August 5, 2007

• I've been blown away by the first two nights of the La Jolla Chamber Music Festival.  It's a 23-day, 16 concert extravaganza that I am SO lucky is in San Diego.  I'm planning on going to all of them.  I haven't been to many chamber music concerts, other than a couple at UCLA and some Caltech ones.  It's an emotional experience.  The La Jolla ones are in this intimate, 400 seat theater, and I'm about 7 rows back from the performers.  The programs have been awesome, as have the artists.  Last night was some Dvorak Slavonic Dances (four hands piano), the Smetena Piano Trio, and the Brahms Piano Quintet.  Tonight was the Mendelssohn String Quartet #2, Op. 13, Shostakovich Two Pieces for String Octet, Op. 11, Mendelssohn Piano Trio #1, Dvorak Trio for Two Violins & Viola, and the Schumann Piano Quintet, Op. 44.  That's so much music packed into two nights, and there are still 14 concerts to go.  (There are a couple nights that are kind of eh, but I'd say that pretty much every night has at least one piece that I'm dying to see.) 

  I'm too lazy to go on and on about each piece.  To summarize, I wasn't familar with the Shostakovich Octet, but it's a characteristically awesome piece.  The Smetana is a great piece, that I'm glad was programmed, since I have a recording, but I imagine it's not performed as much as some other piano trios.  The Brahms was smoking.  As for tonight, the Schumann is a great piece, and it was a fine performance by the Shanghai Quartet and this pianist that also played the piano part of the Brahms last night.  I think Mendelssohn stole the show though.  I wasn't familar with the string quartet, but it is something!  As soon as I got home I got myself a recording.  The quartet was actually part of a pre-concert concert by the Escher String Quartet, who I was very impressed by.  The trio was incredible too, played by three very expressive women who were all totally into the music.  I'd have to say that one of the things that's most enjoyable about watching a live performance is seeing the players get carried away with the music, and the collective energy -- it makes the piece convey something more than any recording can. 

  Highlights coming up in the concerts this week:  Beethoven: Piano Trio #1, String Quartet Op. 18, No. 6, Bartok: Contrasts for Clarinet, Violin, Piano (sooo excited to see this); Ravel Violin Sonata, Brahms String Sextet #2, Barber String Quartet Op. 11.  Woo-hoo!!

  • 3:45 am
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