Concert Review
Seattle Chamber Music Society Summer Festival continues to deliver

By Melinda Bargreen
Seattle Times music critic

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With temperatures still in the 90s by concert time, Friday's patrons were nonetheless ready to hear some hot performances. No one is entirely sure why this year's festival has been the best-sold in its 23-year history, but it's been a great and artistically successful summer. Friday night's concert was no exception. Maybe it's the continued growth in maturity of several of the artists.

Cellist Ronald Thomas always shows audiences something new; his performance of the lovely Brahms F Major Cello Sonata (with pianist Max Levinson) demonstrated a technical and artistic mastery that few players can attain. With a rich, gorgeous tone in the lower register (especially in the first movement), Thomas performed with subtlety, precision and passion. Levinson's partnership was skilled but occasionally overbalanced the cello, notably in the first and third movements.

The Seattle Chamber Music Society's Summer Festival, Lakeside School, 14050 1st Ave. N.E., Concerts continue today at 8 p.m. (preceded by 7 p.m. recital), and on Wednesday and Friday (206-283-8808; if sold out, wait list begins at 6:30 p.m. on-site on concert nights).

Seattle Symphony principal oboist Nathan Hughes played the Saint-Saëns Oboe Sonata with pianist Jeremy Denk, in a smooth and elegant reading that was technically assured throughout the oboe's compass. Frequently heard in his Symphony oboe solos, Hughes proved a bit understated as a chamber player; his playing was impeccably tasteful. Denk was a supple and supportive partner at the piano.

Schubert is not exactly famous for his brevity, and in his six-movement Octet for Strings and Winds, he created a chamber piece that's longer than all but a handful of symphonies (on Friday night the performance lasted over an hour).

The Octet is a fascinating work. There are passages of great brilliance, and passages when you glance around and see people checking their watches. Fortunately, the strong performance and the commanding first violin of Scott St. John (another player who's really coming into his own) made the most of this jolly and good-humored work. Frank Kowalsky's clarinet was especially fine; all eight players seemed to be having a terrific time.

Melinda Bargreen: mbargreen@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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