chamber music northwest

last week, i actually attended some concerts. it was the first time in a long time that i had seen live classical music. i went on monday to hear a concert of "german & slavic melodies." i chose to attend the specific concerts in which amy schwartz-moretti was playing. stupidly, i forgot that i had to teach that evening until 8:15. i had thought i would be done by 8, and would just have to miss the haydn flute trio (i really dislike flute music, and i feel i have a right to say it after having played the flute for many years). however, i missed both the haydn & got there after the prokofiev duo had started, so i had to listen through the door. amy was performing with robert mcduffie, and their sound blended really well together. it was a fine and polished performance, as was the second half of the concert, the dvorak a major piano quintet. it was enjoyable to hear playing on such a high level. i ran into amy's husband on the way out, and he took me backstage to say hello to her. i knew amy because she was the concertmaster of the oregon symphony, a position she gave up this year to teach at a new music school run by mr. mcduffie, but i first met her while attending c.i.m.
surprisingly, i cried on my way home. i'm still wrestling with my love/hate relationship with playing the violin. these days, my shoulder starts hurting after just 20 minutes of playing, so a performing career is not an option. after the 7 years in the oregon symphony, i grew sick of performing & i still have little desire to do so, but a very tiny part of me misses the concept of performing. i suppose eventually it will resolve itself, just as the injury will hopefully go away in 20 or so years (hopefully sooner). for now, though, i go through very mixed feelings when attending concerts, and i opt to not attend many.
j & i met a couple of friends at friday's concert, which held a new piece by svoboda - "prayer" for clarinet and strings, a kuhlau quintet for flute and strings, and mendelssohn's octet for strings. i was extremely disappointed in the level of playing, and was actually embarrassed that i had invited friends (one who could've gone into music on the violin), who were 8 months new to portland, to the concert series. the svoboda piece was well enough performed, although it wasn't my favorite composition by him. however, the kuhlau piece, aside from the whole unsavory "flute" aspect, sounded as if it were being sightread. energy was low. it sounded very predictable, and lacked polish. the mendelssohn was even worse! elmar olivera was playing the 1st violin part, which is a concerto unto itself. since he's basically a concert violinist, he should've been up to the task, but he was horrible. his sound was horrendous, especially in the last movement - no core to it whatsoever. it was shocking. he might have made it easier on himself, keeping the tempo steady instead of driving it faster & faster, yet he chose not to. i've heard him play before, as he's performed with the oregon symphony, and i enjoyed his playing then, unlike this time. amy would have done a much better job in the hot seat. the octet is a mountain of a piece. it demands constant energy, with lots of scrubbing involved. anytime you put 8 people together & try to play in sync, it's a big challenge. unfortunately, most of the participants seemed there only to just "get through it." it was incredibly disappointing. chamber music northwest is supposed to bring the best of the best players. i expected the same high level playing that evening as i had heard on monday, but was very much let down. cmnw seems like a "good old boys" club, amy being the one exception. i don't usually get so worked up about concerts, but this one in particular definitely set me off.