ENNW’s award-winning reviewer Christopher Key will introduce and interview guest artist Milica Jelaca Jovanovic at an event immediately following the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra concert on Sunday, February 19. The event will take place in the Walton Theatre at Mount Baker Theatre.
So much more than sugar plums
by Sally Lubetich
We all know how frantic this time of year can be. Time seems to just fly by. You rush around to get it all done, and then you’re left saying “It doesn’t feel like Christmas!”
Well, one thing you must rush to do this weekend is to see The Nutcracker at the Mount Baker Theatre, a magical holiday tradition that is brought to life by the Northwest Ballet Theatre, under the artistic direction of John Bishop and choreographed by Miye Bishop.
This year the production is enhanced with live music performed by the Starry Night Orchestra, conducted by Dr. Daniel Schmidt. The live orchestra, a first for our area, adds another character to the story, the Narrator. This talented ensemble brings so much more depth to the story than recorded music ever could.
Young Clara (Holly Forsberg/ Ona Underwood) receives a gift of a beautiful nutcracker from her Godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer (Angus Mclane.) Clara’s naughty little brother Fritz (Tavian Ancheta) breaks the nutcracker, but Herr Drosselmeyer magically repairs it.
That night, after everyone has gone to bed, Clara sneaks back downstairs and falls asleep under the Christmas tree. She then has the most magical dream! First off, mice of all sizes come running through the house. Their leader, the Mouse Queen (Mija Bishop) leads her minions in an exciting battle against the Nutcracker (Jonathan D.Vogt) and his Toy Soldiers. Clara and the Nutcracker defeat the Mouse Queen.
The dream then transforms the Nutcracker into a handsome Prince and Clara into a beautiful young lady (Venise Lee) they are whisked off to the Land of Snow where they meet the Snow Queen (Ayesha Wise) and her dancing snowflakes. She leads them to the Kingdom of Sweets where they are treated to a delightful celebration of dance, featuring Spanish Chocolate (Anna Ford), Chinese Tea (Julianne Pemberton) and Arabian Coffee (Miye Bishop). Clara’s dream ends and she awakes to find her Nutcracker toy in her arms.
From the adorable pink mice and toy soldiers, charming snowflakes, fairies and flowers, to the delightful Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, this large cast of talented dancers will enchant everyone. Bring your younger children to see this lavish production. You’ll find them twirling in the aisles!
The Nutcracker plays December 9 and 10 at 7:30 p.m. and December 11 at 2:00 p.m. at the Mount Baker Theatre. Tickets are $15 and $24, with discounts for seniors and students. Call MBT at 360-734-6080 or order online at www.mountbakertheatre.com. Next weekend, The Nutcracker moves to McIntyre Hall in Mount Vernon for performances on December 17 and 18. Information regarding these performances is available at www.mcintyrehall.org.
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In the spirit of the season
by Christopher Key
It’s hard to imagine the holiday season in this area without the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra’s annual Holiday Treasures concert. I’d rather not try. Maestro Roger Briggs and the WSO partner with the Western Washington University Concert Choir to make this a much-anticipated event. Under the direction of Leslie Guelker-Cone, this is a truly superb vocal aggregation that performs at a much higher level of maturity that would be expected from college students.
In the church, those parishioners who only show up on Christmas are referred to as “oncers.” The holiday concert brings out a lot of symphony oncers and their grasp of symphony etiquette lies somewhere between feeble and nonexistent. I doubt than any of them read this blog, but just in case: it is not appropriate to use cell phones or keychain lights to illuminate the program during the concert. It is not appropriate to rattle said programs or candy wrappers. And, God help me, it is not appropriate to talk while musicians are performing.
The concert choir got things underway with a stunning version of Hans Leo Hassler’s Verbum caro factum est (And the word was made flesh). This was performed with the choir standing in the aisles of the Mount Baker Theatre holding candles.
