Oregon Music News

Chanticleer is returning to Portland for a couple of concerts next week as part of the Friends of Chamber Music’s Vocal Arts Series. The all-male group, now in its 32nd season, continues to earn praise wherever they perform.

On May 3rd, Chanticleer will sing a concert of sacred works at St. Philip Neri. The program includes music by Nicolas Gombert and Orlando di Lasso.

On May 4th, the ensemble will perform songs on the themes of and loss, war and peace at Kaul Auditorium (Reed College). The program contains selections of music by Orlando Gibbons, Sethus Calvisius, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Jean Yves Daniel-Lesur, Guillaume Dufay, Guillaume Dufay, György Ligeti, Chen Yi, Steven Sametz, Michael McGlynn, Carmen Cavallaro, and the new hot ticket Mason Bates.

Lionheart, an all-male vocal ensemble, is replacing Trio Medieval, in a concert that is sponsored by The Friends of Chamber Music at St. Philip Neri Church (2408 SE 16th in Portland) on Wednesday (April 14) at 7:30 pm. Lionheart has recorded widely on the Nimbus, Koch, and Sony labels and maintains a heavy-duty concert schedule. Lionheart’s program on Wednesday evening includes 16th Century Spanish music by Guerrero and Morales. Also, Lionheart has a special connection to Portland, because one of its members, Richard Porterfield, is a Portland native and 1981 graduate of Grant High School. 

Here is more information about Lionheart from the press release:

For its most recent recording on Koch International Classics, El Siglo de Oro, Lionheart was hailed by Early Music America for their “rich, true tones and flawlessly blended harmonies…their superb articulation and impeccable sense of rhythm.” The ensemble’s CD of the music of Palestrina and their CD, Tydings Trew, released by Koch International Classics, have also garnered much critical praise. Lionheart also released two CDs on the Nimbus label: MyFayre Ladye: Tudor Songs and Chant (1997) and Paris 1200: Chant and Polyphony from 12th Century France (1998).  

Last season included several important performances for Lionheart, including the Aspen Music Festival, Virginia Arts Festival, a return to the distinguished Music Before 1800 concert series in New York, and an appearance at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall. In Europe the ensemble has participated in festivals including Musikpodium in Stuttgart, Tage Alter Musik in Regensburg, and the Covent Garden Festival in London. In New York City Lionheart performs regularly at the Cloisters and is ensemble-in-residence at Saint Ignatius of Antioch Episcopal Church. Lionheart has also appeared at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Lincoln Center.

Red Priest - period instrument ensemble

The Friends of Chamber Music will offer 17 concerts next season (2010-2011) through its three concerts series: 

• Classic Series – predominantly traditional string quartets and piano trios
• Not So Classic Series – non–traditional, contemporary, or alternative ensembles
• Vocal Arts Series – vocal recitals and small vocal ensembles

The lineup  includes the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble, Takács Quartet, Pacifica Quartet, Chanticleer, Red Priest, and a recital by soprano Christine Brewer. One of the coolest concerts will feature the Czech Nonet (October 11 and 12) because it will play a couple of pieces by Tomas Svoboda. 

Here are the details from the press release:

Ensembles featured on the 2010–11 Classic Series season include the Czech Nonet (Oct 11–12); the Takács Quartet (Dec 6–7); the Pacifica Quartet (Jan 10–11); the Calder Quartet (Mar 14–15); and the Altenberg Trio (Apr 4–5). All Classic Series concerts will be held in Lincoln Performance Hall. All concerts start at 7:30 pm 

The 2010–11 Vocal Arts Series includes the vocal ensemble Tapestry performing a Tibetan vocal drama in St. Philip Neri Church on Dec 2, ―the world’s reigning male chorus‖ (The New Yorker) Chanticleer at Kaul Auditorium on Jan 26, and American soprano Christine Brewer at Lincoln Performance Hall on Mar 28. All concerts start at 7:30 pm. 

The 2010–11 Not So Classic Series features the extraordinary period instrument ensemble Red Priest on Oct 25; guitarist Manuel Barrueco and Cuarteto Latinoamericano on Feb 28, and the groundbreaking, category-shattering Time for Three on Mar 21. All Not So Classic concerts are in Kaul Auditorium and start at 7:30 pm. 

