St. Louis classical calendar for the week of April 7, 2014

Carter Enyeart

The Community Music School of Webster University presents a Cello Master Class with Carter Enyeart on Saturday at 1 PM and Sunday at 4 PM, April 12 and 13. "Cello students will perform and be coached by Mr. Enyeart. Students, teachers, and those with a general interest in music are invited to observe. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Carter Enyeart has enjoyed a distinguished and varied career. His experience as a member of the Pittsburgh and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras, principal cellist of the Dallas Opera, member of the renowned Philadelphia String Quartet and American Piano Trio and his duties as Associate Artistic Director and cellist of the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth give him strong credentials in the symphonic and chamber music fields. His teaching at Ball State University, Northwestern University, and the University of North Texas preceded his current appointment as Rose Ann Carr Millsap/Missouri Distinguished Professor of Cello at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory." The school is at 535 Garden Avenue in Webster Groves, MO. For more information: www.webster.edu/cms.

St. Louis Cathedral Concerts presents The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by David Robertson, on Tuesday, April 8, at 8 PM at the cathedral at 4431 Lindell. “Cathedral Concerts is proud to welcome the St. Louis Symphony & Chorus back to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis for their first performance in this great space in over 10 years. Conducted by David Robertson, the St. Louis Symphony & Chorus will make the dome ring with their world-renowned playing and singing.” For more information: www.cathedralconcerts.org.

The St. Louis Chamber Chorus presents Concert Three: The Ancients Speak - Egyptian "The majesty and the mystery of Egypt have enthralled artists from many ages and traditions, prompting musical reactions from composers as diverse as Vagn Holmboe (Denmark), Darius Milhaud (France), and Shin-ichiro Ikebe (Japan). These selections are complemented by paeans to the sun by Franz Schubert, Lily Boulanger and Jussi Chydenius." The concert takes place on Sunday, April 13, at 3 PM at the John Burroughs School Theatre, 755 S Price Road. For more information: www.chamberchorus.org.

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra presents a Pulitzer Series concert on Tuesday, April 9, at 7:30 PM. David Robertson will conduct members of the orchestra in Nico Muhly's Drones and Violin (2011) and Morton Feldman's Three Voices (1982). The performance takes place at the Pultzer Center for the Arts, 3716 Washington. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Michael W. Smith joins The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra on Thursday and Friday, April 10 and 11, at 7:30 at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand. “For more than 25 years, Michael W. Smith has been the reigning king of contemporary Christian music. Smith returns to join the STL Symphony for live performances of songs from his enormously popular recordings.” For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Ben Folds

Ben Folds joins The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra on Saturday and Sunday, April 12 and 13 at 7:30 at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand. “Acclaimed as witty and engaging, singer-songwriter Ben Folds returns to Powell Hall after a sold-out performance in 2011 joining the STL Symphony to perform fan-favorites from his celebrated albums.” For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Second Presbyterian Church presents organist Andrew Peters in a 175th Anniversary Concert on Sunday, April 13, a 4 PM. "Organist Andrew Peters closes the 2013-2014 Couts Music Series with a varied program on the church's 60-rank Schantz organ. Peters has won awards in several organ competitions and plays recitals across the United States. His program includes works of J.S. Bach, Hindemith, Joseph Jongen, and concludes with the exciting "Finale" from Louis Vierne's Third Symphony!" Second Presbyterian Church is at 4501 Westminster Place. For more information: www.secondchurch.net.

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents The Chamber Project St. Louis in A Very Open Rehearsal on Wednesday, April 9, at 7:30 PM. “Dana (clarinet) and Adam (Bass) rehearse a jazzy duet written as a birthday gift for the famous King of Swing, Benny Goodman. They will be preparing for the upcoming Chamber Project St. Louis concert on April 25th and you get to be part of the process in this interactive Very Open Rehearsal.” The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood. For more information: tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com.

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents saxophonist Brian Utley on Saturday, April 12, at 8 PM. “An advocate of new music, Utley has recently premiered works by Perry Goldstein, L. Mark Lewis, Stephen Lias and William Price, and plans to present a new work by David Froom in the 2012-2013 concert season. He also performs in a variety of chamber music settings and is a co-founder of the award-winning Red Stick Saxophone Quartet. He has recorded on the New Tertian Records and Magni Publications labels, and is currently involved in a recording project featuring 21st century music by American composers.” The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood. For more information: tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com.

