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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (July 8, 2004)
BY BRETT CAMPBELL Krzysztof Penderecki conducts OBF orchestra July 7, Silva Hall. Best of the Bach Penderecki, McGhee highlight the week. T he Oregon Bach Festival soldiers on with some of its strongest con- certs this weekend. On Thursday, July 7, one of the 20th century’s most impor- tant composers, Krzysztof Penderecki , will lead the festival orchestra in a perform- ance of his own Flute Concerto as well as Beethoven’s perfect-for-summer Pastoral Symphony at Silva Hall. The flute concerto might be a little tame for fans of Penderecki’s earlier, thornier works, but it’s still spicy enough to delight aficionados of more accessible 20th-centu- ry music, while not frightening away the Beethoven fans. It’s a real challenge for the soloist, the Scots-born Vancouver flutist Lorna McGhee , but judging by her fluent performance of music by J.S. Bach and Toru Takemitsu last week, she should sparkle in this showcase. McGhee is also featured in another rec- ommended concert the following night, Friday, July 9, when she joins harpist Heidi Krutzen and violist David Harding in an unusual and attractive program of chamber music from Britain at Beall Hall. Just because we had to leave their empire rather forcibly doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy the music of Henry Purcell (for Baroque fans), Benjamin Britten, the contemporary masters Peter Maxwell Davies and Gavin Bryars, and more. The festival wraps up on Sunday with one of the pillars of 19th-cen- tury sacred music, Mendelssohn’s oratorio, Elijah. For me, the highlight of the festival so far has been the Composers Symposium concerts, with one of America’s greatest composers, George Crumb, present to hear his music performed by one of the West Coast’s finest ensembles, Portland’s Third Angle. The nuanced performance of the classic Black Angels was even more sensi- tive than the Kronos Quartet’s recording. (It was quite a coincidence to hear it just days after John Fogerty performed his own Vietnam War inspired masterpiece, “Fortunate Son,” at the Cuthbert.) Crumb’s ethereal Nocturnes also received an evoca- tive performance, and I was also impressed by UO faculty member David Crumb’s “Awakenings” (whose expressive range was far greater than its trumpet and percus- sion instrumentation might suggest) and “September Elegy,” which transcends mourning and dolefulness to capture some of the complex feelings of loss and shock that accompanied the Sept. 11 attacks. 26 JULY 8, 2004 When the New York Times music critic John Rockwell appeared at the festival last week, he noted that its interpretations of Baroque music are on the cutting edge — of the 1950s and 1960s. The absence of period instruments and more historically informed performance styles remains one of the festi- val’s biggest omissions, but we have a chance to hear something closer to what Baroque listeners experienced on Sunday, July 11 at Perugino’s, the delightful little café across from the Hult Center, from noon to 3 pm (just before Elijah), when you can hear Rachel Streeter and other musicians on harpsichord, baroque flute, lute, baroque bassoon and more in music by Telemann, J.S. Bach, Couperin, C.P.E. Bach, Boismortier and other great Baroque com- posers. And afterwards, you can hear more early music when the Emerald Renaissance Band performs in a free concert at Washburne Park at 6:30 pm. Don’t let the Bach Festival, Country Fair, or the weather keep you out of the clubs this month. On Thursday, July 8, Luna features bassist Michael Manring and guitarist Tony Kaltenberg in what’s being billed as a New Age show. I’m sure those fans will enjoy it, but there’s a lot more to these two fine musicians than the airy fluff that term suggests. Inspired by Jaco Pastorius and a participant in many Windham Hill sessions (including the band Montreux), Manring is one of the few bassists with the chops and musical imagi- nation to carry a show by himself. Kaltenberg’s glittering guitar work descends from that of John Fahey, Michael Hedges and Leo Kottke. They should be a formidable duo. Portland’s Pink Martini has played here often enough that long time fans might want to know why they should see the band again on Friday, July 16. (Newbies shouldn’t hesi- tate to give them a try.) Three reasons: First, the show is at Alton Baker Park’s idyllic Cuthbert Amphitheatre. Second, the band will be augmented by the Latin Expression Salsa Orchestra and the Brazilian percus- sion ensemble Lions of Batucada . Third, Pink Martini always puts on a fun show, and it’ll be great to have room to groove to the band’s samba, rhumba, and other Latin rhythms. You can hear a different take on Afro-Cuban rhythms on Wednesday, July 14, when the Boulder-based Motet brings its funk/jazz/Afro-beat (inspired by Fela Kuti) to the WOW Hall. ew