Clarinetist David Alex was then joined by mezzo Danielle Bayne and tenor Brendan Littlefield for the haunting Alieh Neiri (Rise up, my light). The whole choir and orchestra got back into the act with a swinging version of the spiritual See Dat Babe.
Serge Prokoviev’s rollicking tribute to the mythical Lieutenant Kije obviously inspired the orchestra as they performed first the Troika from the Suite. A sextet of mini-ballerinas from Wendy Setter’s The Dance Studio then joined in for the Romance. They were awwwsome.
Closing out the first half of the concert was Johann Sebastian Bach’s beloved Magnificat. Several outstanding soloists from the choir delivered impassioned performances: mezzo Veronica Jensen, soprano Dana McGarr, baritone Daniel Smith, alto Soonja Doyle, and tenor James Reynolds.
Christmas Night, from Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov’s Christmas Suite opened the second half, when things tend to get a little less serious. The inimitable Jeff Margolis then narrated Twas the Night Before Christmas to an arrangement that let the percussion section show off a bit.
There have been many arrangements of Here We Come A-Wassailing and O Come, O Come Emmanuel, probably none better than those of John Rutter. The choir and orchestra brought freshness to the familiar carols. In between those two delights was a bit of virtuosic comic relief called BasSoon it Will be Christmas. Orchestra stalwarts Pat Nelson, Phil Thomas and Terhi Miikki Broersma should get more solos.
Santa hats were then donned in honor of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, which always includes an audience sing-along. The concertgoers acquitted themselves quite well.
I can’t remember how many times I’ve witnessed the a capella singing of Silent Night in German and English, with the choir once again holding candles in the darkened theatre. It’s the traditional ending of the concert and it never fails to raise goosebumps. For those of us who treasure this orchestra and choir, this is the real start of the holiday season.
Coming up on February 19, it’s Russian Romance with pianist Milica Jelaca Jovanovich making an encore appearance. Call the MBT box office at (360) 734-6080 to reserve your seats or do it online at www.mountbakertheatre.com.
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Multi-media spectacular from WSO
by Christopher Key
My companion for last night’s Whatcom Symphony Orchestra concert had never been in the Mount Baker Theatre before. MBT and the WSO gave her a show that was a tour-de-force of just what our local treasures can do when all the stops are pulled out. The focus for the concert was MBT’s Mighty Wurlitzer and I’ve always wondered if there is such a thing as an Adequate Wurlitzer. Never mind.
The WSO is known for adventurous programming and this concert took it to a whole new level. I am a huge fan of Armenian-American composer Alan Hovhaness, partly because much of his music was inspired by the Pacific Northwest. And God Created Great Whales, Op. 229, is a daunting challenge to perform, not only because of its free-form rhythms, but because it incorporates the recorded sounds of whales singing. The WSO went one step further and added a projected video of sporting whales produced by marketing director and cellist Noel Evans. The WSO and MBT’s technical wizards made it a memorable experience.
With the temperatures dropping, it’s always a good time to add Edvard Grieg in to the mix. The quintessential Norwegian composer is perhaps most famous for his Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46. The melodies are so familiar that the occasional audience member wants to hum along. She was shushed pretty quickly. This showpiece is always capped by the fourth movement, “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” The WSO ripped through it at a breakneck pace that made my hair stand on end.
Bedrich Smetana’s tone poem The Moldau wrapped up the first half of the concert and the woodwinds were superb.
Then it was showtime as the Mighty Wurlitzer ascended from beneath the stage and guest artist Jonas Nordwall led off the second half with Charles Ives’ Organ Variations on America. The theme is a familiar one, “America the Beautiful.” Ives was known for his musical wit and the audience chuckled with appreciation as Nordwall demonstrated the multifarious voices of the Wurlitzer.
