Micah

THE COMPETITION took place in the castle of Ettlingen, Germany.

Two hundred and sixty-seven young pianists from 41 nations applied. One hundred and eight were admitted to perform over the ten-day period of August 5–15. And history was made by awarding the top two prizes in the younger category to pianists from the United States—one of whom was 15-year-old Charleston native, Micah McLaurin.

The biennial Ettlingen International Piano Competition, one of the most prestigious in the world for pianists under 20, began in 1988 and counts among its winners megastars Lang Lang, Yuja Wang, Lisa de la Salle, and Boris Giltburg.

Eric Lu, a student at the New England Preparatory School in Boston, was this year’s winner. Micah took second place. He received a check for 1,000 Euros and was invited to give a recital in Germany next year.

Micah’s program included a Chopin Etude and sonatas by Haydn and Rachmaninoff—which you may have heard him play at the Sottile last year (read our previous story here).

Earlier this summer, Micah—a scholarship student of Enrique Graf at the Charleston Academy of Music—won the Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition at the University of South Carolina’s Southeastern Piano Festival. He also played recitals at Music Fest Perugia in Italy.

Along with a chamber night, an orchestral evening, and the finale at Middleton Place, there will be the popular Little Mozart Circus at Francis Marion Square (with 14 tents) where children of all ages can handle instruments, get a lesson, play on stage, or just watch and listen. Four days of music appreciation, education, and inspiration.

We sat down recently with CMC director Sandra Nikolajevs to hear first-hand what to expect. In these 5 short videos, she talks about the festival, two of the featured works, her guest conductor and soloists, and the children’s circus—a special passion of hers where she offers great insights into the value of kids learning music.

This Year’s Festival

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Mozart’s Flute & Harp Concerto

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Beethoven Symphony No. 4

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Guest Conductor, Peter Shannon

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The Little Mozart Circus

Joe Miller, conductor

As his program notes said:

“This program is about questioning. Questioning how we understand the mystery of divine love. Questioning why we love those who do not love us. Questioning what it is about human nature that makes us keep striving for answers.”

The opener, Knowee, started with four female singers entering from the back wailing their lost son’s names with an urgency and fear that only this situation can present. It was followed by a pastoral choral section sung with peaceful expression and angelic sounds.

Another highlight was the pairing of two poems set to music: Flower of Beauty composed by John Clements and Newlyweds composed by Nathan Jones using a poem by Marjory Wentworth (see related story). The two songs about human love were deeply pure in sound and feeling. As I watched these young singers and saw the commitment to their art form, I realized there is no better education of the whole self in any curriculum than that of the performing arts.

Two ending songs that spoke to the heart were Shanandoah (James Erb) and So I’ll Sing With My Voice (Dominick Argento). This choral landscape that the voices painted was a portrait of the soul that comes only from this human sound. It was truly elevating to hear these untainted young voices. It gave me great hope for goodness that may still exist in the world today.

CBT Soars at Piccolo

I also attended the Charleston Ballet’s Brown Bag and Ballet performance in their King Street Studio Theater, happy again to be in a cool, dark, indoor place in the middle of a hot day as part of Piccolo’s packed list of events.

The program included three pieces that had been performed during their 2009/2010 season, but were still shining bright in this showcase of successful dances.

CBT at Piccolo Spoleto

The first was Lark Ascending choreographed by Bruce Marks with music by Ralph Vaughn Williams. In this contemporary ballet, female soloist  Andrea DeVries was framed by a five-male ensemble that created a wonderful backdrop of strength and design.

The piece was performed with elegant clarity by dancers who moved inspired by ascension. Their  movements reached and extended beyond the body as they appeared to be floating and at times spiraling only to be uplifted again. Effortless lifts as DeVries encountered her fellow partners with dips and dives created sculpted tableaus, with the most stunning at the end as the ensemble lifted her in an attitude shape with birdlike arms that  carried her heavenward.

