MUS I C
BY B RET T CA M P B EL L
PHOTO COUR TESY N ATH A N RUSSELL
MIRO QUARTET
MUSICAL COMFORT, FOOD AND JOY
Get ready for the holidays with Tchaikovsky, Schubert and a little Irving Berlin
On Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, Dec. 8 and 9,
at the Hult Center’s Silva Hall, the Eugene Concert Choir
sings another popular classic: J.S. Bach’s glorious
Magnificat, which really lives up to its name. In this era of
consumerism and rising income inequality, we can especially
welcome the passage “He has filled the hungry with good
things, and the rich he has sent away empty.” The family-
friendly show does include a welcome lycanthropic world
premiere (“Werewolf Christmas”), plenty of holiday faves
and carols (including some of Duke Ellington’s great
arrangements from The Nutcracker), a pre-show sing-along
with the Oregon Tuba Ensemble , gospel singer Darlene
Jackson and instrumental accompaniment by the Oregon
Mozart Players .
The Oregon Mozart Players will be a busy group. That
same evening, plus Dec. 10, they’ll perform a traditional
— though non holiday-related — favorite at the Mozart
Players’ annual Candlelight Baroque concert at First
Christian Church, 11th Avenue and Oak Street, always one
of the highlights of the classical music season thanks to its
intimate atmosphere and accomplished music-making.
New artistic director Kelly Kuo leads (from the harpsi-
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“ C
hestnuts roasting on an open fire ...” If
only. The holidays are the season for the
comfort of familiarity, and in this holiday
music season, that doesn’t just apply to
carols. It’s always a treat to hear old faves,
but pickings are slim for fans of the new
and different. The Dec. 6 Eugene Symphony performance
at the Hult Center includes three of the best-known works
in classical music. Max Bruch’s violin showcase Scottish
Fantasy, featuring the great fiddler Jennifer Koh; a suite
from Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcr — whoops, actually,
they’re doing Swan Lake, which counts as a surprise, I
guess — and the orchestral suite Aaron Copland contrived
in 1945 from his American classic ballet score, Appalachian
Spring. An hour before the show, the Eugene Ballet will
host a free talk, slide presentation and short performance of
Swan Lake’s famous Dance of the Swans.
Sunday, Dec. 16, the symphony returns to the Hult with
a family-friendly show sporting the usual holiday fare —
but augmented by a return appearance of the aerialists,
acrobats, contortionists, strongmen and other performers
from Moscow’s renowned Cirque de la Symphonie .
chord, as was done in the Baroque era) a performance of
Vivaldi’s (over) familiar but fabulous Four Seasons violin
concertos, with a different fiddler taking the lead in each.
Kuo himself will conduct another Bach classic, his great
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, and play the spectacular
solo in the middle. And the concert does include a treat for
fans of relatively modern music: Henryk Gorecki’s Three
Pieces in Old Style, which has much the same appeal as his
popular Symphony No. 3. Besides the candlelit ambience,
the show also features cookies, cider and a chance to
mingle with the musicians.
Also on Sunday (evening), the UO’s Chamber Music@
Beall series brings one of the nation’s finest string
foursomes, the Miro Quartet , to Beall Concert Hall to
perform some of the finest chamber music of the 19th
century, including yet another familiar classic: Franz
Schubert’s Death and the Maiden, along with his equally
great final quartet, D. 887, an expansive work written just
before his last and greatest masterpiece, the String Quintet.
Music lovers seeking something different yet still
spiritual this season can find it at Springfield’s Wildish
Theater on Tuesday, Dec. 11, when the great Turkish
master musician Timucun Cevikoglu will lead the Mevlevi
Order of America in a performance of beautiful medieval
Sufi music that often accompanies the celebrated Sema
Ceremony with whirling dervishes. (You can experience
the ceremony itself in his performance in Portland on Dec.
14.) I’ve heard Dr. Cevikoglu play the ney flute and frame
drum in ensemble performances of this music that the poet
Rumi knew, and it’s a memorable musical encounter that
appeals to more than just fans of world music.
If you need a mid-day musical break from all the
canned mall carols, head over to First Methodist Church
(13th Avenue & Olive Street) at noon on Dec. 7, 14 and 21,
where either of two veteran Eugene organists, Julia Brown
or Barbara Baird , will play a half hour of music by
various composers ancient and recent, including (on Dec.
14), the premiere of a new piece by long time UO
composition prof Hal Owen . On the Dec. 21, Brown will
be joined by harpist Rachel Petty in Christmas music.
Finally, to hear an American variation on holiday
musical comfort food, check out the Emerald City Jazz
Kings happily restored annual Christmas show, featuring
great 20th-century seasonal songs (“Have Yourself a Merry
Little Christmas,” “Silver Bells,” “Merry Christmas Baby,”
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” et al.) by Irving Berlin, Mel
Tormé, etc., as well as carols galore. The show was replaced
last year by a musical, but this year, you can see both —
Singin’ in the Rain is also playing at The Shedd. It’s nice to
see some new holiday traditions to go with the old. ■
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