Squonk Opera – July 4, 2022
Pittsburgh Festival Opera – July 5, 2022
The Pillow Project – July 6, 2022
Chatham Baroque – July 8, 2022
Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble – July 9, 2022
Allegheny Brass Band – July 10, 2022
William Ford | 15 JUL 2022
For the past few years, I drive to Pittsburgh from Atlanta, in part to see family, but also to experience some of the wonderful music performances that the city has to offer. While Pittsburgh has a relatively small population, around 300,000 with a metro population of 2.4 million, it “punches above its weight” in terms of its number of musical performances that are style- and genre- diverse. In fact, this summer there were so many events occurring during my week’s stay, that I was unable to enjoy all of them, but here’s my diary of those that I was able to see.
July 3: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Of course, the godfather of all performing arts organizations in the area is the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, which under Music Director Manfred Honeck, receives accolades around the world for its power and precision.
Despite being tired from the long drive I attended an outdoor performance of the PSO at Hartwood Acres, a natural amphitheater located just a few miles north of the city. The facility, while serviceable, is not as wonderful as Cleveland’s Blossom Center nor Philadelphia’s Mann Music Center, but that didn’t stop a large crowd from enjoying the American-focused program.
Because of the large lawn at Hartwood Acres, the performance was amplified through a bank of speakers located in front of the stage, which can throw balances off and create audible gremlins. But, under conductor Moon Doh, the vaunted precision of the PSO was still noticeable, especially in the fourth movement of Dvorak’s’ Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”). There were several pieces by John Williams; the Throne Room and Finale from the Star Wars Episode IV was a particular crowd pleaser.
Food trucks were available, which added to the pre-July 4th festivities. It appeared that many contract musicians were used for this performance, which is not surprising since the PSO is preparing for a major European tour in August.
July 4: Squonk Opera
July 4th is a mega celebration in Pittsburgh, much like nearly every city in the US. At the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers is Point State Park that annually hosts thousands of patriotic (or at least enthusiastic) people looking for a good time on Independence Day.
The City of Pittsburgh scheduled several performing groups, including Squonk Opera, or simply Squonk, which is a group of interdisciplinary artists led by artistic directors Jackie Dempsey and Steve O’Hearn. The group performed Hand to Hand where large articulable puppet hands move to improvised progressive rock. At times, huge eyeglasses are carried by the hands to frame the stage. The thumbs of the hands are removeable and they dance around and engage each other.
The performance finale includes the activation of a large metal wheel that turns and sparks. Squonk is impressive; the hands are very lifelike and are energetically manipulated by puppeteers, and the driving rock music is skillfully produced and played. I recommend Squonk—it’s festive, immersive, and creative!
I had time to lunch with violinist and conductor maestro Andres Cardenas, former concertmaster of the PSO and currently Dorothy Richard Starling and Alexander Speyer Jr. University Professor of violin at Carnegie Mellon University. Andres is a first-order raconteur, a most charming and witty lunch companion, and last, but not least, a major patron of www.AtlantaMusicCritic.com.*
*[Ed. note: AtlantaMusicCritic.com is Mr. Ford’s own website.]
July 5: Pittsburgh Festival Opera
On July 5, the Pittsburgh Festival Opera, under the Artistic Direction of renowned mezzo-soprano Marianne Cornetti, celebrated their return to the New Hazlett Theater stage for the summer of 2022. The Pittsburgh Festival Opera sponsors the Mildred Miller International Voice Competition and featured the soprano finalist, Julia Laird, and baritone winner, Bryan Murray, in a performance of Menotti’s The Telephone.
Gian Carlo Menotti was a major composer in the early 1950s, especially well- known to early television audiences for the annual production of his Amahl and the Night Visitors. Menotti’s music was neo-romantic, and he disliked the direction that classical music was taking among his contemporaries. His mini-opera The Telephone is a situation comedy-like story about a man’s frustration with his girlfriend’s habitual use of the telephone, especially as he wants to propose marriage to her.
In today’s cell phone dominated world, the notion of a telephone attached by a wire to a wall might not resonate with audiences, so the story was updated to portray her attachment to her hand-held device. It also made it possible to move the setting from an apartment to a bar.
Ms. Laird has a strong soprano voice that becomes a bit edgy in its upper register. While the story doesn’t require great acting chops, Ms. Laird relied heavily on her forehead and eyebrow acting. Mr. Murray is a very talented singer, with a rich, golden-toned voice. He is an engaging actor who employs his entire body to underscore the emotions of the music. Ms. Cornetti and Colin Aikins were supernumeraries in the bar!
By today’s standards, the topic of The Telephone seems almost quaint, but it is full of enjoyable tonal music, here played by pianist Lucas Barkley.
Following the Menotti, both singers performed a concert of arias and duets. Ms. Laird performed a powerful “O mio babbino caro” from Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, among other arias. The strongest performance of the evening was Mr. Murray’s stunning version of the nostalgic “My Yearning, My Obsession” from Korngold’s Die tote Stad; it was a stellar performance of this gorgeous work. Last on the program was an effective “If I loved you” from Rogers and Hammerstein’s Carousel, featuring both singers. About 75 people attended this performance.
July 6: The Pillow Project
The Pittsburgh Playhouse of Point Park University sponsors an Inside Outside Summer Music Festival. On July 6, a Pittsburgh-based dance company, The Pillow Project, joined the Fourth River jam band, for one of the festival’s three dance performances.
