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BY BILL
SMITH
243-2122 ext.310
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Timeline
1970
Helmuth Rilling establishes the Oregon Bach Festival
in Eugene.
1971
Chamber Music Northwest is established.
1980
James DePriest becomes music director of the Oregon
Symphony.
1981
Lajos Balogh conducts his first outdoor concert here.
1984
The symphony moves from Civic Auditorium to the newly
renovated Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
1984
Symphony players' pay scale goes up as they move from
part-time to full-time.
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FOCUS
ON:
Lajos
Balogh
Conductor-educator Lajos Balogh was born in Hungary
and moved to Portland in 1967. In addition to sharing
an incredible physical resemblance to Albert Einstein
(whom he has portrayed in several television commercials),
Balogh is one of the city's patron saints of music
education. He teaches at Marylhurst College and is
founder of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony and the
Portland Festival Symphony. He was also principal
second violinist with the Oregon Symphony for 25 years.
Balogh has touched the lives of thousands through
his teaching and performances, and he recently sat
down with us to examine the musical health of the
region.
ON ORGANIZATIONS:
"When I first came, there
was the symphony and opera and also Portland Chamber
Orchestra and a couple good university orchestras
like Lewis & Clark and Marylhurst. Then something
like an explosion took place in the 1970s. I read
someplace, regarding the European Renaissance, that
where there is a vacuum, that's when people turn to
the arts. Now there are the Vancouver, Columbia and
Beaverton symphonies, youth orchestras like Metropolitan
Youth Symphony, and new music groups Third Angle and
Fear No Music. The Bach Festival with director Helmuth
Rilling is academic but accessible. Chamber Music
Northwest brings musicians from New York. There are
others like Cascade Festival in Bend, Cascade Head
Festival at Coos Bay, and Britt Festival in Jacksonville
that are offering music for the entire state."
ON EDUCATION:
"Did you know 75 percent of CEOs
grew up playing music and that the most powerful man
in the world, Alan Greenspan, went to Juilliard and
studied trumpet? Endless studies show how important
music is to a child's development. If you try to do
what the Oregon Symphony does with fortysomethings,
it's too late. You have to start young. We have some
good school programs--Salem in particular. But in
Portland Public Schools, one by one, programs have
been scratched over the years. It's a question of
priorities. Why is it schools will have a good stadium
but no good auditorium? If a school has both, that
is my definition of a balanced education. The Metropolitan
Youth Symphony, which I started in 1974, now has 400
members playing in seven performing groups! These
students have toured in Germany, Japan and the British
Isles to wonderful receptions."
ON ECONOMICS:
"There have always been many
talented musicians here, but it takes community support
to have these people succeed and earn a decent living.
When I joined the Oregon Symphony in 1970, it was
essentially what the opera is today--a part-time job,
playing at night, while we taught or worked in some
other capacity during the day. We did it because the
symphony was something like a love affair for us.
The most important change occurred 15 years ago when
the pay scale increased, and though we're not at a
level of the major symphonies like New York, Philadelphia
or Chicago, we are comparable to Seattle."
ON AUDIENCES:
"Portland audiences are very
informal. Yet still I speak with some who are intimidated
by going to a concert. I was speaking with a plumber
doing work at my home, and though he listened to classical
music, he had never gone to a performance. He did
not like to [makes a gesture of tying a tie].
I told him this wasn't necessary, that he should go
and see a Sunday afternoon concert. After a performance
two months later, a man waved at me; it was him. 'I
made it,' he said. It's not just about serving the
people who have the money but also about making classical
music a democratic issue. This is why I started the
summer park concerts in 1981. The Oregon Symphony
is now doing these as well. At the Grant Park concert,
I have been handing out toy instruments to the children
for the past six years, and then I conduct them. This
year I handed out over 200 instruments! Anything that
increases the music's democratization is good."