Third Baptist Church presents an organ concert on Friday, April 11, at 12:30 PM as part of its free Friday Pipes series. "Join us on Fridays at Third Baptist Church for Friday Pipes, the free organ recital series celebrating the restoration of the church's 72-rank Kilgen/Möller pipe organ. Each week a different performer will be presenting a program of classical, church, and theatre organ music in the beautiful sanctuary of Third Baptist. This season's performers come from across the USA, and even from around the world. Free parking is available in the church lots on Washington Avenue." Third Baptist Church is at 620 N Grand. For more information: www.third-baptist.org.

The People, yes.

Peter Henderson

Who: Members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
What: The Pulitzer Contemporary Music Festival
When: June 14, 2012
Where: The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts

If you had any doubts that the St. Louis Symphony was an orchestra of virtuosi, the opening concert of the Pulitzer Contemporary Music Festival at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts Thursday night would surely have dispelled them. Orchestra members Eva Kozma (violin), Morris Jacob (viola), and Bjorn Ranheim (cello and "Voice of God"), along with violinist Peter Otto (a former orchestra member now living in Cleveland), gave us an utterly compelling performance of George Crumb's Black Angels: Thirteen Images from the Dark Land (the "Pavana Lachrymae" section was especially moving), followed by a dazzling reading by pianist Peter Henderson of Frederic Rzewski's The People United Will Never Be Defeated!. Yes, the piece is over-written and bit self-indulgent at times, but dang, what a performance!

The two works have more in common than just the remarkable demands they make on performers. They were written within just a few years of each other (Black Angels in 1971, The People in 1975) and both have extra-musical political references—Crumb’s to the Vietnam War and Rzewski’s to the Chilean Resistance that adopted the original Sergio Ortega tune as their anthem. As David Robertson pointed out in his pre-concert remarks, both also transcend and transform those connotations.

Black Angels is the more radical and probably the more famous of the two. Written for amplified string quartet, the work requires the players not only to use their instruments in unusual ways (at one point he has the violins and viola literally turn their instruments upside down to produce the unearthly sound of the "Pavana Lachrymae") but to play other instruments as well, including hand-held percussion and glasses filled with water in the manner of the 18th-century glass harmonica. He also has them whistle, whisper, shout, and chant.

All that requires musicians who are also comfortable with the overt theatricality of Crumb’s work, which this quartet clearly was. I think it must be difficult to do some of the unusual things Crumb requires (such as counting loudly to five in various languages) and still stay focused on the music, but they did it. This was an entertaining and moving performance of a challenging piece.

The People United Will Never Be Defeated! is challenging stuff as well, and not just for the soloist, who is called upon to whistle and shout as well as play nearly an hour of music that demands every ounce of technique a pianist can muster. It’s a tough nut for the audience, as well, since Rzewski’s variations are often so ingenious that the tune disappears completely, making it easy to lose your way if you’re not intimately familiar with the piece. There’s also, to my ears, not quite enough variety in some of the variations to avoid a feeling that the work is becoming repetitious.

Still, it’s fun stuff on the whole, and it’s an interesting challenge to spot the various composers to whom Rzewski pays homage. As Mr. Robertson pointed out, The People is a compendium of just about every piano technique developed during the 20th century, making it a kind of amped-up version of the “Piano Puzzler” with which Bruce Adolph has been regaling us for the past decade on PRI’s Performance Today. I’m pretty sure I heard Ravel, Ives, Gershwin, Prokofiev, and (yes) Crumb in there somewhere.

The soloist for the Rzewski, Peter Henderson, is the ensemble keyboardist for the Symphony. His performance was stunning—technically proficient and musically aware. I was especially impressed by his work in the optional improvisation that precedes the final restatement of the theme. It was fiery, impassioned, and (honestly) more inventive than some of the composer’s variations.

The Pulitzer Contemporary Music Festival concluded Sunday, June 17th. The Symphony’s post-season activity is not over yet, though. Their Beatles tribute, Classical Mystery Tour, takes place on June 22nd. You may call 314-534-1700 for ticket information or visit stlsymphony.org.