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BY JAMES McQUILLEN
CAPPELLA ROMANA
Dedicated to largely obscure liturgical music of the Christian East
and West, Cappella Romana has exposed a devoted audience to the Byzantine,
the Baroque and beyond. Drawing from a pool that includes some of the
most talented choral singers in the Northwest, the choir maintains high
standards of performance and has presented some of the most memorable
concerts of recent years. It has sometimes had trouble mediating between
the demand for older (and generally more accessible) works and its mission
to present the new and unknown; the presentation of a lengthy new piece
by John Tavener two seasons ago put both singers and audience through
an auditory trial. Its season opener combines tried and true works by
Tchaikovsky (the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and the All-Night
Vigil, both of which it's performed before) with new compositions
by California composer Tikey Zes (a CD of whose music it'll be recording
in January).
ST. PHILIP NERI CHURCH, 2408 SE 16TH AVE., 236-8202. 8 PM SATURDAY,
SEPT. 19. $10-$15.
GASPING FOR AIR
There's some sort of weird synchronicity between Fear No Music 20th
Century Ensemble and Third Angle New Music Ensemble. Both give skillful
performances of intriguing modern works, both have made forays into
junkyard percussion, and both put together thoughtful programs of a
kind you won't hear elsewhere in the city. One is directed by a guy
named Jeff Payne, the other by a guy named Jeff Peyton. Even their phone
numbers are so alike I get them mixed up. This season, however, they're
a little easier to tell apart: While Third Angle is highlighting American
(i.e., United Statesian) music, Fear No Music is all over the map. The
world tour begins with a season opener of works from the Soviet Union
(remember them? Bad dressers, but boy, they had us scared). Subtitled
"Soviet Music from the Era of Repression and Censorship," a time frame
that allows for casting a pretty wide net, the program includes the
Trio in E minor of Shostakovich and pieces by Galina Ustvolskaya, Edison
Denisov, Tigran Mansurian and Arvo Pärt. None of Ustvolskaya's
21 compositions has been performed in Portland, but Payne describes
her Symphony No. 4 as "deeply spiritual, horribly bleak and pleading."
I can't wait.
THE OLD CHURCH, 335-3386. 8 PM FRIDAY, OCT. 2. TICKET PRICES TBA.
KRONOS QUARTET
Violinists David Harrington and John Sherba, violist Hank Dutt and
cellist Joan Jeanrenaud are officially the coolest classical musicians
working today; they look more like tough, seasoned rockers than conservatory-trained
string players. No ensemble has broken as much ground or bridged as
many disparate genres as they have. The four have performed more than
600 works in their quarter-century together, including 400 new string
quartets that they've commissioned and premiered, and the roster of
composers on their discography is as varied as a list of names randomly
chosen from Schwann's catalog. What do Astor Piazzolla, John Dowland,
Bo Diddley, Elliott Carter, Ornette Coleman, Hildegard von Bingen, Diamanda
Galás and Foday Musa Suso have in common? They've all composed
music recorded by Kronos. Their concert at Reed will feature works of
contemporary composers and selections from Early Music, the recent
recording that weds Pärt, Partch, Cage and Schnittke to Perotin,
Purcell, Kassia and Tye--and finds them beautifully compatible.
REED COLLEGE, KAUL AUDITORIUM, 3203 SE WOODSTOCK BLVD., 224-9842. 8
PM FRIDAY, OCT. 16. $28, $23 STUDENTS.
FINAL QUARTET
The multi-talented John Vergin speaks softly and keeps a low
profile, but if you've been a classical music fan in Portland for long,
you've heard of him. His compositions have been sung by Cappella Romana,
Cantores in Ecclesia and Choral Cross-ties, and he has also written
music for Classic Greek Theater. Audiences have gotten to know his warm,
firm baritone voice through his recitals and his appearances with many
local ensembles. His latest work is the chamber opera Final
Quartet, a piece for voices and piano about the lives of four aging
women. It's impossible to say just what it will sound like--Vergin covers
a lot of stylistic territory--but as a major work of a major local composer,
it will undoubtedly be worth hearing.
UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND, HUNT CENTER THEATER, 5000 N WILLAMETTE BLVD.,
771-7464. 8 PM FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16 & 17; 2 PM SUNDAY,
OCT. 18. $12-$16.