The much-anticipated centerpiece of the evening was Camille Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3, Op 78, “The Organ.” Nordwall was nothing short of virtuosic and the orchestra responded by taking this work into near-earth orbit. The strings were particularly crisp in the second movement, but the whole orchestra seemed to rise to the challenge throughout.
There was a thunderous, and well-deserved, standing ovation at the end, both for Nordwall and the symphony. Nordwall was called back for three bows and the orchestra sections were recognized one-by-one for a performance that exceeded my usual high standards for this group.
Next on the WSO schedule is the beloved “Holiday Treasures” concert. As always, that includes the Western Washington University Concert Choir performing carols new and old. I have become something of a cynic in my old age about the commercialism of Christmas, but the annual candlelight singing of “Silent Night” in both German and English never fails to bring tears to my eyes.
This is a sure sellout, so reserve your tickets now. “Holiday Treasures” is on Sunday, December 4, 3:00 p.m., at the Mount Baker Theatre. Call the box office at (360) 734-6080 or purchase online at www.mountbakertheatrte.com.
For more information about upcoming Whatcom Symphony Orchestra concerts, see www.whatcomsymphony.com.
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Midori plays on
by Christopher Key
For those of you who may think the sensational Japanese violinist Midori has anything in common with a certain melon liqueur, think again. The violinist packs considerably more punch, if you’ll excuse the expression. The diminutive dynamo brought down the house at today’s Whatcom Symphony Orchestra season opener and she’ll be a tough act to follow.
As a musician, I was never in any danger of being invited to a master class. Imagine my delight when the WSO offered me the opportunity to attend Midori’s session Saturday afternoon with some extraordinarily talented young musicians. It was a rare glimpse of a superstar in something other than a concert setting. She proved to be both very personable and an enormously gifted teacher. There are three young violinists who will never forget that day.
Our wonderful local orchestra led off the first concert of the year, as is traditional, with the National Anthem. WSO audiences being somewhat more musically attuned than sports fans, the crowd participation was gratifying. There were actually quite a few voices that could handle the horrendous range and those who couldn’t had the sense to drop out and lip sync for a while.
Gioacchino Rossini’s Overture to The Barber of Seville always brings a big smile to my face and not just because it was used frequently in the TV cartoons I watched as a kid. The WSO opened with it today and I was grinning like a fool. Maestro Roger Briggs led the orchestra through it with galloping gusto and great good humor. It provided a delicious contrast to the serious stuff about to go down.
Benjamin Britten’s Concerto for Violin, Op. 15, brilliantly depicts the turmoil leading up to World War II. It is so dauntingly difficult that few musicians attempt it until they are at least in their mid- to late-twenties. Midori is of the generation that believes musicianship and performance art are not mutually exclusive. Her body language and expressive face captured the audience as much as her stunning technique. She tore at her Guarneri, determined to wrest every possible nuance of tone of which the violin is capable. The audience simply levitated at the end and brought Midori back for three well-deserved bows.
Photo countesy Whatcom Symphony Orchestra.
Following an abbreviated intermission, the audience was treated to an onstage interview conducted by Northwest Public Radio. Midori chairs the string department at the University of Southern California and runs a handful of non-profits that help bring classical music to underserved populations in addition to her international concert schedule. So the big question involved what she did in her spare time. It should probably come as no surprise that she spends her off-hours thinking up new projects for herself. Midori makes most over-achievers look lame.
Johannes Brahms spent much of his early career trying to emerge from the shadow of one Ludwig van Beethoven. By the time he got to his fourth, and final, symphony, Brahms was basking in the sun of his hard-won self-confidence. The WSO concluded the opening concert with Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98. Brahms’ self-confidence is manifest in the first movement, which almost sounds like it starts in the middle. The first, third and fourth movements all conclude with passages that sound like the end of a symphony. Most of the rather sophisticated WSO audience was hip enough to wait until the fourth before applauding. The orchestra earned that applause with a sparkling performance that featured outstanding work from the strings.
