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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 2018
REVIEW
Astoria Music Festival sparkles with class acts
An impressive
violinist shines
By PATRICK WEBB
For The Daily Astorian
Astoria Music Festival dis-
covered a new star this past
weekend.
Ten years after delightful
and impressive Russian cel-
list Sergey Antonov rocked the
house, he was joined by another
skilled musician who is already
an Astoria favorite after two
concerts.
Violinist Maureen Nelson
wowed the opening-night audi-
ence June 16 with a skilled ren-
dition of Debussy’s Sonata for
Violin and Piano, blending in
delightful symmetry with vet-
eran pianist Cary Lewis.
Twenty-four hours later,
barely time to oil her bow, she
was back on the stage of the
Liberty Theatre performing the
violin solo in Vaughn Williams’
“Lark Ascending.”
Saturday, the hush was pal-
pable in the auditorium as her
controlled bow-work and fleet
fingering coaxed the sweetest,
highest notes of pastoral rever-
ence out of the British compos-
er’s masterwork.
As it concluded, the standing
ovation surely tested whether
the historic theater’s roof was
fastened on properly. The only
pity was there were only 230
souls to share an experience
that was as close to religious
as a secular venue will allow.
Nelson was presented with a
colorful bunch of flowers; she
deserved the entire garden.
“Lark Ascending” was
inspired by the 1881 poem by
George Meredith, which places
the elegance of the skylark in
the context of the English coun-
tryside. Williams composed his
popular piece in 1914 just as the
greatest unnecessary carnage
in the modern era began. And,
with hindsight, “The War To
End All Wars” wasn’t.
Under the careful baton of
Keith Clark, the Astoria Music
Festival Orchestra played their
part with significant precision.
This was a team effort, after
all. Yet during Nelson’s sweet
solos, when they rested their
own violins or cellos, young
and old musicians gaped with
open-mouthed awe at what
they were hearing, while on
the podium Clark personified a
respectful stillness.
As concertmaster, violin
expert Olivia Tsui, the Cali-
fornia-based professional, has
become the festival’s indispens-
able presence over the past eight
years. Inches away from Nelson
— though staring at her back,
because of their positions on
the stage — Tsui beamed with
appreciation and approval.
At one point, during a softer
part of the orchestra’s score,
Nelson seemed so entranced
that her whole person swayed,
her right hand briefly raising her
bow as if to conduct the other
players. A French horn sounded
and her intensity in the moment
went right back completing the
job at hand.
Nelson was a child prodigy
now with the St. Paul Cham-
ber Orchestra. She made her
festival debut with the Gram-
my-nominated Enso String
Quartet in 2015. The audi-
ence reaction this past weekend
downright demands that orga-
nizers had better contact her
booking agent right away for
2019 and thereafter.
Three weeks of music
Likely none of the 125 who
streamed out into the Asto-
ria streets afterward would
have thought it a “soft” open-
ing to three weeks that prom-
ise some stellar music, includ-
ing a concert version of
Puccini’s “Tosca” with inter-
nationally regarded soprano
Angela Brown on Sunday and a
couple of versions of “The Mar-
riage of Figaro” June 29 and
July 1. It is hard to believe that
Mozart’s naughty tale began it
all in Astoria, remarkably 16
ing and volume by pianist llya
Kazantsev, she exemplified
how an instrument not usually
associated with chamber music
can delight. The other “star” on
display during her three pieces
was the Liberty’s acoustics.
‘I Hate Music’
Patrick Webb/The Daily Astorian
Violin soloist Maureen Nelson soaks up her standing
ovation after her second appearance at the Astoria Music
Festival Saturday night.
years ago.
Antonov’s contribution was
suitably impressive. His power-
ful control of Saint-Saens’ cello
concerto drew well-deserved
applause. The piece, which
Rachmaninoff and Shostakov-
ich maintained is the best but
most difficult in the repertoire,
was in good hands. As they
played and conducted, his and
Clark’s heads nodded in unison,
their chemistry evident, two
masters at their craft. Antonov
will appear more later, nota-
bly with painter Darren Orange
on Saturday and a Bach series
Tuesday.
Earlier in the night, Clark’s
jaunty baton sped the orchestra
through the Eighth Symphony,
his favorite but most Beethoven
fans’ third or fourth most mem-
orable symphony, with a terrific
blend of sound, especially in
the call-and-response passages
between the strings and flutes,
plus some crisp timpani work
by Florian Conzetti.
Oboe player Melissa Peña
was another standout. The
assistant professor from Eugene
has been playing at the festival
since 2010, seizing on isolated
solo passages to demonstrate
mastery of the wind instrument
she teaches at the University of
Oregon. “I love coming here for
the music — and the people,”
she said afterward. “It is phe-
nomenal music with great col-
leagues. This town inspires us
to make music.”
Sandwiched between these
two shows was a “happy hour”
matinee concert best described
as “eclectic.” The centerpiece
was the saxophone work of
Chika Inoue. Considerably
aided with her timing, pac-
The festival gives an oppor-
tunity for college students to
showcase and perfect their
skills, a program begun by Ruth
Dodson and continued by Tsui,
Mark Ross Clark, Chuck Dil-
lard and Kosta Popovic.
Madeline Jentsch looked
nervous for about a millisec-
ond. But the cheeky oper-
atic manner in which the elfin
dynamo delivered Leonard
Bernstein’s cycle of five chil-
dren’s songs (amusingly called
“I Hate Music”) demonstrated
that here is a poised talent who,
if properly nurtured, can write
her own ticket in any genre of
vocal performing. Not surpris-
ingly, the talented Cincinnati
student will sing Suzanna, the
lead in “Figaro,” as the festival
wraps up.
