Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 21, 2007)
Voronezh, now resident in Eugene, return for more excel- lent tunes this year. Midori plays Mendelssohn on Tuesday, July 3 Jeffrey Kahane July 3 and 5 Wednesday 7/11 noon Let’s Talk: Vocal Soloists (The Studio) 4:30 pm Discovery Series: Bach Cantata 140* (Soreng) 7:30 pm Intimate Evenings: Bernd Glemser, piano recital (Soreng) Thursday 7/12 noon Let’s Talk: Helmuth Rilling (The Studio) 6:30 pm Inside Line: Kirk Boyd (Soreng) ★7:30 pm Choral-Orchestral Concert: Honegger King David, Robin Engelen, conductor (Silva) Combining theater, design and spectacular music, this blending of the arts should attract many new faces to the festival. 4:30 pm ★7:30 pm 10:30 pm Discovery Series: Haydn Mass for Theresa Part 2* (Soreng Theater, Hult Center) Fest@First: Stangeland Family YCA (First Baptist Church) The First Baptist Church’s gorgeous (in aural and physical terms) venue may be an annoying drive, but the venue is a perfect place to celebrate the young voices of the YCA. See story, p. 4. Wild Nights: Improv Café (Collier House, UO) Saturday 7/7 10am Composers Symposium: Crosscurrents I: The Piano Reborn (Beall) 11 am Dance Theatre of Oregon: “Snow White” (Soreng) noon On the House: SFYCA soloists (Hult Lobby) 2pm Composers Symposium: Crosscurrents II: The Gates of Alto soloist Roxana Constantinescu 7:30 pm 10:30 pm Paradise (Beall) Intimate Evenings: Bach à la Jazz (Beall) Wild Nights: Improv Café (Collier House, UO) Sunday 7/8 3 pm Inside Line: Thomas Somerville (Soreng) ★4 pm Choral-Orchestral Concert: Bach and Mendelssohn motets; Haydn Mass for Theresa* (Silva) Motets are sprightly and enjoy- able; the Mass for Theresa will knock your socks off (if you’re wearing socks, which on July 8 might be a little bit unlikely); and if you attended the Discovery Series, you’ll know all kinds of cool info about the Mass. 7 pm Patron Celebration (Valley River Inn, by invitation) 10:30 pm Wild Nights: Improv Café (Collier House, UO) Monday 7/9 noon On the House: Swang (Hult Lobby) 7:30 pm Organ Recital: Kimberly Marshall (Central Lutheran Church) 7:30 pm Composers Symposium: Crosscurrents III: East Meets West (Beall) Tuesday 7/10 noon On the House: Chungliang Al Huang, Tao of Listening (Hult Lobby) 4:30 pm Discovery Series: Bach Orchestral Suite No. 3* (Soreng) ★7:30 pm Fest@First: Trio Voronezh with orchestra; Philip Brunelle, con- ductor (First Baptist Church) S INGING WITH THE S TARS Been crooning a lot of Kelly Clarkson while lathering up? Perhaps you prefer to belt out show tunes — “Oh, what a beautiful morning!” — as you rinse and repeat. Well, the Bach Fest has a plan for you. While many OBF events involve watching professionals make the music, In Choir welcomes all to sing alongside the Festival Chorus. The program, developed by the Minnesota Chorale, has participants attend a rehearsal of Brahms Requiem and then observe as the Festival’s artistic director Helmuth Rising conducts the choir. The festival’s press release states, “By standing alongside professional singers in full voice, participants can gain an appreciation for the extraordinary sound quali- ty, richness, and resonance of this choir that is an early-summer fixture of Eugene.” It’s a mere $10 to participate, so bring your shower-singing skills on down to The Studio at the Hult Center at 7 pm on Wednesday, June 27. — Amanda Burhop For tickets and more info, visit http://bachfest.uoregon.edu Friday 7/13 noon Organ Interludes: Julia Brown (Church of the Resurrection) 4:30 pm Discovery Series: Bach Orchestral Suite No. 4* (Soreng) 7:30 pm Guest Artists: The 5 Browns (Silva) Saturday 7/14 11 am “Music in Action: Bach & Forth” with Rich Glauber (Soreng) ★noon Let’s Talk: John Evans (The Studio) Remember when the OBF tried to let Royce Saltzman step down a few years back and things went awry? Well, it looks like this transition, to John Evans, may work a whole hecku- va lot better. Let Evans’ Welsh accent charm you as he answers your tough questions and your welcoming softballs. 7:30 pm Intimate Evenings: Triad (Soreng) Sunday 7/15 3 pm Inside Line: Robert Hurwitz (Soreng) ★4 pm Choral-Orchestral Concert: Beethoven Missa Solemnis* (Silva) Ah, the last event. By now, your party clothes are well-worn; you’ve seen the soloists getting coffee at Perugino; you’ve heard rumors of near-disasters averted by the professionalism of the musicians and Rilling; frankly, the Festival Chorus and Orchestra do feel like family members. Or more like summer camp coun- selors, leaders of a glorious two- week experience replete with Helmuth Rilling laughs and tears and memories. Head to the Hult for one last round of enjoyment before stum- bling, music-dazed, back to what some call “real life.” ★ denotes a Best of Bach top recommendation from the EW faithful. *Conducted by Helmuth Rilling Programs subject to change. R ILLING C HARMS IN S ERIES Listen up, people. If you’re worried about heading to a Bach Festival event without years of education under your belt; if you want to see world-class musicians in their shorts and sundresses, chatting with each other and smil- ing (even laughing at times); if you want to hear the charm and bril- liance that is Helmuth Rilling knowing scores backwards, for- wards, upside down and inside out; and if you want to flaunt your knowledge of little details about Haydn to your date before you listen to the Mass for Theresa, well, this is the thing for you. Plus you can wear shorts and be in complete vogue, which doesn’t always happen with The Classical Music Experience. The Discovery Series could win you over to the Helmuth Rilling fan club (you, yes you, might search eBay for one of those Helmuth bobbleheads) or make you fall for the bass whose mouth always quirks up when Rilling makes a joke. At the same time the least and most serious bit of the festival, the Series makes audi- ences feel like they’ve learned insider knowledge. For newbies to the OBF, it’s a great way to feel affection for the soloists and the musicians before their big night; for experienced festival goers, it’s a time to reconnect with Rilling and the Big Fun that is the OBF. And with six to choose from (and an utterly reasonable ticket price of $14-$20), you can take your pick. — Suzi Steffen O REGON B ACH F ESTIVAL 7