If this opening performance was any indication, WSO’s season should be a rouser. The next performance, on Saturday, November 19, at 7:30 p.m., stars the Mount Baker Theatre’s Mighty Wurlitzer (Mighty Wurlitzer is always capitalized). Saint-Saëns stirring Organ Symphony will be the centerpiece.
It’s gratifying to see the Mount Baker Theatre packed once again for the WSO after a couple shaky economic years. That means you need to get your tickets soon for future concerts. Call the MBT Box Office at (360) 734-6080 or order online at www.mountbakertheatre.com. For a complete season schedule, see www.whatcomsymphony.com.
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Opera Popolare delivers summer sizzler
by Christopher Key
Opera Popolare impresario Rob Viens wondered if he was being blasphemous by taking liberties with both Henry Purcell and William Shakespeare in his production of The Fairy-Queen. He needn’t have worried. His blasphemies are completely delightful and far from the worst that has been done in the name of The Bard.
Viens is one of Bellingham’s best-known vocal coaches, partly because he puts on terrific productions like this instead of the usual staid recitals for his students. His students obviously flourish under these circumstances and the productions attract far more people to the audience. Everybody wins.
Purcell’s take on A Midsummer Night’s Dream is technically a masque or semi-opera. Rather than delving into those technicalities, I’ll let you look it up in Wikipedia and save my breath to sing the praises of Viens and his pupils. Viens’ wife Carrie chatted with me a bit before the show and hinted mysteriously at some surprises. She was not being hyperbolic.
The venue for this confection is the Unity Church at 1095 Telegraph Road and it’s a perfect choice. A series of windows behind the stage look out onto a lush woodland and no set painter could create a better backdrop. Viens uses the whole auditorium to great effect, including a dramatic stairway landing. The most powerful moments come when the entire cast encircles the audience for choral numbers that will make your hair stand on end.
It’s important to remember that those cast members are students, not professionals, and demonstrate a wide range of vocal and acting skills. That said, Viens gets the best from all of them and there’s not a sour note to be heard.
As usual, time and space considerations prevent me from mentioning everyone who deserves it, so I will rush in where angels fear to tread and highlight a few performances with apologies to those whose names didn’t make the review.
I’ve worked with Katie Kennedy a few times and she just keeps getting better and better. She has a superb voice to start with and has developed exquisite control as she has matured. As Titania, she shines both as an actor and singer. One young talent whose development continues to astonish is Caitlin Hill, who plays the Song Fairy and has a voice that belies her tender years. Another one is Serena Viens. She plays Juno with luminous presence and one has to suspect that heredity may have something to do with it.
Sonia Alexis and Wendy Donaghy both have wonderful voices, but what really captured my attention was their magnetic stage presence. Their roles were relatively minor, but they both have the acting chops to make them stand out. Both should be onstage in many other venues.
Photo credit - Christopher Key
Quite frankly, the women own this show and that’s as it should be. But the men hold their own quite well. The hands-down standout among the men is Sam Muscatine, whose resonant baritone is a true wonder in his roles as Sleep and Hymen. Sage Hoag doesn’t sing much, but ties the whole show together with Puckish humor.
Viens has assembled a stellar orchestra to back his singers. Keyboardist Katie O’Rourke and trumpeters Steve Sperry and Andrew Bybee deserve special kudos.
There are only two more performances of The Fairy-Queen and I can’t urge you strongly enough to catch one of them. Not just because Opera Popolare is a local treasure that deserves your support, but because you will have an enchanting experience. Tickets for Friday, August 5, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, August 6, at 2:00 p.m. are available at Piper Music, the Community Food Co-op and at the door.
At $10 per ticket, it’s the best entertainment bargain in Bellingham.