JOHN ADAMS CONDUCTS MOZART AND ADAMS
The Oregon Symphony is doing quite a lot of Mozart this year, which
is not necessarily a good thing. The orchestra is at its best in the
20th century; it can play Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Korngold with
real enthusiasm and verve, but with earlier music there's often a sense
that it's just not thrilled about it. It will be interesting to see
what composer John Adams will elicit from the musicians when he conducts
Mozart's Symphony No. 38 (the Prague). Even more interesting
will be his approach to his own Violin Concerto and "The Chairman Dances,"
from his opera Nixon in China. A good composer is not necessarily
a good conductor, any more than a good playwright is a good director,
but rarely does one get the chance to hear a composer address his own
work, particularly on this scale--and this is the kind of music that
one can see the symphony getting excited about.
ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL, 1037 SW BROADWAY, 228-1353. 7:30 PM
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, OCT. 17 & 18; 8 PM MONDAY, OCT. 19. $10.50-$63.
DIAMANDA GALAS
The voice of Diamanda Galás contains a vast world in which
sacred and profane, rock and chant, and poetry, rage and pain are wound
together in a flow of force in sound. Her work displays amazing vocal
versatility over a 31Ž2-octave range, alternating spoken
words with a mixture of keening and guttural sounds; the effect is eerie,
even terrifying, but it's also beautiful. Galás is a diva of
sorts, a woman whose instrument has an unmistakable, unavoidable presence
and who uses virtuosity in the service of intense, emotional immediacy.
Much of her work has focused on feminism and AIDS, but she's not an
"issues" artist; the title of her latest CD, Malediction and Prayer,
suggests a deeper purpose. She will perform selections from it, ranging
from settings of Baudelaire and Pasolini to songs of Son House and Johnny
Cash.
LA LUNA, 215 SE 9TH AVE., 242-1419. 8 PM WEDNESDAY, NOV. 4. $18.
ELIJAH
Berlin in the early 1840's was filled with hope, as Friedrich
Wilhelm IV ascended to the throne of Prussia promising wide-ranging
reforms including new facilities for the arts. Felix Mendelssohn moved
there in 1841 to head the musical portion of the reforms; three years
later, after widespread dissent throughout the country, he gave up his
work for the court in disappointment. He returned to a theme he had
considered earlier, the legend of the prophet Elijah, in his words,
"a real prophet through and through, of the kind we could really do
with today." The result was the magnificent, dramatic oratorio Elijah,
with which the Portland Symphonic Choir opens its season. The PSC is
the oldest and largest choral organization in the city; at 140 voices,
it will be one-fifth the size of the audience at Kaul Auditorium, and
that's without the orchestra. As the sound swells toward the finale,
it might even drown out the sound of Kaul's noisy bleachers.
REED COLLEGE, KAUL AUDITORIUM, 3203 SE WOODSTOCK BLVD., 223-1217. 8
PM SATURDAY, NOV. 14; 4 PM SUNDAY, NOV. 15. $12-$16.
THE AMERICAN FABRIC
Third Angle's Jeffrey Peyton has put together a remarkable set of
programs this year under the heading Reflections of the American
Century. The ambitious fin-de-siècle retrospective
encompasses a great diversity of works, from George Crumb's Black
Angels and Amy Beach's Piano Quintet in F sharp to John Cage's
The City Wears a Slouch Hat and Aaron Copland's opera The
Tender Land. The season begins with this program, subtitled Charles
Ives and the Birth of an American Music, a fitting introduction
to the variety, energy and individualism of 20th-century American music.
Ives was a fiercely intelligent man with a quick wit and an appreciation
of both folk and high culture. (In these respects, and because he worked
in insurance, he closely resembles his contemporary Wallace Stevens.)
His music is idiosyncratic, humorous and powerful, and Third Angle will
present a good sampling of it, including The Unanswered Question,
the String Quartet No. 2 and the Third Symphony (The Camp Meeting)
in its Oregon première.
REED COLLEGE, KAUL AUDITORIUM, 3203 SE WOODSTOCK BLVD., 331-0301. 8
PM SATURDAY, NOV. 21. TICKET PRICES TBA.
