I’m starting to actually get used to the idea that another season is coming and I’d better get going on thinking about it! So, I’ll give a few of the upcoming highlights for some of the various musical organizations around Portland that I have information for as I get myself oriented for the upcoming season of classical music.
Chamber Music Northwest – Encore Series
- Emerson String Quartet (Oct. 26, 2009) – always solid performances, often revelatory and often that magical combination of sublime and virtuosic at the same time.
- Tallis Scholars (Dec. 7, 2009) – I’ve never heard them live, maybe this will be the year, but such flawless singing and blend – I’ve been a fan of their recordings for years.
- www.cmnw.org
Friends of Chamber Music
- Borealis Quartet (Oct. 12, 13, 2009) – it’s always a great treat to hear a new, young string quartet. This Canadian group should prove no exception. A couple of rarity on the first evening’s program piqued my interest: Ottorino Respighi’s Quartetto Dorico.
- Takacs Quartet (Dec. 7, 8, 2009) – the Takacs has always been one of my favorite quartets, and when they joined with one of my favorite violists in the world – Geraldine Walther – it only improved their stock with me. Add to this the fact that they’re playing two of my most beloved quartets: Bartók’s Fourth and the Schumann A major, it’s a gimme.
- www.focm.org
Portland Columbia Symphony
- Viennese Migrations (April 30, 2010) – two great works: the Sinfonia concertante of Mozart and Brahm’s mighty and sunny Second Symphony will be a great test of the orchestra’s progress under music director Huw Edwards, and it will be a great treat to hear OSO musicians Inés Voglar and Joël Belgique (who also happen to be husband and wife) make beautiful music together in the Mozart.
- www.columbiasymphony.org
Portland Opera
- Trouble in Tahiti (Mar. – Apr., 2010) – a great opportunity to hear this one-act opera by Leonard Bernstein.
- www.portlandopera.org
Third Angle New Music Ensemble
- Hearing Voices (Jan. 22, 2010) – any of their four concerts in 09-10 would be great to hear, but I’m particularly intrigued by the combination of the written word and music that Ron Blessinger has brought together, most especially the collaboration of two Portland artists – author Ursula LeGuin and composer Bryan Johansen – in Ride the Red Mare.
- www.thirdangle.org
Portland Piano International Recital Series
- Jonathan Biss (Nov. 1, 2009) – he’s received rave reviews just about everywhere he’s concertized over the past few years, and he’s known as both a cerebral and visceral performer.
- Benjamin Kim (Mar. 7, 2010) – he first made his mark at Young Artists at the Schnitz, and went on to study with Leon Fleischer at the Peabody Conservatory, and finally to triumph at the Munich ARD Competition in 2006.
- www.portlandpiano.org
As I learn of more 2009-2010 performances, I’ll add to this list. The OSO will get its own post in early September.