The Fourth River is an improvisatory progressive jazz group consisting of an electric guitar, a double bass, and a drum set. Its music fits somewhere in the continuum between soft and harder-edged modern jazz.
The Pillow Project, led by choreographer Pearlanne Porter, was astonishingly good. The dancers improvise their dance moves to the music, which itself is being improvised. The dancers were Grace Lopez, Libbie Louis, Lennon Richison, Chezney Douglas, Theo Bliss, and Ms. Porter.
The duet by Ms. Lopez and Mr. Richison was outstanding; they inhabited the music while improvising as if they had performed the work many times before. Mr. Bliss’ solo was also remarkable. All the dancers were smooth, fluid, flexible, polished, strong, and confident. Congratulations to Ms. Porter for her approach to choreography. About 50 people attended.
July 8: Chatham Baroque
The well-known Chatham Baroque was also part of the Point Park Festival on July 8. The Chatham Baroque has an Atlanta connection: the Artistic Director of the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, Julie Andrijeski is an alumna of the Pittsburgh-based group. The three members of the CB are Andrew Fouts, violin; Patricia Halverson, viola da gamba; and Scott Pauley, baroque guitar, and theorbo. They were joined by percussionist Danny Mallon.
The program, titled Mediterranean Odyssey, featured music from the 16th to 18th centuries. As the title indicates the featured composers were from countries adjoining the ancient sea. A highlight was a solo by Danny Mallon, who uses not only his hands, but also his feet to strike or shake or scrape his percussion instruments. Each piece was introduced by one of the musicians and was focused on helping the listener appreciate the evolution of the music over the centuries, as well as the influence of place over time. The acoustics of the Playhouse’s black box theater were perfect for the unamplified ancient instruments. There were about 150 patrons in attendance.
July 9: Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble
On Saturday July 9, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble (PNME) presented a program that included two new commissioned works as well as an established piece. PNME’s Artistic director is the multi-talented Kevin Noe who introduced the program to the roughly 200 patrons. Noe is an innovator who has been recently an advocate of employing binaural sound, using headphones, during live performances. I was skeptical but have found that small groups of instruments can be experienced is such an intimate way that it increases the power of the music. And being that the headphones are not sound isolating, the listener can still get aural cues from the actual performers, which is an astonishing effect.
Conducted by Noe, the first work was Biedenbender’s Shell and Wing. This is a powerful piece in two parts: one from an adult and one from a child’s perspective. It is based on poetry by Robert Fanning and it reflects the conflict of a parent between protection and letting go. The music was sung by the superb soprano Lindsay Kesselman, whose voice was controlled and smooth throughout the extremes of this piece. Biedenbender’s music was touching and soaring; it was accompanied with sympathetic videos on screens adjacent to the stage. A big Bravo to all involved.
The second work was written by Pittsburgh-based composer Alex Marthaler, titled Tethers, Capsules, & Collsions. Marthaler teaches at the CMU School of Music. The piece was composed in 2016 and reflects the fracturing of communities through disillusionment and conflict, but the final movement envisions restoration. The music is a mix of styles, with occasional outbursts of minimalism. It’s a solid piece of contemporary chamber music that intrigues without being overly intellectualized.
The final work, Trust Falls by Gilda Lyons was indescribably good. It incorporates people’s e-mailed responses to questions about trust that were solicited earlier in the year. Some were so lyrical and poetic that they had tremendous power. In addition, Noe, Kesselman, and percussionist Ian Rosenbaum collaborated with the composer to create the work to maximize the effect of the binaural experience. Voices are heard with an intimacy that is spine-chilling and percussive effects are hair raising; hearing Rosenbaum’s fingers swishing water in a fishbowl was uncanny. Noe and Kesselman had an extensive duet, with his smooth tenor baritone and her extravagant soprano mixing in a compelling, personal way. Oscar Micaelsson’s piano playing was warm, especially in the introduction to the piece.
Composer Lyons took a risk with this piece, especially regarding how to integrate it with the binaural sound system. That integration, combined with the beautiful truths about trust, the inventive use of percussion, and the emotional power of the music, make Trust Falls a piece of great merit. It was so powerful that the audience was totally silent during the performance—an excellent marker to indicate that listeners are truly engaged. My advice is that if you get to hear this work, especially with the binaural sound set up, do it and you’ll be highly rewarded!
Any concert by the PNME is extraordinary for its blending of music and theater, but this one was easily the finest I’ve heard.
July 10: Allegheny Brass Band
On July 10, the Allegheny Brass Band played on a portable stage in Pittsburgh’s Mellon Park. The concert included a rousing salute both to the Beatles and a broad swath of American music. It was a great way to enjoy beautiful weather and a good breakfast on the grounds of the former Mellon estate. It was also a nice way to end a week of Pittsburgh concerts.
Who knows, I just might do it again next year! ■
Audience around the bandstand at the July 10 performance in Mellon Park by the Allegheny Brass Band. (credit: William Ford)
External links
- Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra: pittsburghsymphony.org
- Squonk Opera: squonk.org
- Pittsburgh Festival Opera: pittsburghfestivalopera.org
- The Pillow Project: pillowproject.org
- Chatham Baroque: chathambaroque.org
- Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble: pnme.org
- Allegheny Brass Band: alleghenybrassband.com
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