MUSIC REVIEW
CHAMBER ORCHESTRA OPENS 57TH SEASON WITH DIVERSE, EXULTANT KLEZMER WORKS
Klezmer is celebratory
music, often played at Jewish weddings and other festive events. So it's fitting
that the Portland Chamber Orchestra kicked off its 57th season with a celebration
of that music with its "Creme de Klezmer" concert, featuring four
pieces rich with Jewish musical traditions.
For those who think klezmer is just spirited dance music, though, the program
Saturday evening at Reed College's Kaul Auditorium proved otherwise. The music
was much more varied and reverent, ranging from Middle Eastern modalities
to western chamber music and many areas in between. The evening's two guest
artists highlighted the wide range of sounds and styles that fall under the
klezmer category. Klezmer, the music brought to America by Jewish immigrants,
has been revitalized in recent decades, and one of its main flag bearers is
clarinetist David Krakauer. Krakauer proved why he is the music's leading
voice with a flawless performance full of unique nuances that make the music
special.
"Celestial Dialogues,"
by conductor Ofer Ben-Amots, was a modern six-movement work that was steeped
in tradition. Krakauer's expressive clarinet contrasted with Portland vocalist
Jack "Yankl" Falk's reverential cantorial. The two traded themes
throughout, with the music building from a low drone by the orchestra to a
rousing dance among strings, bells and clarinet, then finally coming together
in a final musical prayer.
Falk's plaintive voice portrayed the role of cantor nicely, but it was Krakauer's
mastery -- using dips, trills and tone bending to convey the feel of the movements
-- that really shone, sometimes upstaging Falk. But Falk smiled as Krakauer
played, clearly engaged with his stage partner. Ben-Amots was in the audience
for the Northwest premier of his piece and took a bow with the guests and
conductor Yaacov Bergman.
The magic continued with Krakauer playing both bass clarinet and traditional
B-flat clarinet on Andre Hajdu's "Shout of a King." The reedy, resonating
tones of the bass opened the piece, a mix of traditional Jewish melodies and
classical European motifs.
Krakauer was brilliant, being both lighthearted and serious throughout, letting
each horn ring its colorful tones. He even played an encore, a propelling
Jewish dance that got the crowd on its feet, clapping along to the infectious
rhythm while he wailed on the horn, a great showpiece for an inspiring artist.
After Krakauer's encore,
one-time Oregon resident Ernest Bloch's Concerto Grosso No. 1 for String Orchestra
and Piano seemed a bit of a letdown in energy and should perhaps have appeared
earlier in the program. Nonetheless, the orchestra played the grandiose work
with passion. The western-sounding piece rounded out the musical offerings,
which were as diverse as the people they represented.
-- David Stabler, The Oregonian
September 12, 2003
CRITIC'S CHOICE
CLASSICAL CLARINETIST KRAKAUER, CANTOR WILL CUT LOOSE WITH KLEZMER
Portland Chamber Orchestra opens it season smartly with an appearance by a
clarinet player of international stature, David Krakauer. Conductor Yaacov
Bergman will lead the group in music with Jewish themes, giving Krakauer a
chance to show his considerable skill as an improviser in klezmer music.
Fans of the Kronos Quartet know Krakauer from his virtuosic performance of
Oswaldo Golijov's music, including his weeping, laughing, pitch-bending take
on the Argentinian composer's "The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind."
Jack "Yankl" Falk, a Portland cantor and Yiddish singer, is the
other soloist. For 25 years, Falk has hosted the "Yiddish Hour"
on KBOO-FM radio station and has performed with ensembles in Hungary and Poland
and the American Northwest.
The concert, called "Creme de Klezmer" will offer a couple of Northwest
premieres, including Noam Sheriff's "Tfilot" and "Prayers"
for strings, mixing elements from Sephardic (Spanish) Jews and Middle Eastern
cultures. Sheriff is a respected figure in Israel's composition community
and directs the Israel Chamber Orchestra.
"Celestial Dialogues"
by Colorado College's Ofer Ben-Amots combines Falk's tenor voice and Krakauer's
clarinet, and "Shout of a King" by the Budapest-born Andre Hajdu
blends popular and mystical styles of Ashkenazi Jews in what came to be known
as klezmer music.
The orchestra will conclude with Ernest Bloch's muscular and marvelous Concerto
Grosso No. 1 for strings and piano.
8 p.m. Saturday, Kaul
Auditorium, Reed College, 3203 S.E. Woodstock Blvd. $25, $20, TicketsWest,
503-224-8499. Ben-Amots will join Bergman, Krakauer, Falk and Ernest Bloch
II, the grandson of Ernest Bloch, for a panel discussion at 7 p.m.
-- David Stabler, The Oregonian
