Stellar Strauss

Klein floors at the WSO

By Lily Olason

This afternoon, the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra unveiled their second show of the season. On the marquee:  Beethoven’s Pastorale.

Maestro Yaniv Attar noted that because Beethoven’s work is so reliant on the oboe, the program had to pair it with Strauss’ iconic homage to the instrument, Oboe Concerto in D Major. To give this work life, the WSO welcomed renowned oboist Alex Klein.

Klein has an incredible story of strength and resolve: after a virtuosic childhood catapulted him into several professional Brazilian orchestras, he studied at the Oberlin Conservatory and became principal oboe of the Chicago Symphony by age 30. Nine years later, a neurological disorder put his career on hold. This June, however, he returned to the group and resumed his place as principal.

Klein’s work on this piece was nothing short of operatic. His remarkably pure tone swelled through Strauss’ demanding intervals, sprinkling sugar over complex and infinite ups-and-downs. The balance between strings and solo was precise, and Klein’s conversation with flute, clarinet, oboe, and bassoon joyously jig-sawed. His pauses, holds, and stops left us in suspension, stranded in space—only to be picked up again by the next vibrating measure. Scales where furiously, determinedly, attended to; lulling lengths were drawn with a soft brush. Throughout, tranquility threaded, and as technically demanding as the work was, Klein guided it masterfully. The audience was left in silent awe— until the standing ovation.

After intermission, the Orchestra took on Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 “Pastorale” (or, “Beethoven’s Sixth” for short). To Attar, this is the composer’s most melodically compelling work: the five-movement megalith gorgeously mirrors nature. Hopping, skipping, jumping clarinet, oboe, flute, and bassoon tied together and apart to form refractions of spring and summer; horn shimmered and guided passages to valiant heights, while trumpet cut through to blazing, fiery crescendos. A hush, then massive storminess erupted, playing to this Orchestra’s strengths: they can carry the massive and demanding as easily as the soft, the sweet.

Each measure sharply attended and translated with raw beauty, the dynamic, whirring movements flew by.  This is something you notice again and again at the WSO: there is a care, a place, for every note.

This afternoon’s concert was a beauty. But that should come as no surprise.

The next gig is the WSO’s annual Holiday Concert on December 4^th,  featuring the Bellingham and Whatcom Chorales. The show also includes a screening of the perennial holiday favorite, The Snowman. Kids are encouraged to wear their finest PJ-attire—hot cocoa and marshmallows will be the intermission’s nosh. Visit the WSO’s website for more information and to buy tickets.

Don’t miss out!

A Grand Finale

Symphony closes 40^th chapter

By Lily Olason

This afternoon, the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra treated patrons to a performance unforgettable. Celebrating forty years of making music, and also the success and beauty of this particular season, the group offered perhaps their most daring feat yet: the megalithic works of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, “Emperor” and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major, “Titan.”

In the spotlight was piano virtuoso Alessio Bax. Native of Italy, his solo history is prodigious and illustrious; he’s appeared before the Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Japan’s NHK Symphony and the St. Petersburg Symphony to name just a measured few. From the first bars of  “Emperor”'s first movement, Allegro, the scrolling resume isn’t hard to understand. Alessio is indeed an emperor, or at least a presiding force, of the keyboard. He plays with a sensitive and mechanical precision—hands (filmed by a camera fixed to the ceiling, and projected above the stage) spill like paint across the keys and infuse a vibrancy and resonant hue to a fabled score. Bax remains faithful to the ink but his delivery is a work in and of itself, hands locked into a delicate tether, right and left marching in tandem up and down and up tones and stairs. Rests punctuate sometimes wild, sometimes peaceful passages, underpinned by a receptive and talented symphony. Watching the screen was hypnotic—Bax’s hands were almost computer-esque in accuracy, yet retained the piercing glimmer and humanity of music. The second movement, Adagio un poco mosso, began slow and feathery, and by the end of the third (Rondo: Allegro ma non tropo), the work reached an acrobatic pitch, all the while the twisting and turning of Beethoven’s historic concerto helmed by a masterful soloist.

After a standing O (naturally), and Bax’s gift of his ensuing bouquet to a WSO violinist (really nice!), the symphony broke, wordlessly, for intermission. 

The Orchestra rounded a magnificent, explosive season with a piece of the same nature—Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major. According to Dr. Ryan Dudenbostel’s ever-informative program notes, the piece was initially dubbed “Titan” because it was modeled after Jean Paul’s four-volume novel of the same name. Over a decade-long editing process, most of the “programmatic references” to the novel ended up on the cutting room floor. Which is okay, because we ended up with such a (still) massive triumph. Divided into five unique movements, the enormous piece stretches from an ominous and disparate beginning through magnificent and regal horn passages, to churning darkness and back again to brassy power. Mahler goes from a running theme to tangential passages, from quoting (as Dudenbostel notes) Beethoven's (Ninth Symphony) and his own work (Songs of a Wayfarer) to paying homage to Austrian folk. Jewish folk and Frere Jacques are also found within. Technically demanding, the work is an assemblage; not only are the movements of their own, but the piece contains several features and solos: clarinet, oboe, trumpet, double bass, horn, and flute.

