Saturday, July 30, 2011

Still Trying....

Charlie Lucke got some lovely clips of several the concerts, but we have had trouble getting them on to the blog. Finally we have one bit from the "M" concert and though the picture is fuzzy (our fault!) the sound is really sweet.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Looking for useful "U"s

It's challenge to find composers for some letters of the alphabet! I was chatting with SF Opera librarian Laure Campbell about it, and about "U" in particular. She got a funny look on her face, said "wait a minute" and disappeared into some hidden cavern of green shelves that is somewhere beneath the carriage entrance to the opera house. She reappeared with a box of parts to the opera "Le Educande di Sorrento" by Usiglio! ....just orchestra parts, no score.....and very old and fragile. She thought it had been programmed in the 1930's, but not performed. The name on the music was Faustino Ziliani, so I googled him, thinking it would have been the conductors parts. He was a conductor, and singer and teacher....in Austalia in the 1880's! But went back to Italy in 1889 in bad health. Hmmm. Digging further, Laure found that a Alessandro Ziliani, apparently a well known tenor from the 1930's and 1940's, had sung in SF in the 30's and, we think, brought music with him for future productions! So...how are they related? We could not find out. And it appears that with WWll heating up he was unable to come back here, but the music remains. Untouched....until now! We are pulling out a Brindisi, a short drinking song, from it to do at the "U" concert.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Utterly delightful Uccellini

David Wilson and Maria Caswell are the featured soloists playing Sonatas by Uccellini, the featured composer of the "U" concert! August 7....6pm. Uccellini lived from 1603 (maybe) to 1680. He was not terribly well known or prolific, but wrote violin music which, for its time was pushing the envelope. He used more of the violin that was common before (higher notes!) and went into stranger keys than might have been comfortable then (B Major, b flat minor, e flat minor) and added big leaps! He was a violinist himself, as well as composer and maestro di cappella in Modena and then Parma (the paying gigs).
Cynthia Albers will join David, Maria and the continuo section in pieces for 3 violins called Bergamasca.
But Uccellini is not the only "U" composer we found......

David's photo by Lars Johannesson, Maria's by Charlie Lucke (at the "T" concert)

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

"U" will want to hear this!

Utterly upbeat and urbane....
An appetizer, or dessert, concert. An hour of Uccellini, Utrecht and Utendal played by David Wilson, Maria Caswell and Cynthia Albers; violins. Gwyneth Davis and Judiyaba; cellos. And Phebe Craig, harpsichord. The concert is in the Pelican Gallery, which is at 143 Petaluma Blvd. North, near Washington. The center of downtown Petaluma area and convenient to many fine restaurants, convenient for after the concert...or before! (We'll wait 'til after...)
Suggested donation is $10...more is acceptable.....if insisted on...

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

"T"oo much fun.


The "T" Concert was in a wonderful studio on a warm summer evening. We declared it a barefoot concert when we realized that we were all more comfortable without the restrictions of footwear!
Maybe that's what inspired Kati's wonderful dancing quality in the Tartini Sonata (Opus 1, no.9)
Mary talked a bit about the viol family of instruments, showing her gorgeous viola da gamba. It was made in Bach's time and he had other instruments by the same maker. There seems to be a great likelihood that it would have been in the same room with Bach at some point. Perhaps a silly thing, but actually kind of thrilling!! We usually think of the gamba as a softer instrument than the cello, but in this concert we played together quite
happily. In the second Paris Quartet of Telemann the gamba and cello traded solo parts by movement. And the Telemann Suite for viola da gamba solo with string and harpsichord accompaniment was a wonderful show by Mary of what the instrument and she can do! It was a great finale!