The other gem of the concert was Bolero with choreography by Helena Baron to Ravel’s luminous and seductive score. Again, the company’s clean line and confident manner shined with a contained passion shown with staccato movements contrasted with sustained ones.  The repetition of the score mirrored repetition of phrases that grew in numbers of dancers on stage and intensity of the performers until the full cast filled the stage reaching the level even of the shouting horns at the closing of the score.

Do not forget our town’s responsibility to support local artists and performers, and please make an effort to show your commitment to one of our important cultural groups.

St. Lawrence String Quartet

DUCKING INTO the recently refreshed Dock Street Theatre on an especially sweltering afternoon, I realized that this is one of my favorite moments of the festival. It is one of those things that makes an ordinary day extraordinary, which is so good for one’s mental health.

This particular day I sat in the balcony in a Lincoln-like box close to the stage to see not only the gifted musicians at work, but the beautiful theater around me. I was prepared to miss the beloved Charles Wadsworth whose folksy humor always made me giggle, but I was pleasantly pleased with the handsome and informed Geoff Nuttall as the following act.

J.S. Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto No. 5” was first to be played with jaunty lightness by nine members of the Baroque Chamber Orchestra.

Pedja Muzijevic

Five violins, a cello, a bass, and a flute joined harpsichordist Pedja Muzijevic who stole the show with a roaring tempo of seemingly millions of notes resulting in impromptu applause.

Next was Beethoven’s “Cavatina” translated as “Little Song” from his string quartet No. 13, Op.130 and played by the St. Lawrence String Quartet. From the first note, I felt like weeping. The sad, unbroken melody tempered with a steady force portrayed such beauty until the last notes celestially slipped into the ether.

Third was Chopin’s “Introduction and Polonaise Brillant” for piano and cello played by the the virtuosic cello goddess, Alisa Weilerstein. She wore a red satin dress that, had the house lights been on, plenty of men would have been blushing. To watch Ms. Weilerstein play is to see what music feels like, as her delivery is so sensual and dramatic that you feel at times you should turn your head.

Alisa Weilerstein

Not everything was about beauty on the program. The last piece, a premier commission, was written by Jonathan Berger for the songstress Dawn Updshaw and the St. Lawrence Quartet. Berg introduced the piece that was taken from the accounts of three schizophrenics who believed they were Jesus Christ. The point of view of the songs was taken from the mothers of these characters and transformed into imagined mothers of God. Piano, strings, and voice tackled the difficult sound steeped in anguished tension. The words of the text were easy to follow with a program insert as the commanding Upshaw bravely maneuvered the strange composition where the instruments slashed, vibrated, and attacked the raw and compelling score.

You never know what the program will be when you attend a Chamber Music Series concert, but I personally think this time it was divinely chosen just for me.

Westminster Choir

IF YOU ATTEND a performance of the Westminster Choir (a Spoleto tradition), you will hear a song inspired by South Carolina poet laureate, Marjory Wentworth.

Nathan Jones composed the piece based on Marjory’s “Newlyweds,” a poem written in an obscure Welsh form called the cynhunned which requires a seven syllable line.

Marjory describes the style as a “seven syllable line which yields an astonishing lyric intensity. The play within the line results in rich alliteration and attention to sound that creates a kind of echoing,” also described as “chiming.”

Marjory’s poetry is full of concentrated moments where the human condition is seen in a poignant way. She has also written two books: Noticing Eden and Despite Gravity.

Westminster Choir
June 5 and 10 • 5:00 PM
Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul
126 Coming Street (2 blocks north of Calhoun St)
www.piccolospoleto.com

Marjory Wentworth

THEY SAY THE BEST acting—like the best music, best dancing, and best art—is done from the inside. You can learn technique—the outside part—but it doesn’t become ‘art’ until you tap an inner source from whence flows an indescribable something that renders technique secondary: as a tool to be employed.

