By Eileen Wingard
LA JOLLA, California — One of the cultural attractions provided by the La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest is the plethora of free offerings, which are designed to engage the community. During the three weeks of the festival, there were five open rehearsals at Sherwood Hall; three encounters, at the Athenaeum Music and Arts Library; and thirteen coaching workshops, at the La Jolla Riford Library.
I attended one open rehearsal, one encounter and eight coaching sessions. Wonderful music was performed at these events, so, even for those unable to afford the price of Summerfest concert seats (usually $45 and $65), their hunger for beautifully-performed chamber music was somewhat satisfied by attending these free presentations.
The Thursday, August 18 Encounter at the Athenaeum was particularly memorable. Eric Bromberg, Summerfest’s scholar-in-residence, who writes the excellent program notes, delivers concise, interesting concert introductions and interviews with prodding questions, served as the commentator. The first work performed, Mozart’s String Quintet in G Minor, K 516, was played by the Verona Quartet, with the addition of violist, Pierre Lapointe, of the Escher Quartet. The Verona Quartet was one of the two young professional ensembles invited to the festival for coaching. The second piece was the Dvorak Piano Quintet, performed with the Beacon Street Trio, the other young professional ensemble, with the addition of violinist Andrew Wan, concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony and violist Robert Brophy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. The Athenaeum was packed with eager listeners, who seemed to thoroughly enjoy this free concert.
I attended the open rehearsal at Sherwood Hall of the Schumann Piano Quintet. The Summerfest artists performed the third movement Scherzo without pause, before taking it apart for rehearsing. In the last movement, however, there were many stops. Of course, that is the way rehearsals proceed when professionals continue to polish details before the actual paid concert. The Israeli pianist in the quintet, Shai Wosner, had many interesting remarks to make to his fellow musicians, as did first violinist Sheryl Staples, associate concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic. The other musicians in the ensemble, Paul Huang, Taiwanese virtuoso, second violin, Robert Brophy, viola, and John Sharp, former principal of the Chicago Symphony, cello, also participated in the discussions.
The first coaching session I attended at the Riford library had the Summerfest Director, Cho-Liang Lin, as coach. The Verona Quartet played movements #2 and #4 of the Bartok String Quartet #5. Although Lin admitted not having ever played that quartet himself, he still had constructive suggestions about how to try different approaches. The next hour, the Beacon Street Trio performed movements #2 and #3 of the Faure Piano Trio in D Minor, John Sharp was the coach. He, too, confessed that he had never played this particular work, but he offered helpful general remarks. Two violinists from the San Diego Youth Symphony, Christian Gonzales and Ilana Hirschfeld were coached the next day. Both Kristin Lee, concertmaster of the Metropolis Ensemble, Gonzales’ coach for the first movement of Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, and Dorothy Ro, second violinist of the Verona Quartet, Hirschfeld’s coach for the last movement of Bruch’s Concerto in G minor, were well acquainted with the pieces they were coaching, and, with their violins tucked under their chins, were able to demonstrate the concepts they were suggesting.
The next four coaching sessions were for the Verona Quartet, playing selected movements from Beethoven’s String Quartet No.8, coached by Pierre Lapointe; the Beacon Street Trio playing movements from Brahms’ Piano Trio in B major, coached by Andrew Wan, concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony; the Verona Quartet playing Haydn’s String Quartet in B-flat Major, coached by Sheryl Stapes; and the Beacon Street Trio, again working on movements from Brahms’ Piano Trio in B Major, which they performed as the Prelude for the Virtuoso Winds concert August 23, coached by Shai Wosner.
For these coaching sessions, the young professionals were causally dressed, often in t-shirts and shorts, tennis shoes, or beach sandals, but there was nothing casual about their serious, disciplined playing.
Even the first readings, before the coaching began, sounded well-rehearsed and of high caliber. What a wonderful gift to the community and a rare opportunity, especially for music students and music teachers, to witness these outstanding musicians and master teachers at work.
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Wingard is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. She may be contacted via eileen.wingard@sdjewishworld.com. Comments intended for publication in the space below MUST be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the United States.)