Astoria Music Festival
March Mimi-Series
HERMITAGE PIANO TRIO
3 p.m. Sunday, March 15
Liberty Theater
1203 Commercial St., Astoria
www.astoriamusicfestival.com
$20 general admission, $5 students
$30 patron, includes post-concert reception with the artists
FROM FINLAND WITH LOVE
3 p.m. Sunday, March 22
Liberty Theater
1203 Commercial St., Astoria
$15, includes post-concert reception
The Astoria Music festival offers a taste of summer delights with its first-ever March Mini-Series
Story by DWIGHT CASWELL
presented at the Liberty Theater. And if that festival
is always held in June, why not offer a foretaste of
The Astoria Music Festival has become what it summer delights in a mini-series of concerts in the
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in Oregon, but also on the West Coast — because
And that’s how our homegrown festival is re-
Maestro Keith Clark insists on not following a for- inventing itself in 2015, with what they are call-
mula. “Our reputation,” says Clark, “is as a develop- ing, logically enough, the March Mini-Series. It’s a
ing, young and energetic festival that does unusual chance to see and hear some of the talent that will be
things well.”
here in June.
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Oregon, or North America, you can count on it being Hideki Yamaya, an Astoria Music festival favorite,
and his mentor, John Schneiderman, whom Yama-
ya now records with. They presented “Romantic
German Music for Two Guitars” at Peace Lutheran
Church.
Unfortunately, as you can tell from the past tense,
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it, make sure you don’t miss the next two; both are
at 3 p.m. at the Liberty Theater. The second concert
features one of the most popular artists ever to play
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formance should not be missed by anyone of Scan-
dinavian descent.
Antonov, the “Cello Hero” of the music festival,
along with Ilya Kazantsev on piano and Micha Key-
lin on violin are the Hermitage Piano Trio. They take
the stage of the Liberty Theater Sunday, March 15 to
play the music of Beethoven, Brahms, Rachmanin-
ov and Schubert.
Micha Keylin has performed to
consistent acclaim in 45 countries
since his Carnegie Hall debut at the
age of 11. Antonov won the Inter-
national Tchaikovsky Competition,
and Kazantsev won the Internation-
al Chopin Competition in Moscow
and the 2007 and 2008 World Piano
Competition. Based in the United
States but out of the great Russian
musical tradition, this trio of remark-
able musicians has recorded exten-
sively and toured from Los Angeles
to Washington, D.C., where The Washington Post
reviewer said they, “turned in a performance of such
power and sweeping passion that it left you nearly
out of breath.”
A reception will be held after the concert, at
which those who pay a little extra will have a chance
Submitted photo
The Hermitage Piano Trio, featuring, from left, cellist Sergey Antonov, violinist Micha Keylin and pianist Ilya Kazantsev, will perfrom works by Beethoven, Brahms, Rachmaninov and Schubert on March 15 at the
Liberty Theater.
to meet the performers.
The following Sunday, March 22, the Astoria
Music Festival presents an event that will stir the
hearts of all those who trace their roots to Scandina-
via. “From Finland with Love: Songs of my Great
Grandfather” features rarely heard music by Jean
Sibelius. The concert is part of a
worldwide celebration of the 150th
anniversary of the birth of Sibelius,
held in association with UNESCO.
Sibelius captured the spirit of
Scandinavia as no other artist. More
than most composers, and even more
than most Finnish people, Sibelius
was an avid student of nature, and it
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is for this reason that he approached
the form and tonality of music in a
unique fashion, for which he some-
times received critical rebuke. Si-
belius’ response to such disparagement was classic:
“Pay no attention to what critics say. No statue has
ever been put up to a critic.”
Why “Songs of My Great Grandfather”? Be-
cause the pianist performing the pieces is Ruusamari
Teppo, the great-granddaughter of Sibelius. Teppo
It’s a chance to
see and hear
some of the
talent that will
be here in June.
Submitted photo
Ruusamari Teppo, Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’ great-granddaughter, will perfrom “From Finland with Love: Songs of my Great Grandfa-
ther” on piano with cellist Jussi Makkonen on March 22 at the Liberty Theater in Astoria. notforsale
12 | March 12, 2015 | coastweekend.com
has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in
this country, throughout Europe and in South Africa.
She is joined by Jussi Makkonen, who will perform
on an 18th century cello. Makkonen received his
master’s degree in music from the Sibelius Acade-
my and also has an impressive international resume.
The Finnish Brotherhood of Astoria will hold a
post-concert reception, for which there will be no
additional charge. Based on past performance, the
reception will be well worth attending.
If after these events you feel your appetite whet-
ted for the June festival, Maestro Clark promises a
great show. “I am thrilled,” he says, “to bring this
summer’s program to Astoria audiences. It’s a gath-
ering of my best musical friends from the world’s
greatest opera houses and symphony orchestras.”
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premiere of Donizetti’s “Mary Stuart,” with Amer-
ica’s reigning queen of Bel Canto opera (and festival
regular) Angela Meade as Mary, Queen of Scots.
“She’ll lose her head at the end of course,” says
Clark, “but so will the rest of us when we hear this
incredibly beautiful music.”
There will also be two all-Beethoven nights, says
Clark, “and much more coming soon. We’re build-
ing the greatest music festival on the West Coast.”
AP Photo
Finnish composer Jean Sibelius is shown in Finland in January
1938. The Astoria Music Festival’s March Mini-Series concert “From
Finland with Love” is part of a worldwide celebration of the 150th
anniversary of the composer’s birth.
Photo courtesy of David Lee Myers
Celloist Sergey Antonov performs during the final celebrity chamber music matinee during last summer’s Astoria Music Festival. The
award-winning cellist will be back in Astoria for a concert March 15 as part of the festival’s March Mini-Series.
March 12, 2015 | coastweekend.com | 13