The famous storyteller, O. Henry, drops into a local café in New York City in 1910 to finish a new Christmas story for his newspaper. Inspired by local musicians who play for him, the story becomes a beautiful tale of holiday love and sacrifice between a poor, young married couple. As O. Henry tells the story, it comes to life in a delightful one-act play by Chris Weatherhead with music adapted by Sandra Nikolajevs.

“O. Henry is one of America’s greatest and most beloved storytellers,” says Chris. “I have a deep love for this story which I first encountered as a young actress/writer in New York City. It goes to the very heart of Christmas and is the most romantic Christmas story I have ever read. Hollywood tried their hand at it and I think really missed the boat, so what we have done is try to honor O. Henry’s original intent. And when you add the amazing music woven in by Sandra Nikolajevs, it’s an enchanting mix of both acting and music. This year, a new piece by Doppler is being included for added magic.”

Tyler Ilgen and Jami Harris

The play stars Broadway, film, and TV leading actor, Clarence Felder, supported by local star Tyler Ilgen, and guest star, Jami Harris, and a professional cast. They are joined by flutists Regina Helcher Yost and John Samuel Roper, bassoonist Sandra Nikolajevs, and pianist Irina Pevzner. The musicians weave traditional Christmas melodies plus works by Respighi, Doppler, and Vaughan Williams into a romantic holiday tale directed by Weatherhead and Nikolajevs.

“The Gift of the Magi”
Thu and Fri, Dec 22 and 23 • 7:00 P.M.
Dock Street Theatre, 135 Church Street
$17 general • $5 for youth 8 to 15 years • Group rates available

Recommended for audiences 8 years and above

Call for tickets (843) 763-4941
Or buy online at www.ChamberMusicCharleston.org

Read our review from last year’s performance.

Regina Helcher Yost and John Samuel Roper

WHY DIDN’T ANYONE think of this before?

After all, Charleston is a Southern social town. It only makes sense that one of the best ways to present classical music is in a social context—with bistro tables wrapping around the stage, wine served beforehand, and the crowd mingling in a cheerful, festive ambiance for 45 minutes before show time. It felt like a very special evening as well as a fine musical event.

As obvious as it seems that this is the way to do it, it takes the innovative insight of someone like Sandra Nikolajevs to have the vision and make it come to life, as it did Saturday night at Memminger Auditorium when her Chamber Music Charleston musicians performed “A Celebration of Germany” featuring music by Bach and Brahms.

As Sandra said her in her opening statements, there is something about “the magic and excitement of live chamber music” that warrants an intimate, human listening of it—as well as watching it, since with chamber ensembles it is possible to be so close and see so much as they play

The musicians wore their mostly traditional black, but the men’s shirts were theatrically highlighted with bright pastel ties, while the female soloists wore red and pink gowns—which complemented the pink corner-stage lighting. The set design and wardrobes seemed as carefully choreographed as the music, on a stage that was lit by six gorgeous tube lanterns suspended from the cavernous ceiling.

And the large crowd knew how to enjoy more than just the food, wine, and hobnobbing. The festive auditorium grew steely quiet once the nine musicians launched into J.S. Bach’s buoyant Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G.

Bach has many signature works, and this is certainly one of them with its brilliant solo violin (Frances Hsieh) and double-flute pairings (Regina Helcher Yost and John Samuel Roper). While these three instruments soar to the skies with their sonority and charm, there is no rest for any of the musicians who have to keep fervid pace with Bach’s relentlessly forward-moving melodies.

And one of the nice things about an evening like this—which makes chamber music so “magical and exciting”—is that, no matter how many times you may have heard a familiar piece like this, you hear it anew, appreciate it anew, and come away once again delightfully refreshed.

After three movements of Bach’s complex, tightly-woven, emotionally driven notes, we got a full taste of Johannes Brahms in his Sextet No. 2 in G Major—a piece that we learned reflects his ardent love for two women in his life, neither of whom he married, and one of whom was the wife and widow of fellow German composer, Robert Schumann.

Which explained the piece’s silky tones, romantic wistfulness, and meandering themes that at times exploded into fervent tempestuousness through two violins, two violas, and two cellos. Brahms romantic compositions are not as defined as Bach’s Baroque scores, but they are exquisitely textured, which makes their long, sometimes wandering passages, well worth the journey of a dutiful ear, especially aided by Sandra’s introduction of the piece and its touching, biographical content.

CMC Director, Sandra Nikolajevs

The fine music aside, however, what stood out on this evening was the musicians, their quality of play, their dedication to and love of playing, and the overall presentation as conceived by Director Sandra Nikolajevs. This was the beginning of a new kind of classical music experience in Charleston (“Celebrations” of France and America—with a selection of their wines—will follow as part of the CMC Memminger Concert Series). And it won’t surprise me to see this venue imitated out of recognition and admiration of how well it works.

Count some more of your blessings, Charleston. You don’t get this kind of classical music experience many places.

Follow the Chamber Music Charleston Memminger Series.

What makes these concerts unique is that they will provide the rare opportunity to indulge the best of your sipping, tasting, and listening preferences in one elegant experience. VIP Bistro tables will be set up just a few feet from the stage with German wines available compliments of Total Wine & More, plus the option to buy (pre-ordered with your ticket) a tasty Bistro Box from Caviar and Bananas. Concert-goers in the traditional theatre-style seats will also be able to purchase wine from the bar.

Saturday’s 7:30 P.M. performance will feature Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 for two flutes, violin, strings, and harpsichord and will conclude with Johannes Brahms’ Sextet No. 2 in G Major. Needless to say, it will make for a very pleasant Saturday evening and a smooth transition into the Fall season.

