L to R, Jonathan Smucker, Kindra Scharich, Susie Fong, Nanette McGuinness, Hallie Pridham.
Time for some more shameless plugs...
But first, for those inquiring minds who might want to know, the Vinaccesi Ensemble's concert was wonderful, with a large, generous audience, terrific presenters/ hosts (thank you, San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music and Legion of Honor!), a lovely space, and a wonderful harpsichord, courtesy of John Phillips. A great time was had by all on both sides of the proscenium--not that there actually was a proscenium, mind you. The picture above comes from a friend's iPhone, at the end of the concert.
And a quick note about a world premiere earlier this week, of Pulitzer-Prize winning and Grammy nominee Steven Stucky's The Stars and the Roses, beautifully performed by Noah Stewart and the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Joana Carneiro. A shimmering three-song work (to poetry by the ever-wonderful Czeslaw Milosz) with transparent textures for the orchestra and lyrical writing for the glorious voice of the former Adler fellow. Stucky dedicated the piece to his about-to-be-wife, whom he charmingly told the audience he was flying off to marry after the concert: a sweet introduction to a lovely piece.
Back to the plugs...
Coming up this week, I've got two important events. First, on April 1 (no fooling!), the Vinaccesi's premiere CD will be officially released on Centaur Records. Benedetto Vinaccesi the Solo Cantatas contains all 8 extant solo cantatas by the group's namesake, that quirky, stylish and inventive Venetian composer.You can buy the CD from Centaur, directly from the ensemble, from Arkiv Music, etc. (Centaur CRC 3270).*
The CD includes the above musicians, plus bass Kirk Eichelberger and archlutenist Sarge Gerbode.
Hmmm, that's long enough for now. Not to be tantalizing, but the next plug will come tomorrow or next day. In the meantime, Happy Passover and Happy Easter to all.
What I'm reading: Sadly, I've now finished all the Martin Walker Inspector Bruno books that have been written thus far. Hopefully there will be more soon.
What I'm listening to: Garner, Stucky, Erickson, Vinaccesi, Salamone Rossi, Elena Ruehr, and much more, natch!
*A blog with a footnote? Could it be! But every once in awhile, my erstwhile academic hackles rise again. and this is one of those moments: we couldn't have made the CD without our fantastic recording engineer, Michael Demeyer, nor without the help of a grant from the Musical Grant Program, which is administered by the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music and supported by the Heller Foundation, the Hewlette Foundation, the San Francisco Foundation, and San Francisco Grants for the Arts.
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