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Festival caps stunning season
by Christopher Key
Bellingham Festival of Music Artistic Director Michael Palmer knows how to put an exclamation point at the end of a superb concert series. The festival drew its final standing O of the year for a dazzling concert version of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fidelio. It may be the only opera he ever wrote, but it has all the passion and power that define his symphonies. The plot involves the incarceration and torture of political prisoners, which makes it disturbingly contemporary. It’s also about the triumph of married love, a subject dear to the composer’s heart.
If you want to know more about Fidelio, look it up in Wikipedia. I’d rather use the space to sing (sic) the praises of soloists, orchestra and chorus. Soprano Katie Bolding, who sang Marzelline, has an unusual background for an opera singer. She began her career as singer and rhythm guitarist for a blues-rock band. Her voice is wonderful, but I can’t help but be curious about how she sounded in her previous incarnation.
Photo courtesy Bellingham Festival of Music.
For this concert, Bolding was reunited with her former teacher and mentor Mary Jane Johnson. As Leonore, the heroic wife, she was perfectly passionate and well-matched with tenor Jeffrey Springer, who played Florestan.
Photo courtesy Bellingham Festival of Music.
Springer’s voice is simply thrilling. He combines extraordinary power with exquisite control and the conviction he brought to the role of the political prisoner was heart-wrenching.
Photo courtesy Bellingham Festival of Music.
Western Washington University alumni Gary Jankowski is as satisfyingly profundo as any basso you will ever hear. His interpretation of the jailer, Rocco, was delivered with touching sensitivity.
Photo courtesy Bellingham Festival of Music.
W. Dwight Coleman played the villainous Don Pizzaro with obvious relish. He has a fine voice, but it lacks power in the lower end of his range and he was, unfortunately, inaudible much of the time. I have since learned that he was quite ill and deserves great credit for getting onstage at all.
Photo courtesy Bellingham Festival of Music.
Tenor Richard Clement was outstanding in Wednesday’s concert when he sang Benjamin Britten’s settings of several English poems. His role as Jaquino in Fidelio was relatively minor, but equally well performed.
Photo courtesy Bellingham Festival of Music.
Don Fernando appears all too briefly in the second act, personifying the cavalry rushing in at the last minute to save the day. Portland’s Clayton Brainerd is as imposing a stage presence as you will probably ever encounter and made the role memorable.
Photo courtesy Bellingham Festival of Music.
One of the things that makes the Festival truly spectacular is the astonishing chorus that Maestro Palmer assembles and I wish we could hear more of them. When they pulled out all the stops in the thunderous finale, they gave me what appear to be permanent goose bumps.
One of the major challenges for the Bellingham Festival of Music is trying to top the previous year’s performances. I have it on good authority that there are surprises in store for next season that won’t be revealed until fall. I’m breathless, if not speechless, with anticipation.
It’s firmly established that this festival is indisputably world-class and if you haven’t experienced this local treasure, you need to revise your bucket list. Keep an eye on the site, www.bellinghamfestival.org, for those aforementioned surprises and it wouldn’t be a bad idea at all to get your tickets early since sellouts are the rule rather than the exception.
Bravo!
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Festival gets adventurous
by Christopher Key
Bellingham Festival of Music Artistic Director Michael Palmer has a gift for assembling interesting programs, but he outdid himself with Wednesday’s concert. He boldly went…well, you know. And it was a trip to the final frontier for those of us lucky enough to be strapped in.
Palmer took the time to explain that he built the program around Benjamin Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, Op. 31. He also explained that a serenade, in the orchestral sense, is all about a group of friends getting together in a relaxed setting to play music. Personally, I think that applies to the Bellingham Festival of Music as a whole. It certainly looks and sounds that way.
Liftoff was achieved by means of Gioachino Rossini’s Overture to La scala di seta “The Silken Ladder.” As Dr. Edward Rutschman points out in his masterful program notes, the opera is a romantic comedy by 19th century standards. There were lots of musical chuckles in the Overture, led by oboist Joseph Robinson, perhaps the hardest-working retired musician ever. The strings were superb with the cellos and basses achieving orbital velocity.