For those of you not familiar with Chamber Music Charleston, this top-caliber ensemble of Charleston’s best musicians has for the last six years presented classical concerts in an annual series of intimate House Concerts in downtown Charleston, Kiawah, Daniel Island, and I’On. It has also hosted a handful of special events at the Dock Street Theatre, Middleton Place, and local private art galleries. All of its venues are tailored to the cozy listening experience that chamber music both warrants and provides.

The Memminger Concert Series is Director Sandra Nikolajev’s latest innovation for enhancing the classical music listening experience in Charleston—which includes not only fine events for adults, but also the Classical Kids Series which is specifically designed to educate and inspire young people through exposure to classical music and the lifelong joy that it can bring.

In fact, at 1:00 P.M. on Saturday—also at Memminger Auditorium—CMC will present “Where the Wild Things Are” for brass quintet. All of their hour-long programs are wonderful, with introductions of the instruments, video displays, live readings, and of course splendid music. There could not be a better way of introducing children to classical music.

I know I’ll be there with my daughter—again—as well as returning for the evening concert with my wife. Cheers!

Learn more at ChamberMusicCharleston.org or call (843) 763-4941.

Scott Rush conducting

CAUGHT UP as we are in these frantic, full-bore, financially uncertain times, it is not easy to slip away, find a few minutes of outer—not to mention inner—quiet, and get away from it all.

Yes, this is what we try to do on our walks, runs, and bicycle rides, or within the secret seclusion of our iPods, or nestled next to our good friends, Netflix and nachos. But none of these manage to make it right for long because none of them do justice to the inner peace we need to survive—really survive.

I realized this a little more deeply last Thursday night while sitting alone in the back of the balcony at the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul as the Mozart In The South Festival got underway. From the opposite end of the church, the pristine sound of two violins, a viola, and a cello wafted my way, drifted into me, and soothed my soul. The beauty of the arts was doing its most beautiful work.

For a precious time, there was no talk, no agenda. No stratagems or schedules or data to consider. Nothing to do. Nowhere to go.

There was just pure sound gloriously spiraling into the air, then lightly mingling in my ears, and in me. An entire load of self-preoccupations fell away. All that remained was an appreciation for the magic of Mozart’s Divertimento in D Major and the four musicians bringing it to life.

Appalachian Spring Suite ensemble

And that was only the warmup because up next wafted Aaron Copland’s emotionally charged Appalachian Spring Suite for 13 instruments. Nearly everyone has heard this piece on the radio or CD, but only when you hear it live does it properly haunt you with the depth of its feeling, the power of its imagery, and the full grandeur of its musical sweep.

This remarkable work stills the spirit, then gives it wing, and then calls it back again to ground it with chilling sounds of Winter, short glimpses of Summer, and above all the vibrancy of Spring. It is clearly the most un-church-like piece of music I have heard in a church, if for anything because it keeps calling you outdoors.

Under the steady hand and measured pace of conductor Scott Rush, the festival ensemble did a splendid job of conveying the unity and multiplicity, along with velvety orchestration, of this unique piece.

Interestingly, “the original title to the score was “Ballet for Martha” after Martha Graham who revolutionized ballet. Copland saw something essentially American in her choreography and personality—restrained, strong, and simple, yet proud. She chose the title shortly before the 1944 premiere from a phrase that struck her in a poem by Hart Crane. Copland was amused that people often complimented his music as brilliantly evoking the Spring season and depicting the Appalachian mountains, even though the poem refers to a mountain stream, had no connection with the ballet and arose only well after the score was finished.” And it would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize the following year. (from ClassicalNotes.net)

Performing Brahms’ Serenade No. 1 in D Major

After intermission, festival director Sandra Nikolajevs introduced Johannes Brahms’ Serenade No. 1 in D Major which has an interesting history of its own.

“Brahms originally composed the Serenade No. 1 in 1857 and 1858 for an ensemble of flute, two clarinets, bassoon, horn, and string quartet” in a version that no longer exists. In September 1858, Brahms played the piece on the piano for Joseph Joachim, who advised him to score it for full orchestra, which Brahms did the following year.” (from San Francisco Symphony program notes)

Recently, however, an incomplete version of the original serenade was discovered and reconstructed in several variations, making it once again available—though it is seldom performed.

I found the unexpectedly long piece somewhat somber, despite its flowing theme and wide variety of conversations between instruments. It seemed to me very much a musician’s piece, and the Mozart Festival ensemble certainly seemed to enjoy their masterful journey through it—again under the baton of Scott Rush.

From the balcony

I know, too, that the Copland piece had stirred me in such an indescribable way that I was left mesmerized—especially by the clarinet (Charles Messersmith) and flute (Regina Yost) passages—and completely satisfied, such that I did not listen attentively to the Brahms as much as I just watched peacefully while the musicians plied their craft.

Meanwhile, for a third consecutive year, Sandra Nikolajevs and Chamber Music Charleston struck a splendid new-season note with their Mozart In The South Festival. In fact, from all indications, if anything is predictable these days, it is that we are in for a very good musical year in Charleston.

Come listen. You owe it to your Self.

Catch Them This Friday
Chamber Music Charleston, in partnership with the Bands of Wando Boosters, will present September Serenade this Friday, September 23 at 7:30 P.M. in the Wando High School Performing Arts Center. The program will include Copland’s Appalachian Spring for winds, strings, and piano and the Brahms Serenade No. 1 in D Major for winds and strings.

Tickets
• At the door: $8 general, $5 students
• Online at Chamber Music Charleston.org
• Call (843) 763-4941