There was a big celebration Wednesday night at Packard Hall. For regional music lovers, the return of the Colorado College Summer Music Festival is always reason enough to rejoice. This season, the call to the hall was amplified. The festival has turned 40.
Colorado Springs City Councilwoman Michelle Talarico took the stage to read a proclamation signed by City Council President Randy Helms declaring June to be “Colorado College Summer Music Festival month in the city of Colorado Springs.”
Music Director Susan Grace, the backbone of the festival for all but its first three seasons, graciously shared the new honor with all in attendance and then cleared the stage for the festival’s faculty artists.
It would be up to a performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s fourth Brandenburg Concerto to truly inaugurate “40.” Counter to modern convention, there was only one player to a part. However, the three soloists — Alice Dade, Julie Thornton and Scott Yoo — were supported by a ripieno of six musicians.
Scott Yoo, violist Virginia Barron and Alice Dade in the Brandeburg Concerto. Photo by Serena Nguyen, Colorado College
It was pure elegance until Yoo burst upon the scene. The violinist and festival conductor roused the hall and his musical compatriots with a red-hot reading. On flutes, Dade and Thornton produced a dreamlike answer to their partner’s exuberance. Dade’s seemingly unconscious ascending phrases found an alternative means to achieve the spotlight.
The hall was brought back to a normal pitch by Michael Kroth and John Rojak through Paul Hindemith’s exceedingly brief Vier Stücke für Fagott und Violoncello from 1941 with a trombone taking the bassoon part. The two musicians produced a simple musical conversation that created a perfect bridge to Camille Saint-Saëns’ Septet in E-flat Major, op. 65.
The septet is not a great piece of music, but the performance was great, elevating lightweight expression into must-hear music. Trumpeter Jack Sutte, returning to the festival after a 10-year absence, tamed his extroverted brass beast into a welcome member of the string-dominated ensemble. Pianist William Wolfram displayed his trademark clarity and power, achieving explosive growth in the musical phrase.
The Brandenburg Concerto Ensemble. Photo by Serena Nguyen, Colorado College
Violinist Laura Frautschi topped off the ensemble with focused melody and texture. Her brief duets with the like-minded violinist Stefan Hersh were highlights of the performance. Toby Appel mined sounds and textures from his viola that were as shocking as they were beautiful. Cellist Bion Tsang seduced with a seamless musical line through potentially disjointed melodies. And Susan Cahill used her bass to produce a powerful, rich foundation, giving a symphonic aura to the whole.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was certain that his Piano Quintet in E-flat Major from 1784 was his finest work composed to date. Virtuosity abounded throughout all three movements Wednesday night. Pianist Grace was pointed but elegant in her reading, perfectly conveying the Mozartian ethos. Robert Walters’ oboe was unbounded and solidly lyrical. As is his musical calling card, Jon Manasse produced rich, organic sounds from his clarinet. Kroth’s bassoon had a lightness and lift that betrayed the reputation of his instrument. And Michael Thornton’s horn danced above the ensemble with a freedom seldom heard from his earthbound instrument. But none of that ultimately mattered.
Individual performances were not the hallmark of this reading. As the work progressed, it became apparent that the ensemble was producing one unified voice — exactly what the composer had hoped for.
