Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!
Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)
Mozart: Divertimento for Violin, Cello and Piano in B-flat, K. 254
Ida Levin, violin
Bion Tsang, cello
Orion Weiss, piano
Mozart in chamber form tends to be safe, sensible and sunny. This is a new piece for me, but I think you’ll find it enjoyable.
Dvorák: Miniatures for 2 Violins and Viola, Op. 75a
Stephen Rose, violin
Augustin Hadelich, violin
Richard O’Neill, viola
Stephen Rose is the son of legendary cellist Leonard Rose.
Richard O’Neill is half Irish and half Korean, and he looks Korean. I cracked him up with my imitation of an Irishman talking about the Korean conquest of Ireland. “Ah, twas a foine brawl, and we was winning til the Koreans broke open the beer. Twas all over in but a minute. We had our arms around each other singing. Me par sainted mither would a been ashamed.” Richard and I have an encyclopedic knowledge of the classical repertory, and if we hear a few notes, we can identify the piece rather quickly. This is a game known as Dittersdorfing, because if it sounds like Haydn but it isn’t Haydn, then it’s Dittersdorf.
Here is my favorite O’Neill story.
I attended an open rehearsal of Bartók’s early Quintet for Piano and Strings a few years ago. Richard was the violist, and the wonderfully avuncular Ronald Thomas was the cellist. At the end of the rehearsal, Ron called out to me in the audience, “That theme in the third movement. Which Mahler slow movement does that resemble?” You could see Richard’s brain working, and so was mine. We called out simultaneously, “Not a slow movement. A scherzo. Third Symphony.” Ron asked, “Was that a coincidence?” This is where my catalog of useless information came in handy. I said, “The Bartók piece was written in 1905, and the Mahler Third was premiered in 1904 in Budapest. I don’t think it’s a coincidence. I think it’s osmosis.”
My other favorite O’Neill story comes with a trophy on the wall of my music nook.
Richard was the violist in Beethoven’s String Quartet in C, Op. 59/3. In the finale, the violist sets the pace, and Beethoven’s metronome marking indicates that he wanted a truly blistering pace. I asked Richard how fast he intended to take it. He said, “I’m gonna put the pedal to the metal. I’m going to lay rubber. I’m going to wrap the car around the tree.” In the concert performance, he did just that. Not even a minute into the finale, his G-string broke. (No naughty laughing here!) Richard had to go offstage while Ron Thomas looked like a man whose dog had just made a stinky on the carpet. Richard came back with a re-strung viola, and they restarted the finale. After the concert, I came up to the chastened Richard and said, “You’re a man of your word.” He gave me the broken G-string which I had framed, and which now sits on the wall of my music nook.
Bartók: Seven Pieces from “Mikrokosmos” for 2 Pianos, Sz. 108
Jeremy Denk, piano
Inon Barnatan, piano
This will be a new piece for me, and it may be a bit rough on the ear.
Milhaud: “Scaramouche” Suite for 2 Pianos, Op. 165b
Inon Barnatan, piano
Jeremy Denk, piano
This is another new piece for me.
Mendelssohn: Quartet for Piano and Strings in C minor, Op. 1
Benjamin Bellman, violin
David Harding, viola
Edward Arron, cello
Anna Polonsky, piano
This is a romp and a lot of fun. Mendelssohn is always entertaining. A few years ago, I attended an open rehearsal of this piece. At the end, I remarked to Jimmy Ehnes, the violinist in the piece who is now the new artistic director, that everybody seemed to be having fun on stage. He admitted that everybody was indeed having fun. I looked down at Jimmy, scrunched up my face and said haughtily, “Well, we can’t have that, you know.” I cracked him up.
Hi Prof...can you leave a few breadcrumbs for the more dense as myself? What link am I supposed to click...and NO laughing! :)
Good afternoon, Publius...((HUGS)
Is your Seattle Chamber Music Festival as good as you expected? Lots of enjoyment?