The final concert of the Sitka Summer Music Festival Autumn Classics series was this afternoon at Grant Hall. The first half featured Phillip Bush playing Bach’s Partita No. 4 in D Major for Piano Solo and Brahms’ Six Pieces for Piano, Op.118. Admission: I’ve never been the biggest fan of music for solo piano. Even though the range of harmony and counterpoint available on a piano is greater than that on pretty much any other instrument, the timbre and tone of the piano by itself don’t move me as much as, say, strings. Bush did a fabulous job, though. I love the way Bach’s music tends to couple an intellectual workout with moving music, and Brahms really knew how to write for a piano. I enjoyed the Brahms more than I expected to. Most of my five companions also favored the Brahms, but at least one can’t get enough of the Baroque stylings of Johann Sebastian. It was great to have such a varied appreciation of the music among my compatriots.
The second half of the program featured Taneyev’s String Quartet No. 6 in B Flat Major, Op. 19, and was definitely the highlight of the afternoon. Paul Rosenthal, artistic director of the Festival and violinist in the quartet, confessed to this quartet’s being his favorite of the Taneyev works and one of his top three favorite string quartets ever. I wasn’t sold by the first movement, but the second movement was gorgeous, and the development part of the third movement, a gigue, was divine. The four performers seemed to be sharing a brain, which is only natural after such a long lead-up to a project that culminated in today’s performance. The way the instruments played off and with one another’s melodic and supporting lines was seamless and a real joy to behold. I can’t wait for the Winter Classics concerts coming up in February.