PORTLAND YOUTH PHILHARMONIC
America's first youth orchestra turns 75 this year. For three quarters
of a century it's been a fixture of the city's musical life and an important
part of the lives of its members, many of whom have gone on to join
such ensembles as the Oregon Symphony, the New York Philharmonic and
the Julliard String Quartet. Huw Edwards, its music director since 1995
(and only the third music director in the orchestra's history), has
chosen to celebrate the diamond anniversary musically, with a concert
that demonstrates the thoughtful, challenging programming that makes
PYP such a compelling group. The first half will consist of three very
different works written since the orchestra's founding: Shostakovich's
Festive Overture, Ligeti's Lontano and Barber's Violin
Concerto, Op. 14. The second half, in a tribute to PYP's past, will
be Beethoven's Fourth Symphony, the last symphony performed by the orchestra
with its first music director, Jacques Gershkovitch.
ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL, 1037 SW BROADWAY, 223-5939. 7:30 PM
SATURDAY, NOV. 21. $6-$25.
PORTLAND BAROQUE ORCHESTRA PLAYS BEETHOVEN
The PBO goes classical, or rather Classical, again, as fortepianist
Byron Schenkman joins the orchestra for its second Beethoven concert,
which will feature both the infrequently performed Eighth Symphony and
the First Piano Concerto. For the original-instrument ensemble to play
Beethoven is radical in the truest sense of the word--i.e., back to
the roots. It's a wonder that critics still debate whether this is appropriate;
the orchestras that premiered these works looked and sounded a good
deal more like the PBO than like the modern symphony. It's not a question
of historical recreation, like a pageant from colonial Williamsburg--it's
a matter of presenting Classical music in a smaller-scale, personal
way, rather than in late-19th-century guise. One hopes that the orchestra
will continue to explore this literature, fostering a realignment of
repertoire that would give listeners a fresh take on the Classical and
free the Oregon and Columbia Symphonies to do the later music that they
do best.
TRINITY EPISCOPAL CATHEDRAL, 147 NW 19TH AVE., 222-6000. 8 PM FRIDAY,
JAN. 15.
MARYLHURST COLLEGE, ST. ANNE'S CHAPEL, HIGHWAY 43 ONE MILE SOUTH OF
LAKE OSWEGO. 8 PM SATURDAY, JAN. 16.
REED COLLEGE, KAUL AUDITORIUM, 3203 SE WOODSTOCK BLVD., 224-9842. 3
PM SUNDAY, JAN. 17. $18-$29.
PETER SERKIN
Like Friends of Chamber Music, Portland State University's Piano
Recital Series has once again assembled a season of remarkable musicians
and compelling programs; a concertgoer could practically live on these
two series alone. One is always hard put to single out any one performance,
but for both the musician and the music, Peter Serkin's recital is worth
special mention. Son of the great pianist Rudolph Serkin, he has never
had trouble distinguishing himself as a great musician in his own right.
(Incidentally, he bears an uncanny resemblance in some photographs to
Peter Fonda, another talented son of a famous father.) As a pianist,
he appears to have two personalities, at least judging from his concert
programs and awe-inspiring discography. One is the traditionalist, master
of Bach, Mozart, Schubert and Chopin; the other is the modernist, champion
of Wolpe, Takemitsu, Messaien and Wuorinen. He is, of course, one man
with one mind, and he plays the old and new with the same intelligence
and subtlety. His catholic approach will be on display in this recital,
which will include works of, among others, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner,
Schönberg, Messaien and Kurtág.
PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY, LINCOLN HALL, 1620 SW PARK AVE., 725-5400.
8 PM SATURDAY, JAN. 30, AND 4 PM SUNDAY, JAN 31. $12-$20.
MASS IN B MINOR
The Oregon Repertory Singers, under director Gil Seeley, have visited
J. S. Bach's Mass in B Minor before, but this upcoming performance promises
to be a cut above. Not only does the choir have the benefit of previous
acquaintance with the awesome work, but it has assembled a fine set
of soloists--soprano LeaAnne DenBeste, mezzo Milagro Vargas, tenor David
Vanderwal and bass Richard Zeller, all of whom are well known to audiences
in the Northwest and beyond. Instrumentalists are drawn from the Portland
Baroque Orchestra, whose spirited and intelligent performances of music
of the period put it at the top of its class. Altogether one couldn't
ask for a better ensemble.
