Here’s that guest blog about the festival chamber finale that I promised you — sorry it’s a bit tardy, but I presumed to engage my guest blogger to cover this one the day before he moved out of Charleston for the musical jungle of New York.
And it’s Chucktown’s loss: Not only is Mike Hanf the most awesome jazz vibes-meister I’ve ever known, but — until his graduation last month — he was one of the College of Charleston’s most brilliant composition majors. I’ve heard first-hand the smoldering creative fires that lurk in his compositions: well-crafted evocations of restless, impatient striving and (quite often) honest anger (he’s not afraid to vent his dark side — and we’ve agreed that it’s “good therapy”). Betcha we’ll hear more from him someday. And it’s my honor to share his perceptive (and very nicely written) guest blog with you here: his parting gift to us. Thanks — and Vaya con Dios, Mike — I, for one, will miss you sorely.
“I can sum up the final Chamber Series Concert with one word: incredible. To be inside Memminger auditorium while the St. Lawrence String Quartet (plus Alisa Weilersten on cello) performed Schubert’s String Quintet in C Major was absolutely breathtaking. At moments, it seemed like a choreographed dance — as the five performers watched each other, leaned towards and away from their stands and even jumped out of their chairs — all while projecting an intense dynamic range and perfect intonation that are rare, even in professional groups.
The so-called “Cello Quintet” is one of Schubert’s sublime last works, written several months before his death in 1828. The piece skillfully blends moods; at one moment it may be soft and tranquil, the next raucous and still later have a lilting quality that sounds almost folksy. The members of the ensemble were dramatic in their interpretation –and the silences found in their rests were pregnant with passion and heart, making them stand out so strongly that the audience didn’t dare cough.
By the third movement (a scherzo), horse-hair was flying off the bows of both cellists; they played with such intense fervor that the audience, after a particularly difficult passage, clapped during the middle of the movement. The performers barely flinched and continued on to the finale, where violinist Geoff Nuttall completely owned his part, making it seem like Schubert had written it just for him. Speed up the tempo, tie it all together with a resolution from super-tonic to tonic and you have one brilliant performance of a brilliant composition.
But that wasn’t all: before the Schubert, the audience was treated to a wonderful (if short) performance of a movement from Marin Marais’ Le Basque. With stellar performer Eric Ruske on French horn, no note was missed in this blazing, chops-heavy piece.
We also got one of Vivaldi’s Bassoon concerti. Complementing Peter Kolkay’s fantastic performance on the bassoon was a top-notch combination of players on harpsichord, dual violins, viola, cello and bass. The ensemble was one of the best I have seen; at times they seemed to be one instrument floating beautifully through phrases and dynamics.
Alas, the end of Spoleto is always a bit sad… but this performance was a perfect way to end this year’s ever-wonderful chamber music series. Cheers!”
Michael Hanf
Lindsay’s back: I might add that we can expect to hear this heart-stopping Schubert masterpiece in future Spoletos: for quite awhile, it was a festival custom to end the series with it, until festival founder Gian Carlo Menotti and Spoleto USA parted ways in 1991. But it looks like Gian Carlo’s wishes will now be honored posthumously: this is the second Spoleto in a row where Dr. Wadsworth has ended his series with Schubert’s profoundly eloquent and bittersweet farewell to a world that wasn’t ready for him. And a year isn’t too long to wait for the blessed chance to hear it again.
BTW, there’s a readily available antidote for the “post-festival blues”: that not-so-mysterious depressive malady that strikes Chucktown’s arts lovers hard on the heels of Spoleto every year. I got a sweet dose of it from my car radio on my way home tonight. Every Monday and Thursday evening (7:00 p.m., I think) you can tune in to NPR (89.3, FM) to catch broadcasts of past festivals’ chamber events, complete with saucy commentary from Doc W.
For instance, tonight’s broadcast featured the imfamous labeling of flutist Tara Helen O’Connor as “the fastest tongue in the West,” right before she nailed a stunning transcription of themes from Bizet’s Carmen along with last year’s harp hottie Catrin Finch. (And ya know what? Wadsworth was right on the money!) So just tune in and close your eyes (unless you’re driving) — and for a few precious moments, you’ll be right back in your seat at Spoleto. It might not be a total cure, but it’ll sure help hold you over ’til next May.