That’s what Clarence Felder did with his poignant portrayal in the Piccolo Spoleto production of “Beethoven, His Women, and His Music.” But he also did more, because this was not just a play. It was a juxtaposition of man and music: the personal life of Beethoven and the music that flowed from it. Which called for a little dialogue, then a little music, then the repeat of both several times.

Throughout, Clarence had to be host to the audience and “explain” what was happening on stage. Simultaneously, he had to go on a journey inside Beethoven and be transparent enough about it that we might follow along, tap the veins of Beethoven’s thoughts and emotions, and come away with a more profound understanding of his music.

Clarence Felder

So well did it work that I can never again hear Beethoven’s Archduke Trio or Moonlight Sonata as I did before. Not only were these pieces played beautifully by Charleston Chamber Music’s trio, they were evocatively brought alive by Clarence’s performance.

Context is everything. And in the case of classical music, a piece that may otherwise sound formless or meaningless, comes richly alive once you know how and why and from what it was composed.

I have listened to the Archduke Trio in the past, and even more intently in preparation for this Piccolo Spoleto performance. Ditto the Moonlight Sonata, which is broadcast so frequently—at least in parts—that you take it for granted; that is, hear it superficially.

Irina Pevzner

Tonight though, in the Circular Congregational Church, I heard and felt for the first time the true depth of the sonata’s first movement: its tenderness, its sadness, its funeral-like pathos—especially in those last two haunting notes played so feelingly by Irina Pevzner.

As for the Archduke Trio, I had always related to it as a long, formal, parlor-room piece. Too tedious in places for me (a non-musician) to get through. But in the context of Beethoven’s visible anguish, and accompanied by the superb playing of Irina, violinist Megan Allison, and violist Timothy O’Malley, it came alive in a new way.

I heard it cascading with the most beautiful lyrical harmony, then climbing to the noblest heights, then plunging into heartfelt strife. Then suddenly dancing with the lively delight that so characterizes the bright side of Beethoven’s music.

Megan Allison & Timothy O’Malley

Such an extraordinary spectrum in one piece of music speaks volumes about Beethoven the man, his vast range of musical talent, and the virtuosity of a fine actor and three gifted musicians.

Musical concerts ought to be presented like this more often.

I suspect, too, that there’s more in this music waiting to be discovered, so I’ll be listening. And, yes, I will go again next year if Piccolo Spoleto hosts it a third time.

(Click here to see the interview with Clarence and Timothy O’Malley prior to their performance.)

From a distance, it seems that great composers sit down and write extraordinary music. When you get closer, though, you see that in many cases the music seeps, and in some case pours, out of them—out of their personal lives.

In Beethoven’s case, some of the most fiercely passionate and exquisitely tender music ever written can be traced to a sensitive, conflicted inner life in which Beethoven repeatedly made a mess of human dealings, wrestled with his contradictory passion for women, and at age 26 began to suffer what would become complete deafness—a composer’s ultimate nightmare. Across this emotional spectrum, and no doubt due to it, spanned the likes of his Moonlight Sonata, Archduke Trio, and Ninth Symphony—to name just three of his masterpieces.

Here’s an interview I did with Clarence Felder and CMC cellist Timothy O’Malley as they talked about Beethoven, his women, his music, and their upcoming program about all three.

This joint production of Chamber Music Charleston and Actors’ Theatre of South Carolina is being presented for the second year in a row at Piccolo Spoleto. It was was conceived by Chris Weatherhead and Sandra Nikolajevs and also features violinist Megan Allison and pianist Irina Pevzner.

But don’t let that fool you, because once again you’re in for a treat. A gold medal treat.

Hsing-Chwen Hsin is one of the most distinguished young pianists from Asia, as well as a winner of the prestigious Chappell Gold Medal from the Royal College of Music in London.

