I’m once again back in PDX, and pretty tired from a busy two weeks at the Sunriver Music Festival.
There was some early drama as Andre Watts was forced to cancel due to health problems, and a last minute replacement was found in the person of Rachel Barton Pine, the wonderful violinist from Chicago who made her festival debut last summer with us. This year she played the Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, with her own cadenzas (wonderfully idiomatic, btw) and followed up with a dizzying set of variations on “Happy Birthday” in honor of the festival’s 30th anniversary.
The major soloist of the second week was the young cellist Alisa Weilerstein, who I was very eager to see and hear. After doing so, I’m a bit less inclined to be as excited. She is a cellist with a formidable technique, but in the Haydn D major Cello Concerto her rhythm was all over the map and her bodily and facial contortions were quite distracting. The Tchaikovsy Pezzo Capriccioso was more suited to her approach, which makes me worry about how her style will wear after a few years’ time. I hope that time will mature her stage manner and interpretive stances – if she settles down she could be the real deal. The end of the festival was especially bittersweet, as long-time concertmaster Philip Ruder was playing his last concerts – period – he intends to no longer play the violin at all after the conclusion of the festival. I admire his courage to put down the fiddle while still playing so well, and will miss his rare brand of music making. Philip is the epitome of class and a true gentleman and scholar. I wish him and his lovely wife Ruth all the best and many happy travels.
As for other activities, I did a hike up Mt. Tumalo with fellow OSO players Jeff Johnson and Mary Grant. It’s a nice hike (once you reach the top), but it covers about 1500 vertical feet in 1.5 miles. Still, it was much easier than Mt. Bachelor last year. I also did a fair amount of riding – I’d say I covered only about 75 miles over two weeks, but it was good to fit in that much with the rehearsal and concert schedule. We also bought a new toy – a Garmin Forerunner 301, which is a GPS-enabled fitness trainer which you wear on your wrist. Very cool and now we’re fighting over it. I may have to just shell out for the cycling-specific model…