Strauss art songs, Piazzolla tangos, and a Led Zeppelin cover arranged by Roman himself. Performances feature a variety of cello ensembles, ranging from solo cellist to cello octet.

Joshua Roman (Photo: Tina Su)

The highlight of the evening will be the world premiere of a work for solo cello by composer Mason Bates, continuing the TownMusic tradition of premiering a commissioned work at the final concert of each season. An acclaimed performer, composer, and DJ, Bates is taking the classical music world by storm with his unique blend of orchestral and electronic sounds.

Roman plans to carry TownMusic’s winning blend of ambitious programming, exciting new works, and emerging talent into the upcoming 2012-13 season. “Next season will retain the diversity of style and era that has been showcased in previous seasons, but with a few twists,” he said, writing from Nova Scotia, where he recently completed a two-week residence at the Scotia Festival of Music. “There will be familiar faces as well as some new ones that we’re excited to introduce to Seattle.”

Although next season’s lineup won’t be revealed until Tuesday’s concert, Roman hinted at the surprises in store. “We’re adding the element of humor. It’s something which we can all relate to, and is often overlooked during our pursuit of the ‘seriousness’ in music.”

TownMusic’s owes much of its success to Roman’s fresh perspective on classical music. To him, it’s a continually evolving art form that honors the past while adapting to the current cultural climate. “If you really look at the history of classical music over the last few centuries, rather than just the last 50-60 years, you see that one of its biggest strengths has been the ability to adapt to cultural changes and needs. Sometimes ahead of the curve, and sometimes with a bit of a lag, but always changing.”

This viewpoint has inspired him in the choices he’s made with TownMusic. The series offers something for everyone, from world-class performances of chamber music favorites to genre-blending new works inspired by rock, pop, electronica, and jazz. Often, music representing these two extremes appears in the same concert program.

Roman emphasizes the importance of experimentation in his role as TownMusic artistic director. “There is a way of thinking that is ‘this is how it’s been done, and so it should always be done this way’, but I think that is an unproductive mode to be in. These days, as orchestras are trying new things every season, its easy to see the need for flexibility as a presenter.”

The concept of flexibility extends to Roman’s view of himself as a performer. “I think we need to be adapting more as musicians. The era of recording changed the game and brought new levels of technical proficiency and competition to all corners of the music world, but in the pursuit of ‘perfection’ some important musical elements can become undervalued. Great musicians of the past wrote, played, and presented music, even if they were better at one than the others.”

Roman stresses the importance of these skills to today’s classical musicians. “In my own experience, writing music has helped me understand more of how a composer might think, and therefore enhanced my interpretations and ability to focus on the ‘what’ and ‘how’ in music, not just try to hit each note perfectly.”

Tuesday’s concert perfectly embodies Roman’s philosophy of musical flexibility, incorporating his talents as a performer, arranger, and concert presenter. Though he will be performing as a soloist, Roman is also enthusiastic about his role as a collaborative musician. “I’ve chosen some points during the concert to highlight the other cellists in the core quartet, so I’ll get to play ‘second fiddle’ on several of the pieces, something I’m really looking forward to.”

The concert isn’t just an opportunity to grow musically. For Roman, it’s a labor of love. “(It’s) something I have wanted to put on at Town Hall Seattle for a few years now,” he said. The concert pays tribute to the cello, showcasing what Roman describes as “its inherent range of expressivity, color, and sexiness”. “The cello is not only a unique voice, but a versatile one, so the repertoire was chosen to reflect this ability to be vocal, to be rhythmic, to be ethereal, and to rock out.”

Roman relishes this opportunity to collaborate with others who share his passion for the cello. Among the cellists joining him on stage are several Seattle Symphony members, including current principal cellist Efe Baltacigil. It’ll be a veritable Seattle cello family reunion. “It is a great joy to work with colleagues you haven’t seen in awhile. Cellists tend to be a cool bunch of musicians to hang with!”

Arts & Entertainment, Music

What’s Better Than Seven Cellos? Eight Cellos

If you’ve never before heard a host of cellos playing together, you’d be astonished at the thrill of the sound, so rich and reverberant, so exciting. Such was my first reaction to the sound of six cellos playing a movement from a Vivaldi concerto for two cellos with four others taking the roles of violins, viola, and accompanying cello.  Downstairs at Town Hall on Friday night, it was the opening work on a program for eight cellos and one soprano presented by Simple Measures.

This lively organization, the brainchild of cellist Rajan Krishnaswami and now in its seventh year, aims to make classical music accessible, unalarming, and fun for all sorts of people including children, whether they know much about the genre or not. He gathers small groups of excellent musicians, performs with them wearing casual dress in unusual music venues like Mt. Baker Community Club or Q Café, and talks with the audience, not lecturing but having a discussion about the music. Usually the first half is short pieces or single movements which may relate to each other, and the second half is a full-length work.

Friday’s cello grouping is uncommon. It may have been that which drew the biggest audience Simple Measures has ever had, judging by the show of hands of cello-lovers in the hall, or maybe the centrality and space of the venue and ease of parking, or maybe because of the program’s big draw, the Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 of Brazilian composer Villa-Lobos. Composed for eight cellos and a soprano, we rarely get a chance to hear this extraordinary work live, particularly with, as here, accomplished professional musicians and an equally accomplished singer.
It was the culminating highlight of a fun concert. The programming had been put together with a deft hand, and the musical points were mentioned lightly in introductions as chairs were rearranged.

The first half included a Gigue from one of the Bach Cello Suites, paired with a Toccata from a George Crumb sonata for solo cello, showing the three-century differences but also Crumb’s debt to Bach, plus a lively movement from a sonata for two cellos by the 18th century-cello virtuoso Boccherini, a delightful Bacchanalia supposedly by Chopin and arranged for three cellos, and a mystery work which was instantly recognizable to the audience who loved it, Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” despite an overlong and somewhat dull performance.

The most arresting works came as the concert continued, with Golijov’s Lua Descolorida for soprano and string quartet played as written by four cellos, a fine arrangement of Faure’s Pavane for four instruments by cellist Chuck Jacot, and Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1, composed for a cello orchestra and here played with eight, preceding the final tour de force.

The Pavane made an excellent choice for arrangement, with cello sonorities blooming in this stately work, and Villa-Lobos created in his first Bachianas Brasileiras a work poetical, declamatory and fast. Best of all were the two works with soprano Terri Richter, a past Seattle Opera Young Artist whose voice has developed to a warm purity perfect for this kind of music.

The Golijov, described enigmatically by the composer as “a slow motion ride on a cosmic horse” opens with long melismatic phrases in the voice, with the vocal line then remaining separate from a slow, gently moving, harmonic accompaniment. It’s one of those works where exact pitch sense is crucial, and Richter achieved it effortlessly, her whole range to the highest notes easy and clear and almost without vibrato as is needed here.

Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 is deservedly famous for the beautiful antigenicantilena with which it starts over soft, plucked strings, and then for the fast rhythmic second half with its imitations of bird song, if you listen carefully.

It was a treat to hear this live in a well rehearsed, satisfying performance with the right type of voice. Kudos go not only to Richter, a perfect choice for this, but to the eight cellists: Krishnaswami himself, Theresa Benshoof, Roberta Hansen Downey, Virginia Dziekonski, Eric Gaenslen, Chuck Jacot, Page Smith, and Brian Wharton. By the looks of it, they were enjoying themselves as much as the audience.