CONCERT REVIEW

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July 29th was Toby Saks Day in Seattle — not just at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, which she founded 30 years ago, but officially, citywide, proclaimed by the mayor. And it seemed the entire city was packed into Benaroya's Nordstrom Recital Hall for her final appearance in Seattle as artistic director of the city's most acclaimed and beloved summer classical-music event.

Thirty years is a long time to work so hard, but it is also time to build a lot of love and loyalty, while making great music. This was apparent from the tastefully brief speeches given before the concert and also to open the second half. A few sincere words from executive director Connie Cooper and incoming artistic director James Ehnes (who inspires great optimism for the future of the festival) left Saks nearly speechless.

It was, primarily, the music that did the talking. The Sextet for Strings from Richard Strauss' opera "Capriccio" was a big, lush opening that filled the hall with rich sound, a great ensemble piece with excellent leadership from first violinist Scott Yoo. Deliberately more lightweight was Haydn's "Gypsy" Trio.

The "wow" moment of the first half, though, was well-placed at its conclusion, with Pablo de Sarasate's "Navarra" for Two Violins and Piano, Opus 33. After a great "ta-da" set of chords from pianist William Wolfram, violinists Ehnes and Stefan Jackiw engaged in what could be described as synchronized high-speed tightrope dancing.

After intermission and a series of grateful video testimonies from musicians, there was another brilliant bit of programming, "Elegy" by Josef Suk. This is a sweet, tear-jerkingly lovely piece, serving as an elegy to three decades of excellent service by an incredible person.

The mood lightened with a robust and jocular rendition of four of the Hungarian Dances for Piano, "Four Hands" by Brahms. Then it was time for the big ensemble finale, with Saks herself among the 10 musicians on stage for Bach's "Brandenburg" Concerto No. 3. Ten musicians in this recital hall make a huge sound, very fitting for a momentous event.

The festival is not over. It continues Wednesday at the Overlake School in Redmond, ending Aug. 12. This will be its final year at that location, however. After seven years of its Eastside mission, the festival will focus all of its resources on downtown Seattle in 2012.