Another highlight was
the world premiere of “Day-
break for String Quartet” by
Todd Mason, festival com-
poser-in-residence for the sec-
ond year. Mason said he was
so captivated while taking pho-
tos around Astoria last year that
he went home to Los Angeles
and penned the unusual piece,
which Tsui’s string quintet, con-
sisting of Anna Corcoran (vio-
lin), Peter Jandula-Hudson
(viola), Rowena Hamill (cello)
and Tyler Abbott (bass), per-
formed with grace and vigor.
“They did a fantastic job,”
said the composer, Mason,
who shunned the limelight and
directed applause back to the
performers. “They rehearsed
quite hard. It’s a difficult piece
because of all that pizzicato.”
Astoria inspired his work. “It
was a piece inspired by sunrises
and sunsets.”
The sparse matinee audi-
ence — 125 tickets were sold,
but Saturday’s sunshine kept the
true house to about 70 — was
ready to appreciate any skill
demonstrated. At one point,
Agnieszka Laska, the festi-
val’s loyal stage manager, gar-
nered applause when she dex-
terously picked up three bulky
metal music stands in her right
hand then three in her left
hand to clear space for the next
performers.
The hard-working Laska
acknowledged the impromptu
kudos with a cheeky grin. Her
more elevated skill — as a cre-
ative choreographer — will be
on display June 30 when her
Laska Dancers perform “Ore-
gon Bird Sketches.” Like so
many, she wears a number of
“hats.” Tsui will be doing dou-
ble duty as director and violin-
ist Wednesday at a program of
chamber music with works by
Mason and Clark.
And spare a thought for
Kazantsev, a Russian con-
temporary and colleague of
Antonov, whose dynamic piano
playing has brought yet another
sparkling international element
to the Oregon Coast.
For the first concert, with
featured Antonov, Nelson and
Lewis performing Trio No. 1
by Saint-Saens, he sat unobtru-
sively at Lewis’s side and acted
as his sheet music page turner.
Talk about overqualified! Lewis
has done this for him in a prior
year, so perhaps it evened the
score.
But when it was time for the
audience to applaud the talented
trio’s musicianship, Kazantsev
stepped unobtrusively sideways
so he was hidden by the raised
lid of the piano.
True, this was not his
moment. But in that modest
gesture he proved that there
were four truly class acts on
stage.
Patrick Webb is a former
managing editor of The Daily
Astorian and part of Coast
Community Radio’s remote
broadcast team for the Astoria
Music Festival.
A new monument to dairy opens in Tillamook
A celebration,
with cheese
and ice cream
By JORDAN WOLFE and
MAX KIRKENDALL
Tillamook Headlight Herald
TILLAMOOK — Let
them eat cheese — and ice
cream, yogurt, butter and
probably sour cream. The new
Tillamook Creamery opened
to the public on Wednesday.
The renovated visitor cen-
ter — at about 42,800 square
feet — was designed by
the Seattle-based architec-
ture firm Olson Kundig and
offers an abundance of new
features.
A larger dining area has
more indoor seating and a
spacious outdoor patio. There
is an expanded ice cream
counter and new coffee and
yogurt bars. A revamped
A new visitor center has opened at the Tillamook Creamery.
menu has grilled-cheese sand-
wiches, wood-fire pizzas and
Pacific Northwest wine and
beer.
The monument to dairy
has been under construction
for the past year and a half.
The farmer-owned coopera-
tive typically draws about 1.3
million visitors a year.
“This new visitor’s center
will serve as a greeting card
not just for Tillamook but the
entire state of Oregon,” Gov.
Kate Brown said at a rib-
bon-cutting ceremony Tues-
day. “Tillamook Creamery
is proudly and uniquely Ore-
gon. (It) has grown to be one
of the most renowned dairy
companies.”
Brown, who confessed her
two favorite foods are cheese
and ice cream, spoke of the
dairy industry’s impact on
the state. The governor gave
accolades to Bruce Cardin’s
1997 sixth-grade class for
helping make milk Oregon’s
state beverage.
Eight-year-old
Juliana
McCoy traded in a day at camp
for a visit to the grand opening
with her mom that included a
picture with Brown. Her visit
was sweetened with one of
Tillamook’s famous ice cream
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area — own the cooperative
and provide the milk for the
cheese, ice cream, yogurt and
other products.
“This is our modern day
commitment to growth and
giving back,” said Patrick
Criteser, the president and
CEO of the creamery asso-
ciation. “We can all agree
the end result far exceed
expectations.”
Gail Oberst of the Capi-
tal Press contributed to this
report.
CULLABY LAKE
June 23rd and 24th, 2018 • 10am - 6pm
Lake will be closed to the public.
Spectators welcome!
Presented by: Columbia Outboard Racing Association
Sanctioned by: American Power Boat Association
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cones, and in the visitor cen-
ter’s Farm Room, she tried to
beat the average 21 seconds it
takes a professional to prep a
cow for milking.
“It was worth it,” McCoy
declared.
With $778 million in
gross revenues last year, the
Tillamook County Cream-
ery Association is the largest
co-op in Oregon, employing
nearly 900 people. Its approx-
imately 90 farm families —
mostly from the Tillamook
Saturday, June 30 at 2:00 p.m.
Warrenton Community Center
170 SW 3rd Street, Warrenton
Great memories and laughter welcome
Alcohol and animals are not allowed in building