ON PROGRAMMING:
"I remember speaking with Bill
Naito after a performance of a modern piece, and he
said, 'I don't care for this music. I go home and
I just want it out of my head. But the Tchaikovsky
Fifth, now that I hummed all the way home.'
This is what you are up against. If the orchestra
loves a piece, though it may be unknown, the audience
will be moved. There was an orchestra I used to be
a part of in Cannon Beach and we played only new music
at every concert. And the audience liked it. My colleagues
at Oregon Symphony are open to all kinds of music.
Though some composers may be played once, never to
be heard from again, that is OK. For 100 years, Bach
was not played and was largely forgotten. There are
those composers in every era like Bach who will survive
the test of time. This is why we must have groups
like Third Angle and Fear No Music to present new
music. Otherwise we will stand still."
ON THE FUTURE:
"There are those who say that
classical music cannot survive and that it is a dinosaur
that no longer has any pull. That is simply not true.
If it is a dinosaur, then I like to see living dinosaurs.
Music is something to unite people, and I can foresee
the global-village concept and the various ethnic
musics converging with classical--like Bartók's
use of the folk melody. Like [Portland composer] Tomas
Svoboda; I think he's very good and accessible. Like
my son Béla's band, 3 Leg Torso. It has energy
and people like it. That's how you create the new.
I am not concerned at all. We'll find some really
interesting music."
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Listings
Peter Phillips and the Tudor Choir
Phillips and his
Tallis Scholars do to English Renaissance choral music what
art restorationists do to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel--they
polish up the old liturgical polyphony and bring the music
to life for a new century of admirers. As director, Phillips
has earned a place alongside Paul Hillier, Andrew Parrott
and Harry Christophers as one of the greatest Renaissance
choral directors of our time. Here the Oxford native will
work with Seattle's 6-year-old Tudor Choir, presenting works
by, among others, the holy trinity of English Tudor music--
Taverner, Tallis and Byrd. From Taverner's lush, six-voice
Quemadmodum to Tallis' exultant Gaude Gloriosa,
this is music to raise high the roof beams.
St. Mary's Cathedral, 1716 NW Davis St., 228-4397. 8
pm Sunday, Sept. 19. $12-$18.
Jon Rose and the Chaotic Violin
Though not quite
the spectacle of last year's Philip Glass-Robert Wilson
three-dimensional opera Monsters of Grace, Portland
Institute for Contemporary Art's presentation of the futuristic
music of violinist Jon Rose is no less inventive. For the
past 20 years, Rose has been obsessed with an ongoing project
called "The Relative Violin"-- a painstaking and progressive
examination of all sounds "violin." Through the use of interactive
electronics, major design innovations and environmental
performance techniques, Rose has brought the stodgy old
instrument of wood and guts into the 21st century. If you're
interested in computer enhancement with the new frontiers
of instrumental music, this solo performance should offer
the sounds of tomorrow.
Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd. 242-1419. 8 pm
Wednesday, Sept. 29. $13-$16.
Reinhard Goebel and Portland Baroque Orchestra
Goebel
is the guiding light behind Germany's Musica Antiqua Köln,
a rabble-rousing ensemble of period-instrument players with
a penchant for shaking up the Baroque repertoire and trying
on new composers in the old wardrobe. He joins kindred spirits
Monica Huggett and the PBO in resurrecting some of the lost
names of the era--Pisendel, W.F. Bach, Veracini--and in
showing that there is still much sweet music to be mined
in the Baroque vein. Goebel will direct the PBO in the Overture
in G Major by Johann David Heinichen, the little-known court
composer whose Dresden Concerti was recorded by Goebel
and Musica Antiqua Köln in 1993 to international acclaim.
Heinichen's music, like Telemann's, which is also on the
program, is bright and stately with percolating melodies
that lace in and out through glorious ensemble passages
of vigor and verve. Equally rare and no less special are
the Sinfonias of Tomaso Albinoni. It's a perfect kickoff
to the usual Baroque magic of a PBO season and a great opportunity
to hear another of period music's young lions roar.
