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Johann Sebastian Bach’s influence as a composer carried far beyond his Baroque lifetime. Chamber Music Northwest traces his impact through Echoes of Bach, the theme of the nonprofit organization’s 55th annual summer concert series. From June 28 to July 27, Echoes of Bach will explore the composer’s legacy across more than 40 events in five weeks’ time.
More than 70 musical creatives from around the world will converge on Portland, including Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw and her Bach-inspired concerto for harpsichord and string; and classical pianist Kit Armstrong, who will perform Bach’s complete Goldberg Variations (a composition with an aria and 30 variations) for only the second time in CMNW’s 50-plus-year history. The Young Artist Institute’s members, ages 14–18, coming from some of the nation’s top music education programs, will play alongside seasoned professionals in free concerts, open rehearsals and other programs.
Arrangements that clearly show Bach’s influence—from composers such as Brahms, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Dvořák, Schubert, Messiaen and Rossini—will play at venues across the Portland area, such as The Old Church, Body Vox Dance Center, Reed College’s Kaul Auditorium, Portland State University’s Lincoln Hall and Beaverton’s Patricia Reser Center for the Arts. Four new commissioned arrangements will also see either world or West Coast premieres, including Kian Ravaei’s iPod Variations for flute, violin and electronics, and Alistair Coleman’s Ghost Art Canticles for string quartet and double bass.
Echoes of Bach follows a weekly theme over the festival’s runtime based on certain “sounds.” The first week, for example, focuses on Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, with the second one dedicated to his Goldberg Variations. The third week sees crossover events from the Oregon Bach Festival, the fourth on Bach’s protégés and the fifth and final week closes on how composers deviate from Bach’s influence, particularly as seen with Brahms.
“Perhaps no composer’s music resonates across the centuries more than that of Johann Sebastian Bach,” CMNW artistic directors Gloria Chien and Soovin Kim said in a joint statement. “Whether in moments of celebration, mourning, or contemplation, his music articulates feelings words cannot.”
SEE IT: Chamber Music Northwest’s Echoes of Bach concert series, multiple venues, chmw.org. June 28–July 27. $35–$67.50 access fee plus $4–$6.50 per concert ticket. $20 access fee for people 40 and under, $10 for people 18 and under, $30 door access for seniors, $20 for Arts Industry Rush, and $5 for Arts for All.