A Choice and Poignant Chamber Finale
Here’s that guest blog about the festival chamber finale that I promised you — sorry it’s a bit tardy, but I presumed to engage my guest blogger to cover this one the day before he moved out of Charleston for the musical jungle of New York.
And it’s Chucktown’s loss: Not only is Mike Hanf the most awesome jazz vibes-meister I’ve ever known, but — until his graduation last month — he was one of the College of Charleston’s most brilliant composition majors. I’ve heard first-hand the smoldering creative fires that lurk in his compositions: well-crafted evocations of restless, impatient striving and (quite often) honest anger (he’s not afraid to vent his dark side — and we’ve agreed that it’s “good therapy”). Betcha we’ll hear more from him someday. And it’s my honor to share his perceptive (and very nicely written) guest blog with you here: his parting gift to us. Thanks — and Vaya con Dios, Mike — I, for one, will miss you sorely.
“I can sum up the final Chamber Series Concert with one word: incredible. To be inside Memminger auditorium while the St. Lawrence String Quartet (plus Alisa Weilersten on cello) performed Schubert’s String Quintet in C Major was absolutely breathtaking. At moments, it seemed like a choreographed dance — as the five performers watched each other, leaned towards and away from their stands and even jumped out of their chairs — all while projecting an intense dynamic range and perfect intonation that are rare, even in professional groups.
The so-called “Cello Quintet” is one of Schubert’s sublime last works, written several months before his death in 1828. The piece skillfully blends moods; at one moment it may be soft and tranquil, the next raucous and still later have a lilting quality that sounds almost folksy. The members of the ensemble were dramatic in their interpretation –and the silences found in their rests were pregnant with passion and heart, making them stand out so strongly that the audience didn’t dare cough.
By the third movement (a scherzo), horse-hair was flying off the bows of both cellists; they played with such intense fervor that the audience, after a particularly difficult passage, clapped during the middle of the movement. The performers barely flinched and continued on to the finale, where violinist Geoff Nuttall completely owned his part, making it seem like Schubert had written it just for him. Speed up the tempo, tie it all together with a resolution from super-tonic to tonic and you have one brilliant performance of a brilliant composition.
But that wasn’t all: before the Schubert, the audience was treated to a wonderful (if short) performance of a movement from Marin Marais’ Le Basque. With stellar performer Eric Ruske on French horn, no note was missed in this blazing, chops-heavy piece.
We also got one of Vivaldi’s Bassoon concerti. Complementing Peter Kolkay’s fantastic performance on the bassoon was a top-notch combination of players on harpsichord, dual violins, viola, cello and bass. The ensemble was one of the best I have seen; at times they seemed to be one instrument floating beautifully through phrases and dynamics.
Alas, the end of Spoleto is always a bit sad… but this performance was a perfect way to end this year’s ever-wonderful chamber music series. Cheers!”
Michael Hanf
Lindsay’s back: I might add that we can expect to hear this heart-stopping Schubert masterpiece in future Spoletos: for quite awhile, it was a festival custom to end the series with it, until festival founder Gian Carlo Menotti and Spoleto USA parted ways in 1991. But it looks like Gian Carlo’s wishes will now be honored posthumously: this is the second Spoleto in a row where Dr. Wadsworth has ended his series with Schubert’s profoundly eloquent and bittersweet farewell to a world that wasn’t ready for him. And a year isn’t too long to wait for the blessed chance to hear it again.
BTW, there’s a readily available antidote for the “post-festival blues”: that not-so-mysterious depressive malady that strikes Chucktown’s arts lovers hard on the heels of Spoleto every year. I got a sweet dose of it from my car radio on my way home tonight. Every Monday and Thursday evening (7:00 p.m., I think) you can tune in to NPR (89.3, FM) to catch broadcasts of past festivals’ chamber events, complete with saucy commentary from Doc W.
For instance, tonight’s broadcast featured the imfamous labeling of flutist Tara Helen O’Connor as “the fastest tongue in the West,” right before she nailed a stunning transcription of themes from Bizet’s Carmen along with last year’s harp hottie Catrin Finch. (And ya know what? Wadsworth was right on the money!) So just tune in and close your eyes (unless you’re driving) — and for a few precious moments, you’ll be right back in your seat at Spoleto. It might not be a total cure, but it’ll sure help hold you over ’til next May.