Kaul Auditorium, Reed College, 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd.,
222-6000.
8 pm Friday-Saturday, 3 pm Sunday, Oct. 15-17. $13-$33.
Kathleen Battle in Recital
The Oregon Symphony's
"Special Events" programs are often popularity contests
more interested in big-name draw and kitsch tie-ins than
in daring presentations or musical adventurousness. But
this year a stunning vocalist "battles" her way onto the
schedule. Not so long ago, Ms. Battle was persona non
grata in the opera world after the Metropolitan Opera
dropped the young diva from its roster. The nation's largest
opera company complained the star was taking the role of
prima donna too far with irrational demands and tantrums
more befitting a 2-year-old than a professional singer.
It was an unprecedented move signaling the end of a pretentious
era, and it tapped the brakes on Battle's booming opera
career. Despite her fall from grace, though, the singer's
artistry has never wavered. Possessing one of the finest
soprano voices, she is equally at home in gospel as in coloratura.
Battle has shown incredible moxie in how she's conducted
herself since her drop kick, and she now deserves to be
heard and not judged.
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 248-4335.
7:30 pm Saturday, Oct. 16. $25-$93.75.
Third Angle Music Ensemble
In the first concert of
its 1999-2000 "New Voices/New Visions" season, the city's
premier proponent of new music presents the first of two
full concerts of music by Northwest composers. Entitled
Views from Cascadia I, the program introduces commissions
by Ghanaian master drummer and Portland resident Obo Addy,
Dine' Navaho vocalist Arlie Neskahi, pan-Asian specialist
Robert Kyr and Far North musician John Luther. In its eclecticism,
it is a typical Third Angle event, yet it also highlights
just why the organization has been so consistently successful
with its programming. Artistic director Jeff Peyton and
company have made a tradition of championing the contemporary
American composer and allowing works to be heard that may
otherwise not find an audience. Here "American" takes on
its truest form, eschewing the normal Eurocentrist definition
and celebrating the musical influences of the country's
indigenous people and those of African and Asian descent.
Other "New Voices/New Visions" concerts include Views
from Cascadia II in January, a March performance of
Astor Piazzolla's Tango Opera Maria de Buenos Aires,
a May concert of works by New Romantic composers and the
final concert of the season devoted exclusively to the chamber
music of Roy Harris.
Beall Concert Hall, University of Oregon, Eugene, 331-0301.
8 pm Friday, Nov. 19. $10-$20.
St. Philip Neri Church, Southeast 18th Avenue and Division
Street, 331-0301.
8 pm Saturday, Nov. 20. $10-$20.
Portland Youth Philharmonic's Concert-at-Christmas
America's
oldest youth orchestra has become an essential institution
to the cultural life of Portland. PYP offers a quality musical
apprenticeship for young musicians, many of whom go on to
play in the nation's leading orchestras. Music director
Huw Edwards offers a typically challenging season of concerts
that highlight the various components of PYP, but the Christmas
concert offers the best potpourri. With performances by
the Philharmonic, Conservatory and Alumni orchestras and
the Young String Ensemble, the performance will showcase
the tremendous breadth of the organization's activities.
And to highlight the eclecticism of the programming, Edwards
has selected works by Bridge, Copland, Strauss, Sullivan
and Verdi.
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 223-5939.
7:30 pm Sunday, Dec. 26. $6-$10.
Ivan Moravec
Choosing just one concert from PSU's
Piano Recital Series is almost like picking a flavor at
Baskin Robbins--it's sheer frustration trying to decide.
