And you spent almost a year at there. Thank you for your service to our country.
Mendelssohn: “Andante and Allegro Brilliante” for Piano Four Hands in A, Op. 92
Orion Weiss, piano
Anna Polonsky, piano
Orion and Anna met at the festival a few years ago, and now they’re married. Anna is tiny, and it always surprises me that she can get such a huge sound from the piano. This is a new piece for me, but Mendelssohn tends to be entertaining.
Beethoven: Serenade for Flute, Violin and Viola in D, Op. 25
Lorna McGhee, flute
Ida Levin, violin
David Harding, viola
Lorna is a tiny flutist from Scotland by way of Vancouver, and she’s a delight. David is also from Vancouver, so we have a two-thirds Canadian trio for this piece. This is early Beethoven attempting to channel Mozart.
de Falla (arranged by Maréchal): “Suite populaire espagnole”
Bion Tsang, cello
Inon Barnatan, piano
I heard Inon play at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, and he was impressive. This is a new piece for me.
Ravel: Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano in A minor
Augustin Hadelich, violin
Edward Arron, cello
Jeremy Denk, piano
Jeremy is one of America’s great pianists and the single best lecturer on American composer Charles Ives that I’ve ever encountered. He views me as an amateur and a pretentious fool, so he doesn’t particularly like to talk music with me. But he also treats some of his collaborators as amateurs. Everyone knows that it’s just his personal style, and they’re used to it. When you’re as talented as Jeremy, you have the right to pretty much behave as you want. I found his satirical piece about Sarah Palin at his blog to be offensive, however. This piece is a good example of the modern French style from the Twenties.
And you spent almost a year at there. Thank you for your service to our country.