IDRS 2012 Day 1 (the music)

But first, a weather report.  “The worst heat wave since July, 1936,” says the National Weather Service, and I believe them!!  It was 104 again today, and by 6pm was only down to 102.  Ugh.  Fortunately, things should be somewhat cooler tomorrow and in the 80s again by Tuesday.  Here’s hoping 🙂

Rather than try to list everybody and everything I heard today (and this was only a half day, remember!), I’m just going to do a quick run down of the more interesting pieces and/or performances and/or players:

• Three Etudes for Bassoon and Piano by José Siqueira, played by Susan Nelson – lovely, lovely pieces
• The world premiere of Still Folk, opus 107 by Kevin Jay Isaacs and performed by the WCSU Trio (Mark Snyder, Gina Cuffari, Tom Cuffari).  WCSU is Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, where the trio all teaches, and Isaacs is the composition prof there.  "Still-Folk" is the name the people of Scotland give to there supernatural beings (Faeries, Brownies, Trolls, etc.), and each of the six movements depicts one of these creatures: Kelpie, Sluagh, Glaistig, Ghillie Dhu, Urisk, Auld Clootie.  Some of the movements were extreme 12-tone compositions, others were Dorian; all were intriguing
• A Spring Concertino (1987) by William Bolcom, played by Elizabeth Robertson, oboe.  Bolcom is an interesting composer, sometimes writing in a harsh, 20th-century style; this piece has many surprisingly lyrical sections which I found quite captivating.
• Songs for Wicked Children by Amber Ferenz, played by Eric Van der Veer Varner, bassoon with Jed Moss, piano.  I drew a big happy face next to this one in my program book 🙂  It was immensely creative writing, which may be foretold by the names of the four movements:  Toys Left in the Rain, Strangers Have the Best Candy, Lost: Green Parrot, and Shark-Infested Pudding.
• Mathematics: A Sonata for Bassoon and Piano (same performers as the previous piece).  Again, a hugely creative composition, very rhythmic and with high energy throughout.  The three movements are: Geometry, Trigonometry, Integral Calculus.Jed Moss deserves particular mention as the accompanist – he’s an enormous talent and obviously takes the collaboration seriously.  And he just has so much fun playing these pieces!
• Aria for Bassoon and Piano by Eugène Bozza, arranged and played by Scott Pool. This piece, originally for sax and piano, made me wish I had the technique to play it!  It was a lovely work.
• A Joyful Noise for Bassoon and Piano by William Owen Menefield, played by Maya Stone.  Maya did a fabulous job bringing this beautiful and energetic piece to life!  The audience response was immediate and resounding.
• Concerto in F Major for Oboe and Bassoon by Georg Philipp Telemann, played by Andrea Jayne Ridilla, oboe, and Christin Schillinger, bassoon.  I hadn’t heard this Telemann before; it was a wonderful work and well-played.
• Concerto for Oboe in F Major opus 37 by Franz Kromer, played by Christian Schmitt.  This demanding work from the early 1800s was skillfully played in spite of some obvious and embarrassing lapses on the part of the orchestra, and was greatly appreciated by the audience.

And that wraps up my highlights review for today.  Tomorrow is a full day, so it’s time to get some sleep and prepare for a long day!