 Playing this so beautifully well is indeed a triumph, to both individual acumen of the players and the teamwork needed to make it all fit together. I couldn’t think of a better way to end a historic season.

The WSO returns on October 16th with "All Tchaikovsky", featuring violinist Simone Porter. The list of next season's concerts will be available soon on the Whatcom Symphony website.

Olé!

Barston Tangos with the WSO

By Lily Olason

This afternoon, the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra treated patrons to another fantastic performance. Dedicated to the Spanish dance, Viva el Tango tapped influences from across the globe to produce one lively, floor-stomping, rip-roaring show.

If there’s any effective way to introduce tango, it might just be Georges Bizet. Though French, his “Danse Bohème” from Carmen Suite No. 2 is fully Spanish. As Ryan Dudenbostel details in the program notes, Bizet based his opera Carmen on Prosper Merimee’s novella of the same name, which follows this plot: a “Spanish gypsy girl who wins the affections of a naïve young solider, only to betray him in favor of a glamorous bullfighter.” Led by Assistant Conductor Takuya Nishiwaki, the piece's pizzicato strings and a hushed flute opened to a rousing whole, where the full complement of the orchestra filled to the back of the hall. A blazing trumpet flooded over the steadily rising ensemble, crescendoing to a flaring, vibrating, mountainous height, again reminding us that the Orchestra indeed has its chops. It all ended with an energetic flourish, the perfect segue to a featured soloist.

After hefty applause, violinist Elisa Barston took the stage to play us one of the most vibrant pieces of the modern tango genre—Astor Piazzolla’s harmonic Cuatro Estaciones Porteñeas  (Four Seasons of Buenos Aires). The piece is a gauzy wave of rhythm and light, swelling and shimmering in homage to the seasons, and Barston was the perfect pick to play it—her tone is nothing short of brilliant. Her glissandos were clean and crisp, the edge of the neck played with knifelike precision. She went from breezy jazz licks to the classically demanding like cake, let the high highs ring like bells and the low lows melt into the churning wholeness of the orchestra with unbroken consistency. Even from the safety of the seats, this piece didn’t look easy—in addition to the Django Reinhardt-esque passages and traditional tango fare, composer Leonid Desyatnikov arranged this version with sprinkles of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons folded throughout. Though cleverly, Dudenbostel notes, Desyatnikov placed Vivaldi’s “winter” in Piazzolla’s “summer” and vice-versa, in reference to the Southern Hemisphere’s inverted seasons. If that’s not enough of a challenge, the score was so faithfully executed Barston's bow dripped sunshine and icicles, depending on the movement.

To our delight, Barston's encore was “Largo” from Vivaldi’s Seasons, and it was just as pretty as the first.

After intermission, Maestro Attar briefed us on the following pieces. “Four Dances” from Estancia tells the tale of Argentinian romance—a city boy dances his way to the heart of a country girl, beating out other suitors in a town-wide competition. That energy is reflected in the work, as a stomping opening movement swells continuously and ends in burst of sound and light. The orchestra navigated the challenging score with ease, and kept a handle on its fearless, powerful passages to make something truly wonderful.

For the finale, Maestro Attar selected Capriccio Espagnol, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Though a Russian composer, Rimsky-Korsakov wrote a truly Spanish number. Sown in both Spanish and Russian soil, the emerging work weaves tango themes with snippets of traditional Russian melodies to make an organic, remarkable beauty. Several instruments are given solos, including clarinet, horn, flute, violin, harp, and trumpet, perhaps also paying tribute to the collaborative nature of the work’s origins.

Attar joked that no composer on this afternoon’s bill is actually from Spain, but rather the show looks at Spain through other’s eyes. This is a poignant description. The tango is a sweet and romantic and beautiful thing, and the Symphony did it justice.

Come watch the WSO’s 40^th Season finale on June 5th, featuring pianist Alessio Bax. Find more info and tickets here.

Harmony from Discord

Symphony finds light in darkest places

By Lily Olason

Beginning in this fortieth season of the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra, Maestro Yaniv Attar has introduced a special series. Commemorating symphonic works written—and composers writing—in the midst of oppression, “Harmony from Discord” will comprise one concert each season. This afternoon, it was the beautiful melodies of László Weiner and the megalithic work of Dmitri Shostakovich, featuring three indelibly gifted soloists.

To begin, soloists Susan Gulkis Assadi (viola) and Jessica Choe (piano) took the stage. They immediately fell into Hindemith’s Trauermusik, and the precedent was gorgeously set. The honorary piece was written the day after King George V’s death, and as Maestro Attar noted, was a fitting way to begin the concert.

After massive applause, Maestro Attar explained the concept behind the new WSO series, and prepped us for the two pieces to come. Then, he introduced Holocaust survivor and Whatcom County resident, Noemi Ban.