REED COLLEGE, KAUL AUDITORIUM, 3203 SE WOODSTOCK BLVD., 230-0652. 8
PM FRIDAY, MARCH 5; 2 PM SUNDAY, MARCH 7.
ST. PHILIP NERI CHURCH, 230-0652. 8 PM SATURDAY, MARCH 6. TICKET PRICES
TBA.
JULIUS CAESAR
When opera companies attempt the unusual, they generally pick
something from a little further up the timeline; there's nothing like
Wozzeck or The Death of Klinghoffer to clean out the cobwebs.
This year Portland Opera has taken a different approach, choosing instead
to reach further back into the little-performed Baroque repertoire for
Handel's Julius Caesar. Because the company's casting strategy
involves seeking out talented young singers just before they make it
big, it's difficult to make predictions about performances, but their
track record has been good lately. This is also a new production, financed
by the same Artistic Initiative Fund that supported fine and unusual
productions of Jenufa and The Merchant of Venice. A peculiarity
of this Caesar is that the castrato roles are to be sung an octave
lower, by men; it will change the texture of the work, but unless you're
familiar with the opera or have a thing for castrati, you probably won't
notice.
CIVIC AUDITORIUM, 2222 SW 2ND AVE., 241-1802. 7:30 PM SATURDAYS, MONDAY
AND WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27-APRIL 3. $25-$125.
GUARNERI QUARTET
Even in a Friends of Chamber Music season that includes the Emerson,
Kronos and Takács String Quartets, one ensemble stands out. Violinists
Arnold Steinhardt and John Dalley, violist Michael Tree and cellist
David Soyer have been playing together since 1964, which makes the Guarneri
the longest-continuing collaboration of any string quartet in the world.
The result is an unequaled sound--polished, urbane and acutely sensitive
to the nuances of a repertoire with which the four are intimately acquainted.
The quartet will play two concerts; the first will feature works of
Mozart, Kodály and Schumann, and the second will be an all-Beethoven
program with the composer's first quartet (Op. 18, No. 1) and one of
the last (Op. 130, with the Op. 133 Grosse Fuge).
PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY, LINCOLN HALL, 1620 SW PARK AVE., 224-9842.
8 PM MONDAY AND TUESDAY, APRIL 5 & 6. $25, $12.50 STUDENTS.
MONSTERS OF GRACE
Over two decades after their first collaboration, Einstein at
the Beach, Philip Glass and Robert Wilson remain exemplars of the
avant-garde in music and theater. Glass shares with Steve Reich and
Terry Riley the fame (or, for his many detractors, the blame) that accrued
to the forefathers of minimalism; he had come to the style now virtually
synonymous with his name after a musical odyssey that included time
at Julliard, studies with Nadia Boulanger and work with Ravi Shankar.
In some respects, Monsters of Grace, which was commissioned in
part by the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA), will make
the earlier work seem positively old-fashioned by comparison. There
are no actors in the new work but rather computer-generated images projected
onto the stage, which may give some actors the heebie-jeebies and some
critics cause for rejoicing. The text is taken from the poetry of Rumi,
and the music will be performed off-stage by the Philip Glass Ensemble.
With a season that includes both this and Portland Opera's Julius
Caesar, it looks as if opera is alive and well.
ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL, 1037 SW BROADWAY, 228-1353. 7 &
9 PM WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7. $31.50.
DAWN UPSHAW
Chamber Music Northwest's Encore Series presents soprano Dawn Upshaw
in a recital with accompanist Gilbert Kalish. Like Peter Serkin (see
above), Upshaw is known both as an exemplary Mozart interpreter and
as a proponent of new music; the best-selling recording of Henryk Górecki's
Symphony No. 3 introduced her to millions of listeners. She has collaborated
with the Kronos Quartet, Robert Wilson, Peter Sellars and Bill T. Jones,
and this season she will appear in Jonathan Miller's staging of The
Rake's Progress at the Met and perform Lukas Foss' Time Cycle
with the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics. Her voice is limpid
and natural, and she is capable of ethereal sensitivity (as in the Górecki)
and thrilling agility--her rendition of Bernstein's "Glitter and Be
Gay" is the best I've ever heard.
REED COLLEGE, KAUL AUDITORIUM, 3203 SE WOODSTOCK BLVD., 223-3202. 8
PM TUESDAY, APRIL 13. $5-$28.
originally published
September 9, 1998
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