Weston Sprott, trombone

Weston Sprott plays a lot of opera… I mean A LOT! He is a trombonist with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York City, one of the premier orchestras in the world.

Operas can be long… I mean REALLY LONG. What do you suppose he’s thinking about down there in the pit? Sometimes trombones might have rests for about 30 minutes, before having to come in “guns blazing.”

How does he stay warmed up? There are so many questions. We have answers, and a terrific recital to boot. Weston brings music by Ravel, Telemann and Tchaikowski, among others. And yes, there will be some opera.

Artists: Weston Sprott, trombone; and Anna Stoytcheva, piano.

A Festival tradition since 2010, Collage returns to the bucolic super-venue, Abeja Winery. Out go the stainless steel tanks, and in come the steely-eyed virtuosos of WWCMF. This season, Collage finds inspiration in the world of dance. From ballet to modern to hip-hop, music composed for dance has consistently been at the forefront of innovation. We’ll have you tapping your toes and practicing your pliés with music by Tchaikovsky, Britten, Gershwin and PROJECT Trio.

A Festival tradition since 2010, Collage returns to the bucolic super-venue, Abeja Winery. Out go the stainless steel tanks, and in come the steely-eyed virtuosos of WWCMF. This season, Collage finds inspiration in the world of dance. From ballet to modern to hip-hop, music composed for dance has consistently been at the forefront of innovation. We’ll have you tapping your toes and practicing your pliés with music by Tchaikovsky, Britten, Gershwin and PROJECT Trio.

The magnificent production facility of Rôtie Cellars provides the stage to celebrate the initial events of the Tenth Anniversary Season of the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival in style.

The program, featuring Tina Dahl, Meta Weiss, Maria Sampen and Timothy Christie, explores the mature compositions of two child prodigies, Mozart and Chopin. Mozart and Chopin lived a combined 74 years. Both enjoyed fame and attention from the elite circles of Europe. While Mozart concluded his life anonymously in poverty, Chopin concluded his in comparative prosperity, or at least in the care of more prosperous patronage. Both made pilgrimages to Paris, and both won over the city’s cultural elite. Chopin stayed, taking French citizenship, while Mozart returned home to Austria. Though the two composers’ lives did not overlap, Mozart’s Requiem was sung at Chopin’s funeral, uniting the two consummate artists in one final musical communion.

The two composers are here united on happier terms as we explore the effervescent Piano Quartet in E flat, K. 493, of Mozart, and the heroic Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor, Op. 65, of Chopin. Both works demand much of the performers, and will have listeners jumping for joy. Here’s to ten great years of chamber music in the Walla Walla Valley!

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

ENTR’ACTE FROM SLEEPING BEAUTY, OP. 66 FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO

W. A. Mozart (1756-1791)

PIANO QUARTET IN E FLAT, K.493

I. Allegro
II. Larghetto
III. Allegretto

— INTERMISSION —

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

SONATA IN G MINOR FOR CELLO AND PIANO, OP. 65

I. Allegro moderato
II. Scherzo. Allegro con brio
III. Largo
IV. Finale. Allegro

WWCMF acknowledges the generous support of the Walla Walla Piano Group in providing the Steinway Model B piano for this performance. Bravo, and thank you!

Artists: Timothy Christie, viola; Henry Kramer, piano; Maria Sampen, violin; and Meta Weiss, cello

Go Big or Go Home! Well, in this case, we’ll do both, going big, then going home. Festival Series IV marks the conclusion of the Sixth Annual Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival, and we are going out with a bang.

This program will shake the rafters of the Gesa Power House Theater, and ring on in your memory long after the WWCMF musicians leave the stage. The Concerto for violin, piano and string quartet in D, by French composer Ernest Chausson, is a masterpiece of the late ninteenth Century, demanding virtuosity from all six players. The concerto, as seen through the lens of the ninteenth Century, usually means a piece for soloist and large orchestra. Chausson, however, looks inward, pairing down the ensemble to its essentials. With pre-impressionistic shadings dominating the interior passages, this work nevertheless explodes to a joyous conclusion. As the French musical indication goes, “Laissé Vibrer!”— Let it Ring!

Tchaikovsky, for his part, gives us one of the string repertoire’s great showpieces. Souvenir de Florence is so named because Tchaikovsky composed one of the work’s principal themes while on an extended stay in Florence, Italy, where he composed his opera The Queen of Spades. This work features two violins, two violas, and two cellos. At times, the piece is made of three duos, or a pair of trios, or a soloist with an accompanying quintet, or once in a great while, an expectant silence from all six. The 2013 Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival will conclude in rapturous melody, giving you a souvenir of your own.

Ernest Chausson (1855-1899)

Concert en ré majeur pour violon, piano, et quatuor à cordes, Op. 21

I. Décidé

II. Sicilienne

III. Grave

IV. Très animé

Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Souvenir de Florence, for string sextet in D, Op. 70

I. Allegro con spirito

II. Adagio cantabile e con moto

III. Alegretto Moderato

IV. Allegro vivace

Artists: Winston Choi, Timothy Christie, Julia Gish-Salerno, Norbert Lewandowski, Christina McGann,Stephen Miahky, Philip Payton, Maria Sampen, Meta Weiss and MingHuan Xu

WWCMF makes its first official visit to TERO Estates’ Windrow Vineyard for the final Tasting Music performance of the 2013 Season.

Why first “official” visit? Well, we had the opportunity to rehearse here behind the scenes during the 2012 season and found the environment to be most conducive to making great music. Perhaps it’s the light, which is simply magical as the sun sinks in the western sky. Perhaps it’s the rows of cab stretching across the gentle hills. Perhaps it’s the people who lovingly tend the land. It’s a place that evokes warmth, even across the expanses of time, distance and memory. Such were Tchaikovsky’s feelings toward Italy. His work Souvenir de Florence recalls his joyful time in Italy through music. We could not think of a better setting in the Walla Walla Valley to share this great work and bring to a close the 2013 Tasting Music Series.

Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Souvenir de Florence, for string sextet in D, Op. 70

I. Allegro con spirito

II. Adagio cantabile e con moto

III. Alegretto Moderato

IV. Allegro vivace

Artists: Timothy Christie, Julia Gish-Salerno, Norbert Lewandowski, Stephen Miahky, Philip Payton and Meta Weiss