This season's series offers exciting virtuosi in abundance,
with recitals by Kemal Gekic, Ann Schein, Jon Kimura Parker,
Barry Douglas, Edward Auer and Yuri Rozum. However, there
is one pianist in particular who stands out. The term "legendary"
is deserved by very few, and Ivan Moravec has earned the
title through 40 years of subtle and illuminating recordings
and performances. Immersing himself in only a handful of
composers, the Czech pianist has become expert in their
works, developing technically stunning and highly personalized
interpretations (and reinterpretations). He is perhaps the
finest Chopin interpreter alive, and fans of the great Polish
composer's dazzling piano works shouldn't miss Sunday's
all-Chopin recital of the 24 Preludes, seven Nocturnes and
Ballade No. 1. Saturday's program repeats the Preludes and
offers Mozart's Rondo in D major, Fantasy in c minor and
Sonata No. 13.
Portland State University, Lincoln Hall, 1620 SW Park
Ave., 725-3307.
8 pm Saturday, 4 pm Sunday, Jan. 8-9, 2000. $12-$22.
Tokyo String Quartet
Friends of Chamber Music celebrates
its 61st year of presenting concerts in Portland, and once
again the organization has planned an excellent season.
As with the PSU Piano Series, it's really too hard to choose
a favorite. However, the Tokyo String Quartet continually
achieves such a high standard of technical excellence and
musical telepathy that it's a safe pick. The Tokyo Quartet
has been playing together for 20 years and is equally at
home with the classical (Haydn, Mozart) or modern (Britten,
Takemitsu). Whether tackling Shostakovich or Beethoven (they'll
do both in Portland), the quartet members play like four
individual cars of a fast-moving train, negotiating tonal
turns and rhythmic bumps like a well-oiled machine.
Portland State University, Lincoln Hall, 1620 SW Park
Ave., 224-9842.
8 pm Monday-Tuesday, Jan. 24-25. Tickets prices to be announced.
Chamber Music Northwest
In the tradition of this
summer's "Landmarks of the 20th Century" concerts, music
director David Shifrin brings CMNW alumni Ida Kavafian,
Peter Wiley and Anne-Marie McDermott back for a program
of modern French classics. The pairings and textures of
the choices are always what's most rewarding about CMNW
performances. Here Poulenc's Sonata for Clarinet and Piano
is matched with Ravel's Sonata for Violin and Cello, the
former's sinuous beauty with the latter's rhythmic interplay.
Olivier Messiaen's prison camp journal, Quartet for the
End of Time, reflects the pathos of war and the eerie
transcendence of deliverance. Like all of the composer's
work, there's overt Christian mysticism in the piece, but
somehow the music manages to speak across religious lines,
implying the timelessness of Zen in its pensive sorrow.
Kaul Auditorium, Reed College, 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd.,
294-6400.
8 pm Saturday, Feb. 5, 2000. $5-$29.
Oregon Repertory Singers: World Music 2000
ORS has
two other fine programs in its 1999-2000 season in Haydn's
thunderous Creation Oratorio and a diverse settings
of "The Magnificat" in its Christmas program. However, this
tribute to the past 1,000 years of choral music is so ambitious
it deserves a pick for effort alone. Artistic director Gil
Seeley has planned a progressive look at the choral tradition
from chant to the world premiere of a choral work by composer
Robert Kyr and Oregon poet Kim Stafford. (Kyr is also featured
in Third Angle's season, which should earn him Northwest
Composer of the Year honors.) The first half of the program
is devoted to the European tradition, and the second half
concentrates on works from West Africa, the South Pacific
and Latin America. A thousand years is quite a stretch,
so the concert, if successful, will be the choral equivalent
of a no-hitter.
Kaul Auditorium, Reed College, 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd.,
230-0652.
8 pm Saturday, 2 pm Sunday, March 11-12, 2000.
St. Philip Neri Church, Southeast 18th Avenue and Division
Street, 230-0652.
8 pm Monday, March 13, 2000. Ticket prices to be announced.
Cunning Little Vixen
It isn't often that you can slap on the "fun for the whole
family" tag and not feel like a sleazy Disney executive.
