Astoria Music Festival moves into second week
ASTORIA — The 13th annual
Astoria Music Festival contin-
ues into its second weekend and
week of stunning concerts Fri-
day, June 19 to Wednesday, June
24. Weekday programming fo-
cuses on young instrumental and
vocal artists .
On Friday, June 19, the Her-
mitage Piano Trio — featuring
cellist Sergey Antonov, pianist
Ilya Kazantsev and violinist Mi-
sha Keylin — violinist Anthea
Kreston, cellist Jason Duckles
and violist James VanValkenburg
will join Astoria Music Festival
Chamber Music Director and
pianist Cary Lewis in a stirring
concert ranging from Beethoven
to Sibelius, as the music festival
continues its celebration of the
150th anniversary of the latter
composer’s birth. Pieces to be
performed include Beethoven’s
String Quintet after the “Kreut-
zer” Sonata; Brahms’ Hungarian
Dances for Piano Four-Hands,
and Sibelius’ Piano Quintet in
G Minor. Tickets are $20 to $45,
and the concert takes place at the
Liberty Theater.
After a recent Hermitage Pia-
no Trio concert, the Washington
Post raved, “three of Russia’s
most spectacular young solo-
ists…turned in a performance
of such power and sweeping
passion that it left you nearly out
of breath.” Kreston and Duckles’
chamber ensemble, the Amelia
Piano Trio, was honored by Na-
tional Public Radio as the Young
Ensemble in Residence with a
week of concerts and interviews
in 2003. Founding member of
the International String Quartet
and current Assistant Principal
Viola of the Detroit Symphony,
VanValkenburg continues to col-
laborate with chamber musicians
such as Gidon Kremer, David
Shifrin and Isaac Stern. Lewis
spent most of his career as the ac-
claimed pianist of the legendary
Lanier Trio, whose recording of
the complete Dvorak Trios was
selected by Time as one of the 10
best recordings of 1993.
Saturday, June 20 begins
with a free brown bag lunch talk
at noon in the Liberty Theater’s
McTavish Room, providing cul-
tural context for the festival’s
production of Bach’s majestic
“St. John Passion.” Speakers
include Portland State Univer-
sity German language professor
William Fischer and Dwight
Caswell, who has a doctorate in
theology.
At 4 p.m. Saturday, cellist
Sergey Antonov welcomes festi-
val-goers with his popular Hap-
py Hour, an informal, hour of
concert and conversation with
his fellow artists of the Hermit-
age Piano Trio. The concert takes
place at the Liberty Theater, and
tickets are $15. The program will
be announced on stage.
The evening continues at 7:30
p.m. on the Liberty Theater stage
with Keith Clark directing the
Festival Orchestra in the deeply
moving “St. John Passion” by
Bach. The production includes
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Submitted photo by Dwight Caswell
The Ensemble of Oregon direct-
ed by Patrick McDonough and
internationally acclaimed singers
Oliver Mercer as the Evangelist
and Metropolitan Opera bass
Richard Zeller, returning to the
festival for his 10th summer, in
the role of Christus.
Sunday, June 21 begins at 4
p.m. with Clark introducing the
festival’s second all-Beetho-
ven program in a free Concert
Preview. Then at 5 p.m., the
Hermitage Piano Trio opens the
concert with the bravura Triple
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as Clark leads the orchestra, the
North Coast Chorale, Vocal Ap-
prentices and acclaimed opera
soloists in the powerful Act II
of opera in concert “Fidelio,”
in which a courageous wife
disguises herself and hazards a
treacherous political prison to
rescue her wrongly accused hus-
band. Richard Zeller as Don Fer-
nando is joined by Emily Pulley
as Lenore; Allan Glassman as
Florestan; Deac Guidi as Roc-
co; and Matthew Hayward as
Pizarro. Tickets are $17 to $45,
and the concert takes place at the
Liberty Theater.
Monday, June 22 brings
the culmination of coaching by
members of the Hermitage Pia-
no Trio with the 2015 Festival’s
Instrumental Apprentices. The
combined ensemble allows the
performance of two of Mendels-
sohn’s master works: the Double
Concerto in D Minor and the
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propriate to the youth of the ap-
prentices, Mendelssohn’s Octet,
written when the composer was
only 16, bursts with exuberant
brilliance. Since it was written as
a gift for a friend and teacher, the
Octet also honors the mentoring
Lower Columbia
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ASTORIA, OR
Saturday
June 27th
8:30am-4:30pm
FREE
Admission
Clatsop County Fairgrounds • Astoria, Oregon
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Submitted photo
Tenor Oliver Mercer will perform June 20 in
Bach’s “St. John Passion,” which tells of the
final days of Jesus of Nazareth in a work of
searing intensity, as dramatic as any opera.
Award-winning cellist Sergey Antonov, lower left, performs with the Astoria Music Festi-
val orchestra under the direction of Keith Clark, right.
Presented by:
North Coast Chapter OET
503.325.0677
Submitted photo
James VanValkenburg, assistant principal
viola of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra,
will perform June 19 at the festival.
Demonstrations • Seminars
Vendors • Displays
503-791-3066
Submitted photo
Soprano Emily Pulley has performed with
Glimmerglass Opera and Boston Lyric
Opera, and will sing the role of Lenore in
Beethoven’s “Fidelio” June 21 at the Asto-
ria Music Festival.
experience. The concert is free
and takes place at the Liberty
Theater at 7:30 p.m.
At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday,
June 24, Keith Clark will part
the curtains on Mozart’s involve-
ment with the secret society of
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on his music. The free talk takes
place at the Astoria Masonic
Lodge, located at 1572 Franklin
Ave. Following the talk, attend-
Submitted photo
Pianist Ilya Kazantsev, part of the Hermit-
age Trio, will perform June 19, 20 and 22
during the festival.
ees are invited to take a short
walk from the lecture to glimpse
the dress rehearsal for “The
Magic Flute” (being performed
June 25 and 26).
For more information or tick-
ets, visit www.astoriamusicfesti-
val.org; visit the Astoria Music
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mercial St. or call 503.325.9896;
or visit the Liberty Theater box
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call 503.325.5922, ext. 55.
Pla ying toda y’s best m usic