Photo courtesy Bellingham Festival of Music.
Warp drive kicked in with the aforementioned Britten composition. A Prologue and Epilogue surround six poems from the English literary canon. Principal horn Brice Andrus delivered the end pieces with astonishing virtuosity. I didn’t know the horn could do things like that. The poems, ranging from Keats to Jonson to Blake, were delivered beautifully by tenor Richard Clement. His voice is not overpowering and doesn’t need to be in this setting. Sweet is the only word that adequately describes his voice and his control is exquisite. The Britten piece drew the first standing ovation of the night.
Photo courtesy Bellingham Festival of Music.
Following intermission, guest artist Jeremy Denk took everyone to the Delta Quadrant with his performance of Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto #1 in E flat Major. Passionate and joyful, Denk provided an interesting contrast in styles when compared to the equally talented, but rather restrained, Arnaldo Cohen who was featured in the first concert of the season. Denk is a showman and proved it with his body language. The crowd loved it and wouldn’t let him go until he had performed an encore.
Photo credit - J. Henry Fair
Adventuring is a fine thing, but it is always tempered by the desire to return home. Palmer brought us back to Planet Earth with another serenade, this one by Johannes Brahms, the Serenade #2 in A Major, Op.16. He used a modest ensemble of 25 players, all woodwinds and strings. This piece is owned by the woodwinds. Oboist Robinson delivered another stellar performance, ably assisted by clarinetist Laura Ardan.
The Bellingham Festival of Music never goes gently into that good night and Sunday’s final performance will put an emphatic exclamation point on this season. It is a complete concert version of Ludwig van Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio. The orchestra will be joined by some celestial soloists and the magnificent Festival Chorus.
I suspect it’s already sold out, but you might be able to get on a waiting list by calling the box office at (360) 650-6146 or by e-mail: boxoffice@wwu.edu.
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Beautiful music, beautiful setting
by John French
Vaunted Editor (VE) to Humble Reviewer (HR) – VE: Would you review a chamber music concert? HR: Sure. VE: It’s the Bellingham Festival of Music. HR: Great! VE: It’s at the cruise terminal. HR: Riiiiiiight. So off I go with all the anticipation of seeing my dentist for what promises to be a really lousy afternoon of listening to delicate chamber works at Bellingham’s own version of Ellis Island.
How wrong I was! The atrium at the cruise terminal proved to be ideal for chamber music with the window section providing the necessary focus for the sound, not to mention a fabulous view.
First on the bill was Johannes Brahms’ Quintet in F minor for Strings and Piano. HR has said in a previous review that Brahms ain’t easy, either to listen to or play. Brahms is not even easy for Brahms. This piece first showed up as a quintet (no piano), then for two pianos (no strings) and even a version for quintet with two cellos (no piano) that Brahms evidently burned. This version performed today had the approval of Clara Schumann (Brahms main sounding board on items compositional) and was presented beautifully.
Sometimes referred to (not so much) jokingly as Brahms’ Third Piano Concerto, you can immediately tell why. Jeffrey Gilliam and company took masterful control from the onset of the Allegro movement and never gave up until the end of the ferocious finale: Presto section. Along the way, we heard the strings soar in the Andante second movement and to the surprise of HR, Gilliam’s fingers did not fall off in the rhythmically tricky Scherzo. In talking to Mr. Gilliam after the piece, I discovered he had a blood blister right under the nail of his fifth finger which should have made this even more difficult. But he let the thunder roll when called for and all of the musicians received a much deserved standing ovation for their efforts.
One side note: the piano Gilliam used was a 5′10″ Steinway Model A that is well-known to HR. It belonged to the late Professor Dr. David Schaub – given to WWU by him – and this reviewer spent several summers practicing on it. It is always nice to see that an old friend is being well taken care of.
