Festival Notes
Dear Editor: There is still one final menu of tempting experiences before we say goodbye to this year’s SSMF! The progressive multi-day feast includes the following locations and items:
The week’s first event is 6:30 p.m. tonight, FREE at the Dock Shack. Pianist David Wiley will perform a variety of solos followed by the renowned Arianna String Quartet playing Quartet No. 2 by Russian female composer Sofia Gubaidulina (born 1931). The one-movement piece is an intriguing exploration of sound – the instruments savor a single note followed by a contrasting section that she described as “angels and birds” reaching up to the stratosphere with harmonics and all kinds of special string effects.
Thursday’s can’t-miss Bach’s Lunch at 12:30 pm. is also free! The assorted offerings include a string quartet by beloved Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, American Samuel Barber’s Ballade, Op. 46, two pieces by pianist David Wiley (Concentric Circles and a work for West African prepared piano!) and Bach’s gorgeous Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D minor. This program will really whet your appetite!
I know there are several exciting things happening on Thursday night in Sitka, but you have to go straight to Harrigan Centenntial at 7:30 p.m. There is only one chance, one night, to see the comic silent film GOLD RUSH featuring iconic Charlie Chaplin. (My favorite scene is the Lone Prospector boiling his boot for dinner.) Originally a 1925 silent, the film was reissued in 1942 with a recorded orchestral score and sound effects. Pianist David Wiley will talk about and play examples of the rich history of piano accompaniment (popular, improv and classical music) for early films. Chaplin’s timeless, heartwarming humor commnicates as strongly today as it did in 1925.
OK Sitka – accept the challenge to be at Harrigan on Thursday night AND Friday night. I totally guarantee you will not regret it. At 6:45 Friday, guest artists will join me for a lively chat about the music, and then you get a final chance to hear world-class artists play their hearts out for you as the 2015 SSMF comes to a hugely satisfying end. The concert opens with Mozart’s Piano Quartet in G Minor. After the publisher said he had to write easier music, Mozart angrily responded, “Then I will write nothing more and go hungry!” Historian Eric Blom joyfully described the finale - “It confronts us with the fascinating insoluble problem of telling which of the melodies is the most delicious!”
Gregor Piatigorsky was a renowned, beloved cellist and teacher who worked with many SSMF cellists at legendary master classes at UCLA. He even came to Sitka for a SSMF concert! Comedian Victor Borge described Niccolo Paganini, classical music’s first superstar, as “a vampire with a violin, who would suck, if not the blood from our hearts, at least the money from our pockets.” His spectacular 24 Caprices for Solo Violin are like climbing musical Mt. Everest. Piatigorsky crafted a spectacular series of 14 virtuosic cello variations based on the 24th, the most famous.
Beethoven’s “Kreutzer Sonata” was originally written for violin and piano, but lucky Sitkans will hear a remarkable arrangement for five strings. You might investigate Russian Leo Tolstoy’s novella The Kreutzer Sonata - annotator Steven Ledbetter noted that in the plot the music “persuaded a man that his wife had been seduced by a violinist with whom she played the piece, leading to their murders by the jealous husband.” Savor the drama and especially the lively, energetic last movement!
Eight gifted cellists from all over the world are due to arrive early next week for the 2015 SSMF Cello Seminar; save time for CELLOBRATION in the Odess Theater on Sunday, July 12, at 7:30 p.m to hear the amazing final performance! Experience other artistic treats as the Sitka Fine Arts Camp presents its annual Jazz on the Water fundraiser (fine food and amazing music!) in the Odess Theater Saturday night – followed by a series of enticing nightly 7 p.m. Artshares featuring faculty, counselors and students. PLUS this year’s intensive Musical Theatre camp will present BEAUTY AND THE BEAST – fully staged with choreography, costumes, pit orchestra, etc. – great for all ages and a ton of fun the last weekend of July. Don’t miss a thing! Thank you Sitka for a glorious, inspiring memory-making summer – and see you at ALL the SSMF concerts!
Sincerely and with much love,
Susan Wingrove-Reed
