bloch & schumann on the oregon coast

On Saturday I joined the Three Centuries Ensemble (Jonathan Dubay, violin, Gregory Dubay, cello, and Cary Lewis, piano) for an afternoon of music by Ernest Bloch and Robert Schumann in a lovely seaside home in Coronado Shores on the Oregon coast.  It was one of those rare days on the coast, where the abundant sunshine, combined with balmy temperatures and a lack of wind made for a magical day that I likened to visits to Santa Barbara.  Nevertheless, we had a packed house full of eager concertgoers to hear the afternoon’s fare.

The music of Bloch is easy to program when you’re on the Oregon coast, as he lived his final 20 years in nearby Agate Beach (from 1939 to 1959), writing, among other works, the second of his two Piano Quintets and his unfinished solo Sonata for viola.  Jonathan Dubay opened the program with Simchas Torah, from Baal Shem for violin and piano, a work that was very appropriate to the concert falling within the high holy week of the Jewish calendar.  I followed with the Three Romances, op. 94 of Robert Schumann, originally written for oboe.  Completing the half was Jonathan with Schumann’s Sonata in A minor, op. 105 for violin and piano.  After the cookie and coffee-filled intermission, all four of us joined to play Schumann’s great Piano Quartet in E-flat major.  The final work on the program was placed to honor the sentiments of the fateful day – September 11th – with Ernest Bloch’s Prayer, in an arrangement for the four of us.  There were few dry eyes in the house when the piece concluded.  All in all, a very satisfying day of music making in a beautiful setting.

Many thanks to Chuck Day of the Oregon Coast Chamber Music Society for inviting us to play, and especially to homeowners Toni and Terry Schumaker for opening their beautiful home for us to perform in.