IDRS 2012 Day 3

Hard to believe this conference is more than half over, and just when I feel like I’m really into the pace.  At least the weather was much better, with a high of just 90 and some comfortable breezes from time to time.

Again, the highlights:

• A short program of Famous Opera Arias for Oboe, transcriptions of soprano and tenor arias, played by Edward Benyas.
• My new favorite performer, Anders Engström, from Sweden.  I heard Anders twice during the day, once in the morning performing an hour of Bassoon Music from the Royal Opera Orchestra in Stockholm, 1750-1981 and again on the evening program, playing Airs Suédois by Bernhard Crusell.  Anders makes it all look easy even as his fingers become a blur of motion; his technique is literally stunning!  Must find a CD of him playing!  Four of the five pieces from the morning program are worth mentioning, which in itself speaks volumes of his performance:  Concerto per il Basson by Ferdinand Zellbell, Introduction et Variations (1836) by C Winkler, Bassoon Concerto (1919) by David Ottoson, and one which I would like to buy and learn (it’s the only one of this set I might stand a chance at!), Fasonett for Basson & Piano (1981) by Eberhard Eyser.
• The Sapphire Wind Trio (Patricia Nelson, bassoon; Christopher Chaffee, flute; Christopher Grymes, clarinet) really has it together!  They play very tightly, locked together in an eerie fashion, especially as displayed in the Three Pieces for Flute, Clarinet, and Bassoon by Walter Piston.  But the piece I really enjoyed was the Trio for Flute, Clarinet, and Bassoon by Charles Koechlin.
• Twelve bassoons and a contra – this was the Northern Hills Bassoon Ensemble.  One of their pieces was truly interesting, and that was Echo of the Spheres by Daniel Baldwin (this is the second of his compositions I’ve heard here), a piece written for all independent parts.  “Stunningly beautiful,” I wrote in my program.
• The Men Who Don’t Bite Bassoon Quartet (Barrick Stees, George Sakakeeny, Eric Stomberg, Jonathan Sherwin) – don’t you love the name?!? – did a program that was overall very enjoyable.  I particularly loved the Quintet for Piano & Strings in A Major by Franz Schubert and the String Quartet by Claude Debussy, both arranged by Barrick Stees.
• Stephen Secan, oboe, Chris Weait, bassoon, and James Bobb, harpsichord, played a fun little program and one of their particularly enjoyable pieces was Three Pieces by Jean-Philippe Rameau.
• And finally, a piece which I enjoyed for the beauty of the music and not so much for the performances, Deux Rhapsodies by Charles Loeffler, played by Lon Bussell, oboe, Christian Colberg, viola, and Mark Toleffsen, piano.