At age 13, after early musical training in Taiwan, she moved to England to attend the Yehudi Menuhin School and later the Royal College of Music. Hsing-Chwen now teaches at the Institute of Music at National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan where she chairs the graduate performance program, and where she founded the ChiaoTa Chamber Ensemble.

• Ballade No. 2, Op. 38 • Frederik Chopin

• Goyescas, Book I • E. Granados

• Kreisleriana, Op.16 • Robert Schumann

SAT May 22 • 8:00 PM
In the Great Room, north end of the second floor of the Cato Center for the Arts
(at the corner of Calhoun and St. Philip Street)
Free admission

2009 Jazz Jac poster by Nathan Durfee

AS SPRING BLEEDS into summer, don’t forget the other frolic that kicks off in tandem with Spoleto USA.

While the “big” one toots its horn about being an international festival, Piccolo Spoleto boasts the continuous discovery of homegrown talent—artists, writers, and performers from Charleston and around the southeast.

Ellen Dresler Moryl launched Piccolo Spoleto in 1979 with the Office of Cultural Affairs to give regional artists an opportunity to showcase their work. Piccolo was intended to be a festival for Every Person—over half of the events are free and many are family friendly.

With an incredible array of 700 events that include art exhibits, music, theatre, dance, film, and literature spanning 17 days, there really is something for everyone.

Here’s a brief overview of what to expect and what I recommend:

Acoustic quartet, the Bushels

Music
At almost any time of day, you can hear many kinds of music: Bluegrass on the Green at Marion Square, Blues and Jazz events on land and sea, Classical Music in churches and theatres featuring adult and young performers, and the Early Music Series which is always a good bet, as is the Charleston Jazz Initiative Festival. It is just a great time to engage in any style of the local music scene.

Dance
The Dance at Noon series presents seven companies performing ballet, modern, and jazz dance from noon to 1:00 P.M. at the Footlight Players Theatre. This year there is a special buzz about Sideways Contemporary Dance, a company from Atlanta. And for jazz dance lovers, Dancecentre South Company is always entertaining.

Sideways Contemporary Dance

Meanwhile, Charleston Ballet presents Brown Bag and Ballet with different programs daily featuring works from their repertory while you eat lunch (bring your own, of course).

A rotating program will offer something new every day—from Bolero, to a new tango work, to classical favorites.

Evening performances will include the popular Decadent Divas and family friendly pieces like The Little Mermaid.

Also interesting  is Revolutionary! Isadora Duncan, presented by D.C.-based World Dance Theatre, at The Circular Church, Lance Hall, June 1–4. This will be a dance/theatre piece about the life and influence of the “mother of modern dance.”

Revolutionary! Isadora Duncan

Theatre
Musical Theatre, Piccolo Fringe, StelleDi Domani, and the Theatre series also offers a lot of choices. Truth is, the theatre community explodes during Piccolo Spoleto with all kinds of performances from traditional plays, to the hilarious Skinny White Comics, to Sherri Grace’s Rock and Roll Heaven, to an original work written and directed by our local gem, Robert Ivey, called Oh! George—a musical revue of 29 Gershwin songs by a cast of 17 talented performers.

Film
Three individual programs—the American Film Series , the Felder Film Festival, and American Film Series, Evenings under the Crescent—will show original and classic films. Look into The West African Connection sponsored by the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture.

Literary
An ever growing arm of this festival, and a component that the “Big” one doesn’t have, includes the Piccolo Spoleto Literary Festival, a Fiction Open, and (my favorite) the Sundown Poetry Series where poets read from their work in the twilight of the Dock Street Theatre courtyard—a great way to spend time before an 8:00 P.M. main event.

Sand sculpting competition

Miscellaneous
Other popular activities include special events at the Farmers Market, A Children’s Festival at Marion Square, the juried art exhibits, and the Big Time Sand Sculpture Competition.