Sharing only a excerpt of her story, the 93 year-old delivered a message of hope and resilience. She “loves life,” and her indefatigable spirit is of the same cloth as the concert and series. There is humanity, and there is love, and there is beauty, and they are impervious to the poison of oppression.

To complete the first half and compliment Ban’s message, Attar counted off Weiner’s Concerto for Flute, Viola, Piano and String Orchestra. Composed just three years before his death and two before his arrest to the Lukov concentration camp, Weiner didn’t live to hear his piece performed. Rarely selected by symphonies, this is only the second time it’s been played in the US.

Built around a super-heroic and dynamic piano anchor, played flawlessly by Choe, Zart Dombourian-Eby’s flute and Assadi’s viola melodized and harmonized in tandem—their tone is as pure as the richness and sweetness is indescribable. The three lent masterful, and often gymnastic, ability to the concerto, and as each part separated, the electricity they drew from the score kept them unified. From the wells of minor chords swelled sweetness and resolution; triumphant iterations overcame dissonance and resulted in some of the prettiest passages of the twentieth century. It takes a fierce talent to play a work like this, and the three delivered an impeccable performance.

After the break, Attar introduced Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47. Written after his highly political opera, Lady Macbeth of the Mtsenk District, the piece is in ostensible alignment with Stalin’s despotic regime. But as the Masetro noted, there are several “secret codes” of resistance that thread throughout the piece and give it its powerful life and solemnity. Huge brass and percussion passages alternated with a sweetness from oboe, flute, and bassoon. A haunting ebb and flow moved throughout the strings, tinged with something besides “celebration” of the state. A massive, characteristically “symphonic” fourth movement, etched with the coding of resistance, flawlessly punctuated the piece. The Symphony interpreted this score with care and energy, and the sound was absolutely, brilliantly fantastic.

2016’s “Harmony from Discourse” featured outstanding selection of work. At times achingly beautiful and others passionately unyielding, the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra and its wonderful soloists have channeled an upwelling of creativity from times unthinkable. Art shines a light wherever there is humanity.

*****

The Symphony’s next concert is “Viva el Tango!” featuring Elisa Barston on violin. Find more info and tickets here.

Ain’t too Proud to Beg (for an encore)

Seattle Rock Orchestra plays Motown 

 By Lily Olason

The Seattle Rock Orchestra—helmed by artistic director Scott Teske, conductor Kim Roy, and creative director Emily Westman—hopped, skipped, and jumped up to Bellingham this evening for one hell of a show. Joining forces with the Whatcom Symphony for the second year in a row, the pair played the perennial hits of Motown, and the results were nothing short of magic.

The night opened with a soulful “Heard it Through the Grapevine”, and the rest followed suit. Vocalists Annie Jantzer, Ernest Pumphrey, Otieno Terry, and Miranda Zickler (of Bellingham’s Rabbit Wilde) floored with high-reaching harmonies and powerhouse solos, incredible range and gritty, rhythmic groove. The performance was authentic to the era but peppered with a subtle spin, and Emily Westman’s arrangements were stunningly well written.

The performance tapped over twenty hits, including “Heatwave,” “ABC,” “Higher and Higher,” and “Papa was a Rolling Stone”, and showed off what these guys and gals can do. Which is, of course, a lot.

Each vocalist consistently killed it in solo and harmony. Terry’s “Let’s Get it On” and “My Girl” were especially notable—his fantastic range can go from falsetto and back in a second, and navigates harmony and melody like it’s a cakewalk. Ernest Pumphrey held down both tenor and baritone, and his tone and ability to reach and project is truly gifted; “I Can’t Help Myself” (among several others) was a stunner.

Zickler sang Diana Ross, Queen of Motown, like nobody’s business and her take on “You Keep Me Hanging On” was inspired. Her style swings from sweet to Joplin-esque gravel without batting an eye and the genre crossover was awesome. Annie Jantzer’s solos, especially on the epic “I’ll Be There” were absolutely jaw dropping. She has a powerful, unique command of the voice you’d be hard-pressed to replicate. The quartet’s mash-up of “Stop! In the Name of Love” and “Reach Out!”, was a soulful tour-de-force and capitalized on the buckets of talent available on stage.

The Orchestra was, of course, absolutely wonderful. The WSO/SRO team never fails to make great music together-- “Papa was a Rolling Stone”, and its myriad parts and effects, particularly showcased this dynamic, and Teske and Westman’s grooving rhythm section blended well with the Symphony’s expansive bass and percussion.

This was a fantastically fun show. Aisle dancing abounded. People participated in “Shout!” a la Animal House. The Marvin Gaye encore brought down the house. There was explosive laughter and smiles. What better way to end a magnificent performance?

The SRO’s next gig is a tribute to Neil Diamond on Mother’s Day weekend in Seattle. Moms, kids, dads, and grandparents, grab your tickets and don’t miss out on this amazing group! Find more info here.