If you're looking for grand opera and elephants, go to season
opener Aida. However, if a sense of magic and great
music are what you look for in opera, Portland Opera's Y2K
production of Leos Janácek's The Cunning Little
Vixen just may be that rare thing that bridges great
art and good fun. The company did a masterful job with 1998's
production of the Czech composer's tragic Jenufa
and has always been better with the comedic repertoire (The
Love for Three Oranges, The Barber of Seville).
Janácek's music is powerfully lyrical yet filled
with enough sharp edges to keep you guessing. The forest
locale and woodland characters with their human traits (the
"vixen" of the title is literally a fox) make for good,
bawdy fun. Britain's Keith Warner returns to direct, and
his in-town reputation's a good one after imaginative renderings
of Carmen and Tosca. Although I generally
don't go for English libretto translations, I sympathize
with the difficulty in finding a Czech cast.
Civic Auditorium, 1500 SW 3rd Ave., 241-1802. Saturday,
Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, Mar. 25-April 1, 2000. Ticket
prices to be announced.
Portland Symphonic Choir's St. John Passion
Though
Bach's setting of The St. Matthew Passion may be
performed more, his St. John Passion has always had
a greater impact on me. This Easter drama--with Jesus, Pilate
and the Evangelist as the major players--perfectly captures
the tension and tragedy of the events leading to the crucifixion.
But with Bach, of course, the arias pulse with the saturation
of history, and the choruses explode with the exultant foreshadowing
of the resurrection. Bruce Browne and the Portland Symphonic
Choir will get a good warm-up for this performance with
the November presentation of Mozart's Mass in C Minor. The
choir is the city's finest for attacking the massive choruses
of Bach and Handel, and it is comfortably at home with the
athletics of the Baroque repertoire.
Kaul Auditorium, Reed College, 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd.,
223-1217.
8 pm Saturday, 3 pm Sunday, April 8-9. $13-$16.
Reflections of the Past
At the end of the 1999-2000
season, John Trudeau is stepping down as artistic director
of the Columbia Symphony Orchestra. In his 14 years, Trudeau
has built the orchestra into a valuable community institution.
His programming has been adventurous, and he has consistently
highlighted young performers of the region, giving them
the valuable public experience of soloing with a full orchestra
before an audience. As founder of the Peter Britt Festival
in Jacksonville, he successfully developed one of the premier
summer festivals in the Northwest. This performance, featuring
works by Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Alfvén will
be his last conducting the CSO. Adam Flatt, Huw Edwards,
Travis Hatton and Keith Clark are all guest-conducting the
orchestra this season while we await the announcement of
who takes the helm.
United Methodist Church, 1505 SW 18th Ave., 525-2977.
8 pm Friday, April 28, 2000. $12-$15.
Oregon Symphony and Portland Symphonic Choir's Alexander
Nevsky
When an orchestra is overwhelmingly engaged
in music-making, the intention and personality of the composer
emerge most strongly. James DePreist and the Oregon Symphony
are at their best when exploring the music of rhythmically
powerful composers--Mahler, Prokofiev, Shostakovich--and
most engaged when the entire program is of a whole without
the jumping back and forth that the normal let's-please-everyone
symphonic program enforces. Here you have both--two powerful
works by two of the century's most individual composers
taken back to back. To have been in a Soviet cinema for
the premiere of Eisenstein's Alexander Nevsky, with
Prokofiev's score crashing and crescendoing behind the images,
would have been as close to Judgment Day (with chorus included)
as you'd want to get. Prokofiev's Nevsky shows the
potential of film music as real drama and not the bland,
kitsch "excitement" of John Williams. Much has been made
of Shostakovich's cynical wit, and he certainly thumbed
his musical nose at Soviet authority. However, underlying
all of this was his inherent fear of retaliation, and his
Symphony No. 9--with all its humor--stings with the tragicomedy
of the noble Soviet experiment gone horribly wrong.
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 228-1353.
7:30 pm Friday-Saturday, Monday, May 19-22, 2000.
$25.
Pick
Portland Opera's Aida
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Willamette Week | originally
published September 15,
1999
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