Helmuth Rilling--transitions

In 1972 I went to Eugene, Oregon to study at a fledgling Bach festival (founded in 1970) with a conductor whose work I knew through recordings and an experience in 1971 in Stuttgart following a choir tour in Europe (more about that here).

The primary work performed at the festival that year was Bach's great Mass in B Minor and it was a mountaintop experience for me. I was able to conduct the mass myself for the first time in 1975, just before I turned 25, and my interpretation and approach at that time owed much to Rilling--of course I learned many other significant lessons from him that summer.

So, now in 2013--41 years later!--I was able to come back to Eugene for Rilling's swan song as Artistic Director of the Bach Festival he co-founded with Royce Salzman in 1970 (Rilling will remain Music Director Emeritus and be back to conduct, although Matthew Halls, who's been Music Director Designate for three years now, will take over main duties. I was able to attend a public interview with Halls and he's most impressive--the festival is in very good hands). 44 years at the head of a festival such as the OBF is an amazing tenure.

And what work was performed as the finale but Bach's B Minor Mass, of course! It was a joy to watch Rilling, at age 80, do this work, which he's conducted thousands of times by now. A picture from the post-concert bows (a well-deserved standing ovation which went on a long time):

 

This led me to reflect on several significant transitions for me as well, connected with the "3"s.

40 years ago, in 1973, I founded what would become Seattle Pro Musica. It started with a chamber choir and in the 2nd year I began an ensemble devoted to performing Bach cantatas once a month (it was at the end of that year, when I combined the chamber choir and the Bach Ensemble for that 1975 performance of the Mass in B Minor, that Pro Musica was officially incorporated). The Bach Ensemble itself was directly inspired by watching Rilling lead a Kantat-Fest weekend at the Gedäctniskirche in Stuttgart in 1971. As I've stated before, my work with Seattle Pro Musica was the beginning of my real post-graduate education and formed me as a conductor.

Then, 30 years ago this coming fall, in 1983, I became Director of Choral Activities and conductor of the Choir of the West at Pacific Lutheran University, my most significant education to learn what it is to be a teacher (I would spend 18 years in that position).

And 20 years ago, in January of 1993, I formed what would become Choral Arts for a concert in Seattle with renowned Swedish conductor Eric Ericson. Ericson was an enormous influence for me, of course, as you will find if you look to the right at the number of posts on this blog that connect to him, Sweden (and many other Swedish conductors) and the Swedish Radio Choir. Again, Choral Arts was a huge part of my post-graduate education and allowed me to conduct many works I couldn't have approached in any other way (or with any other ensemble).

Not all major transitions for me have happened in years ending with 3's, but those turning points 4, 3, and 2 decades ago were among the most significant for me professionally.

My huge thanks to Helmuth Rilling for inspiring me and so many others.

Eugene/Oregon Bach Festival

Kathryn and I spent time last week in Oregon. Thursday, June 26 we spent in Portland, one of our favorite cities, since the downtown is so humanly scaled and walkable, and it has great stores, shops, and restaurants. The weather was beautiful, so we enjoyed our afternoon and evening there and had a great dinner at the Heathman.

The next day, we went to Eugene, where we were staying with our friends Mira Frohnmayer and Marcia Baldwin. Mira was chair of the vocal department at PLU from a few years before I arrived, meaning that we worked together for 18 years. Some choral conductors have problems working with voice teachers, but I have to say Mira and I had a great relationship as colleagues. She's a terrific teacher with a knowledge of repertoire that's unmatched. Her partner, Marcia (their 15th anniversary is just a day away from our 12th--ours the 6th of July) had a great career as a singer (the Met, SF Opera, Santa Fe, etc.) and taught at Eastman before joining the PLU faculty. They're both terrific people and great fun to be with. Marcia's a great cook, so we had a number of fabulous meals at Chez M&M.



They retired a couple years ago, but spent time this past year teaching at Loyola in New Orleans for Mira's brother Phil, who's being treated for cancer. They loved teaching again, so will hang out their shingle again for a bit of private teaching in Eugene. If you're there and need a wonderful voice teacher, look them up!

Saturday evening we went to a performance of the Mass in B Minor, the opening concert at the festival. They'd really opened the night before in Portland, the first time in years that the festival had taken a program to the "big city." The performance was very good, but perhaps not as electric as Rilling's performances often are. It could be that the night before (which by all accounts went spectacularly) took a bit of the edge off--it may not have helped that they did the performances without intermission, too! Soloists were good, particularly Ingeborg Danz, who's been Rilling's "house mezzo" for years. You may remember that she sang in the great performance of Schumann's Das Paradies und die Peri that Daniel Harding did with the Radio Choir in 2007. Chris Cock was also wonderful in the tenor solos. Chris is a PLU alum (from before my time) who teaches at Valparaiso University. He also sang the Evangelist for me in a memorable performance with the Choir of the West at PLU in 1993. We enjoyed the performance and seeing Chris, even if briefly, plus some other friends such as Paul Klemme, Therees Hibbard, Anton Armstrong, Royce Salzman, Philip and Carolyn Brunelle, and Birgit Hemberg (yes, from Sweden!).

Sunday was a great day of visiting, first to Philomath, Oregon, where a former student of both Mira and mine, Nathan Warren, has a winery that he runs with his wife Amanda (who's due any day now). We saw Nathan a couple years ago, but didn't meet Amanda, and Mira and Marcia hadn't see the winery. The Harris Bridge Vineyard is a small operation, but Nathan and Amanda are being very successful specializing in dessert wines (and they are good).

The winery is named after a covered bridge just outside the winery, and here are Nathan and Amanda as well:





We got back to Mira and Marcia's in time to meet old friends for drinks: Robert Ponto and his wife LeeAnn (don't know if I got her spelling correct!). Bob was the band director at PLU some time ago and both are wonderful people--I'd lost touch, even though Bob has been teaching at the U of O for awhile now. Very nice to see them again.

The next evening we managed to get tickets to the Garrison Keillor performance at the festival even though it was sold out, thanks to conductor Phillip Brunelle. Phillip is an amazing bundle of energy and accomplishment who's been with Garrison since the very first broadcast of the Prairie Home Companion, and also is conductor for all his gigs with orchestra. The performance was wonderful, utilizing not only the orchestra but the Festival Chorus and the Youth Chorus. Garrison was, as usual, funny and moving at the same time. Phillip says the shows always change and at one point he's at the piano, playing hymns as Garrison talks about the different organists at the church (this night Wagner, Debussy, and Stravinsky, among others. As Phillip says, he never knows who Garrison will mention. And of course there was also the marvelous Lutheran's Guide to the Orchestra.

The following morning we bid adieu to Mira and Marcia (and great thanks to them for their hospitality), then went to meet Phillip, his wife Carolyn (a well-known artist), and our Swedish friend Birgit Hemberg (who's been friends with the Brunelles for many years) for lunch.





It was Phillip's 65th birthday and we had a delightful time, after which we headed back up I-5 to home.

All in all, a great anniversary trip.