The 2010-11 season also features a special event on Feb 18 in Kaul Auditorium with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble, which is comprised of the principal players of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Orchestra. Tickets to this special event are only available with the purchase of a subscription until after September 1, when tickets will go on sale to the general public..

The Friends of Chamber Music is doubling the fun for chamber music lovers, because it is presenting the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio and the Miami String Quartet in concerts this evening (March 8) and tomorrow evening (March 9). These are two of the finest ensembles that you’ll find anywhere.

The concert on Monday evening will take place at 7:30 at First Baptist Church in downtown Portland. The second concert will occur at 7:30 pm at Kaul Auditorium on the campus of Reed College. The programs for each concert is different:

Monday program
Boccherini | Cello Quintet in E Major
Zwilich | Piano Septet
Dvorák | Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81

Tuesday program
Boccherini | Cello Quintet in C Major
Zwilich | Piano Septet
Schumann | Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44

The Friends of Chamber Music is collaborating once again with Portland State University and cellist/professor Hamilton Cheifetz to present its “Inside Chamber Music” class. Cheifetz will lead eight sessions from 5:30 to 7 pm on Mondays, starting April 5 through May 17, plus Wednesday, April 21. All classes are scheduled to take place in The Old Church, 1422 SW 11th, and the cost for all 8 classes is $100. For more information or to register for the class, call the Friends of Chamber Music at 503-224-9842.

Here’s more information from the press release:

“Inside Chamber Music” will be taught by Hamilton Cheifetz, Professor of Music at Portland State University and an internationally recognized soloist and chamber musician with ensembles such as The Florestan Trio and Third Angle New Music Ensemble.

Aimed at both enthusiastic chamber music beginners and seasoned devotees, the class will explore chamber music past and present from the perspectives of performers, composers, and listeners alike. Highlights include live, up-close-and-personal, in-class performances by local artists including Hamilton Cheifetz, Janet Guggenheim, and Zhang Yi, and a behind-the-scenes look at all that goes into making chamber music. Participants in the class also receive discounted tickets to chamber music concerts.

The globe-hopping Kronos Quartet pays a visit to Portland on Monday night for a concert at Kaul Auditorium (Reed College). This acclaimed new-music ensemble will present a diverse program of pieces by Terry Riley, Hanna Kulenty, Aleksandra Vrebalov, Jacob Garchik, and Judith Berkson. The concert starts at 7:30 pm and is sponsored by the Friends of Chamber Music. Be there or be really square.

Here are more details from the web site.

For more than 30 years, the Kronos Quartet — David Harrington, John Sherba (violins), Hank Dutt (viola) and Jeffrey Zeigler (cello) — has pursued a singular artistic vision, combining a spirit of fearless exploration with a commitment to expanding the range and context of the string quartet. In the process, Kronos has become one of the most celebrated and influential groups of our time, performing thousands of concerts worldwide, releasing more than 40 recordings of extraordinary breadth and creativity, collaborating with many of the world’s most eclectic composers and performers, and commissioning hundreds of works and arrangements for string quartet. Kronos’ work has also garnered numerous awards, including a Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance (2004) and “Musicians of the Year” (2003) from Musical America.

The Friends of Chamber Music is sponsoring the Takács Quartet, one of the top-tier quartets in the world, in two concerts at Kaul Auditorium. The Grammy-award winning ensemble will play a program that spans the Classical, Romantic, and Modern periods with these works: Haydn’s Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 71, No. 1, Bartók’s Quartet No. 4, and Schumann’s Quartet in A Major, Op. 41, No. 3.

Where: Kaul Auditorium (Reed College)
When: Monday and Tuesday (Dec. 7 & 8) at 7:30 pm.

The quartet will also give a free master class with PSU students on Tuesday, December 8 at noon, in Room 183 of the Extended Studies Building (corner of SW Park & Mill). The student ensemble will perform at least one movement from Brahms’s string quartet No. 2 in A minor.

The latest Takács Quartet Hyperion CD was released in November. It features the Schumann Op. 41/3 String Quartet and the Piano Quintet Op. 44 with pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin.

The Friends of Chamber Music are sponsoring two concerts by the Talich Quartet. Founded in 1964, the Talich Quartet is known throughout the world for its musical interpretation of Czech music, but its repertoire is wide-ranging.  Monday’s program features music by Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Dvorak. Tuesday’s program is all-Beethoven.

November 9 at the First Baptist Church – 7:30 pm
November 10 at Kaul Auditorium – 7:30 pm