Less than two days to go – and the time has come to make good on some of my previous post’s brash promises — like telling you some of what you can expect to hear in Dr. Charles Wadsworth’s second-to-none (and usually top-secret) chamber series.
But first, don’t forget that the Dock Street theatre (the series’ usual digs) is being renovated, and is out of commission this year … so the newly refurbished Memminger Auditorium will be our temporary chamber emporium. Chucktown’s chamber nuts (me included) are all agog to find out how well-suited this comparatively BIG new venue is to the familial intimacy of chamber music.
Maybe that’s one reason why Wadsworth has scheduled a whole bunch of larger–scale chamber works this time ‘round – like quintets, sextets, septets and even octets. He’s also importing a sizeable squad of different musicians to accommodate his expanded requirements. I can’t remember the last time this series brought us a horn player or a bassoonist – or a tenor, for that matter. I’ll tell you more about them as their turns roll around amid the eleven glorious programs to come.
Yes, I could tell you about every work on every program – but that would violate the long-standing festival policy of keeping each program under wraps until you show up for it. Festival founder Gian Carlo Menotti (may he rest in peace) insisted on doing it that way – otherwise, listeners might choose to pass up programs featuring something unknown or (shudder!) something MODERN. Hey, if you don’t like it, just get over it. It’s time you learned – like generations of Spoletovets have – to trust the good doctor’s judgement. He rarely – if ever – dishes up unappetizing fare, so just relax, and let him open your ears to some appealing new possibilities.
Wadsworth – in addition to being the Robin Williams of chamber music – is something of a tease, too … and he’s cleared me act as his agent, via Eargasms, to tantalize you with some of his juicier selections.
Let’s start with program I, beginning Friday, 05/23 at 1:00 p.m. Tenor Paul Groves – a wonderfully expressive singer – will do his thing (along with Wadsworth at the piano and the St. Lawrence String Quartet) in Ralph Vaughan Williams’ haunting song-cycle, On Wenlock Edge. The main dish will be shamefully neglected Hungarian composer Ernö Dohnányi’s very tasty, gypsy-flavored Septet in C Major – scored for the offbeat blend of piano, violin, viola, cello, clarinet and French horn. Festival regulars will fill most roles – but newcomers Hsin-yun Huang (viola) and Eric Ruske (horn) will contribute their unique sonorities.
Program II, opening Sunday at 11:00, will also showcase Huang’s velvety viola playing in Felix Mendelssohn’s so-called “Viola Quintet,” Op. 37 – a wunnerful work that you almost never hear. And you may also start drooling over the prospect of hearing festival darling Alisa Weilerstein (just maybe the most passionate cellist you’ll ever hear) and pianist extraordinaire Stephen Prutsman as they traverse Samuel Barber’s Op. 6 Cello Sonata: a bona fide American classic.
Uh-oh … now I’ve gone and spoiled you with the bulk of the first two programs. I can’t promise the same kind of generosity for future outings … but you’ll never know if you don’t keep reading Eargasms, eh? Spread the word.
Bear with me … I may be a bit tardy reporting on some of this, depending on what else I’m up against. Cases in point: the midnight oil will burn fiercely on Thursday and Friday, as I struggle to digest for you the opening-night performances of our big operas, Amistad and La Cenerentola. You’ll find my reviews at the main City Paper website the mornings after – and I’ll link you to them here in Eargasms.