After intermission, the survivors of the Brahms (minus Gilliam) and another quartet came together for the other piece of the afternoon. Do you remember what you were doing when you were 16? I was trying to get a date with Ann Metzger and learning how to use a stick shift. Felix Mendelssohn composed what is arguably one his greatest pieces of music, the Octet for Strings. In four movements (Allegro, Andante, Scherzo and Presto) he weaves magic by using endless ways of working all eight instruments in various combinations. The strings were electrifying when they played the exact line in unison in the first movement, as an example. The haunting Scherzo has as its inspiration the “Witches Sabbath” scene from Goethe’s Faust (thank you, Dr. Rutschman – HR did not know this) and the lilting Presto brought to a close a wonderful afternoon’s sights and sounds that I did not think were possible in such a setting.
If you have not had a chance to see any of the Bellingham Festival of Music concerts year, you are missing a level of music making that we don’t get a chance to see all that often in Bellingham. And, by the way, HR did learn how use a stick and never did get a date with Ann.
Next on the festival bill is a program featuring Rossini, Britten, Liszt and (sigh) Brahms on Wednesday, July 13. This concert is back at the WWU PAC (don’t you just hate three-letter abbreviations?) and features tenor Richard Clement. Tickets, if any, are available by calling (360) 650-6146 or by e-mail: boxoffice@wwu.edu.
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Violinist takes festival by storm
by Christopher Key
Due to my reviewing schedule last year, I was unable to witness a phenomenon known as Stefan Jackiw at the Bellingham Festival of Music. Judging from what I heard from those who were there, I wasn’t going to make that mistake this year. It’s a good thing, too, because this young musician should be on everyone’s bucket list.
Before Jackiw burned the place down, the festival orchestra lulled everyone into a false sense of security with a sensitive performance of Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune. This composition was one of the first blows struck by Debussy in his campaign to become the anti-Wagner. It demands a nuanced approach and Maestro Palmer and the orchestra responded beautifully. I heard things I never heard before and I’ve listened to this piece many times. Flutist Christina Smith led the way with some virtuosic help from harpist Rita Costanzi, clarinetist Laura Ardan and oboist Joseph Robinson.
Then Jackiw took the stage for Jean Sibelius’ Concerto in D minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 47, and reality as we know it was suspended for an indeterminate length of time. The violin has many voices and if you think you’ve heard all of them, you haven’t heard Jackiw. He coaxes tonality from his instrument that is impossible to describe. I could use a whole thesaurus worth of adjectives. If I start with “a,” amazing, astonishing and astounding come immediately to mind.
Local impresario Jack Frymire and I chatted briefly at intermission and both of us wondered what kind of instrument Jackiw was playing. Given the time constraints imposed by the review, I was unable to find out. Upon further reflection, I have to think that Jackiw could make a garage sale violin sound like a Strad. The audience simply levitated at the end of the performance. Jackiw graciously responded with no less than two encores and it looked for a while as though the SWAT team was going to have to be called in to extract Jackiw from a crowd that didn’t want to let him go.
Most orchestras would find that a very difficult act to follow, but the festival aggregation is made of sterner stuff. They gave Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony #1 in C Major, Op. 21, a memorable ride. I say memorable because I’ve heard this symphony more than a few times and, once again, I discovered things I hadn’t noticed before. That, to me, is what makes this festival so special.
It’s possible that some major professional orchestras have delivered a more stirring performance of Number One, but I’m not easily convinced. Part of it is because I’ve heard it most often on recordings. The most expensive audio equipment still can’t capture that je ne sais quoi of a live performance and the festival orchestra has set the standard as far as I’m concerned.
In past years, I have found that the festival’s chamber music concert has invariably been my favorite. That’s next on the schedule Sunday afternoon at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal. I’m relieved that I won’t have to watch how they manage to get a nine-foot concert grand into that space, but the results should be spectacular. If there are any tickets left, they can be had by calling (360) 650-6146 or by e-mail: boxoffice@wwu.edu. Good luck!
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