Concert Review - Mammoth Lakes Chamber Music Festival 7-25-07

Considering the wild swings in temperature and humidity yesterday, the Mammoth LAkes Chamber Music Festival performance last night was fantastic, although not without some cracked notes.

"Like Night and Day" adeptly describes the middle piece, Bartok's "Contrasts for Piano, Clarinet and Violin" and explained the difference in styles and instrumentation throughout the night. Before starting with Mendelssohn's String Quarter in D Major, opus 44 no. 1, the evening got off to an abnormally abrupt start. Our local audience has been trained to expect longer introductions by Rebecca Hang, the Felici Trio's violinist (the Felici Trio hosts the 3-week festival and collaborates with classmates from Indiana U. for the M,W,F night concerts), who usually gives more in depth background about the composer and his composition. I suspect this was to help shorten the overall program, which went for 2 hours. But what was lacking in her speech was more than made up for in her always thorough program notes.

The lead violinist seemed to be cracking some notes, at least that's what us brass players call it when it takes a split second to hone in on a note after first creating some dischordant sound. Maybe it is my unfamiliarity with string instruments, but it distracted me and made me think of how the temperature was 44° at midday during a freak thunderstorm that made Canyon Blvd look like a muddy portion of the Colorado River, and then 66° right before the concert and how that could have contributed to it.

The third movement, however, intrigued my ears as the minor key would, for an instant, throw a short twinkling of the major key on every few downbeats and then quickly continue in its minor key. What is the name for this composition technique? Anyone know?

The Bartok "Contrasts..." piece was wild, employing two violins for the one violinist, Corey Cerovsek; his second instrument tuned to "the devil's interval" for a country swing sound. Bil Jackson, the clarinetist, while technically amazing, has a breathy approach to his instrument (you can hear the wind leaking out of his instrument). Again, I am overly critical without the expertise to back it up. (I also like $8 bottles of wine because I cannot taste the difference in anything up to $35.) And again, it may be due to the altitude up here. But I have played in many orchestras and ensembles and took music lessons in two instruments for many years, once being selected as 1st chair horn player in the All California State Honor Band. Ooh, impressive. I am only a novice critic and an even more novice blogger.

Finally, Richard Strauss' Piano Quartet in C minor, opus 13 featured non-Felici musicians, which is a nice twist on things, giving Brian, Rebecca and Wen-Ting a much deserved rest in the audience. The Vivace was a well-timed dance that evoked an unfortunately all-to-common standing ovation. My favorite parts of the concert were watching how all of these talented performers communicate with each other and perfectly time their ritardandos and accelerandos. Such pros they are. We are proud to have them here in our town.

The only bummer about the concert was that our babysitter didn't show up, so I went alone, leaving the wife with the kid. Oh, and it was weird to see some of my local friends in their 50's with their dates and seeing them avoid their exes at intermission who were in attendance at the same time. Small town...

Summer Music Festivals in Mammoth

We are heavy in the midst of music concerts and festivals. The Jazz Festival was a huge success with hoards of jazz fans walking with their programs, colorful garb and festival badges from the Hollar to the Church site to the Whiskey Creek tent or or taking the friendly green and red trolleys down to Grumpy's and Big Top.

My 17 month old daughter was asked to draw the winning raffle tickets from a bucket and was enthralled with the tuba on stage. Now she thinks every instrument is called a tuba and is favorite word of the week.

Currently we have the Felici Trio's Chamber Music Unbound Music Festival workshop and concert series (July 18- August 3). Brian, Rebecca and Wen-Ting bring their Indiana University classmates to Mammoth to help instruct chamber music workshops and then perform concerts at night. They are all professional musicians who double as outstanding teachers as well. Brian, Rebecca & Wen-Ting (pictured) are amazing people and hard workers and they have brought so much to the Mammoth Lakes community that they deserve as much support as we all can give.

So after listening to us amateur chamber musicians all day and instructing us on how to listen to and communicate with each other (the essence of playing chamber music), these talented violinists, cellists and pianists also rehearse and then wow us in the evenings with their diverse concerts. It is fun to see workshop attendees from years past come from all over the state adjust to the altitude and dryness (keeping their wood instruments just the right humidity level, etc.)

The 12th Annual Bluesapalooza is on deck for August 3-4 with bands and brews at the fabled Sam's Wood Site nestled in the trees along Minaret Blvd just below the Whiskey Creek corner. Good times and good food, just be ready for some drunkenness.

Then to wrap up the summer's musical events is the Sierra Summer Festival during August 5-11. We celebrate the 30th anniversary of the festival this year (I have only been part of it as a orchestra member for 4 years and on the Board of Directors for the past year). It is such like a family reunion with conductor Bogidar Avramov as the patriarch of the family and concert mistress Maria Newman as the popular cousin who everyone wants to be like. Bogidar, Maria, and the other section leaders come together year after year and in between rehearsals, old friends reunite on hikes and in shopping malls. The symphony orchestra is a great mix of professionals and us amateurs who get to sit in the presence of such great talent and soak up all of their knowledge (and humor). My buddies in the horn section will no doubt crack up at our section leader, Steve Durnin's, hilarious wisecracks.

I cannot perform this year as my wife is due with our 2nd kid that week. I will dearly miss not being able to play Mozart's Don Giovanni, Schubert's Unfinished Symphony and Strauss' Blue Danube Waltz on the 10th and 11th. But then again, I can't miss the birth of my child, either. At least I got to participate by finding housing for many of the musicians from property owners who so generously donate their condos and homes for a week (thank you!). I hope to see the concert if I'm not in the delivery room. There are, in addition, several other events and mini concerts that week, too.

My hope is that Mammoth continues attracting fine musical talent and that it keeps fulfilling a niche for interesting and profitable festivals/races/retreats/etc. The locals musicians have benefited from these festivals and try to carry on the activity through the year by performing in the Eastern Sierra Chamber Orchestra led by Felici's Brian Schuldt and with one or two musicals per year, and of course by attending the Felici Trio's amazing concerts throughout the year. Maybe Mammoth's current branding efforts should consider the slogan "Mammoth isn't just for skiing anymore."