Info and Tickets
There are a ton of events to choose from, so do yourself a favor and get a booklet of events from the Office of Cultural Affairs at 180 Meeting Street, where you can also buy tickets (Note: there is no longer a Piccolo box office at the Gaillard Auditorium). You can also call (843) 724-7295 or visit www.piccolospoleto.com.

It features an all Bach program for multiple pianos accompanied by a string ensemble of members from the College of Charleston Chamber Orchestra and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lorenzo Muti. And all of the soloists are College of Charleston graduates.

This is not music that you typically hear on the radio or even on CD, partly because it is such an unusual combination of instruments.

The evening promises to be a spectacular finish to this season’s very successful series of concerts (thank you, Enrique).

TUESDAY • April 27 • $20/students free
J.S. Bach concertos for 2, 3, and 4 hands
8 PM • Sottile Theater • 44 George St

During his years in Leipzig, Johann Sebastian Bach had far more than just church music to attend to. As director of the Leipzig Collegium Musicum, he was also his city’s leading exponent of secular instrumental music. Bach, assisted by his two oldest sons, Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philip Emanuel, was responsible for providing fresh chamber and orchestral music for the Collegium’s weekly meetings.

Bach met these duties in various ways. First, he recycled many suitable instrumental works that he had composed during his periods in Weimar and (especially) Cöthen, often rearranging them for different solo instruments. Next, he simply adapted the music of other composers to his requirements—then an accepted practice. Finally, he wrote new works from scratch. All three of these schemes gave rise to Bach’s concertos for multiple harpsichords, four of which will be performed as piano concertos.

Concerto in C Major for Two Pianos, BWV 1061
Like all the other concertos on the program, this piece follows the usual Baroque concerto model: scored for strings and continuo, with fast-slow-fast movement sequences. Written around 1730, it was almost certainly conceived as a work for two solo harpsichords; the comparatively sparse orchestral parts seem almost to have been added as an afterthought. The opening Allegro is an effervescent affair, with the two soloists blithely tossing their themes back and forth. The gentle central adagio is played by the soloists alone. Likewise, the ebullient closing fugue begins with the unaccompanied soloists who develop their contrapuntal motifs for quite awhile before the strings finally join them.

Concerto in D Minor for Three Pianos, BWV 1063
Some music historians believe that this is a transcription of unknown work(s) by other composers. But most believe that the piece’s freshness and contrapuntal vitality could only be the work of Bach, and that he probably wrote it for his own performance (along with his two sons) at his Leipzig Collegium concerts. This stands to reason as the first harpsichord part (the one that Papa Bach would’ve certainly played) dominates with its greater technical challenge and pair of solo cadenzas in the first movement. In any case, the substance and power of its outer movements, plus the central movement’s subdued pathos, make this one of Bach’s finest of the genre.

Concerto in C Major for Three Pianos, BWV 1064
Some have criticized Bach’s keyboard concertos—with their overlapping contrapuntal complexities—as being forbiddingly dense and “overwritten.” But this concerto would seem an exception. The solo keyboard parts tend to stand out more clearly, as they are comparatively independent, and because of the orchestra’s often “solistic” roles. Believed to be a transcription of a (now lost) concerto for three violins, it remains a favorite of its kind. The first two movements are among Bach’s deepest and most wide-ranging. Keyboard players love it, too, as all three soloists get their own virtuosic cadenzas in the jaunty finale.

Concerto in A Minor for Four Pianos, BWV 1065
This is the only work in this group that can be firmly attributed to another composer. Bach arranged it from Italian master Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violins in B minor, Op. 10/3, during his Weimar period. Musicologists generally agree that he improved on the original by refining and extending Vivaldi’s counterpoint while enriching and clarifying his harmonic structure. Bach did likewise for the four solo parts, giving the keyboard players ample opportunities to shine.

(Lindsay Koob writes his regular blog Eargasms for the Charleston City Paper.)

Enrique Graf, Artist in Residence at the College of Charleston, is Director of the International Piano Series.

Click here to get ticket information.