Plenty of Concerts Before Summer Ends

A very full weekend of music at Music Mountain in Falls Village began Saturday evening, Aug. 20, with a medley of show tunes from the inimitable Michael Berkeley and friends. Berkeley is one of the Northwest Corner’s treasures, bringing the razzle-dazzle of Broadway to our home place.

And speaking of treasures, Berkeley’s longtime singing partner, Wanda Houston, gives us world-class vocals. Her unexpected rendition of “Ol’ Man River” from “Showboat” was the highlight of the night, and a spot-on imitation of Satchmo, scatting and all, was a wonder.

The other singers in Berkeley’s troupe lagged behind, somewhat. Thomas Netter, alas, was not quite ready for prime time. Maria Hickey and Amy LeBlanc did solid work. But the sheer volume of hits kept everyone happy. The title song from “Mama Mia” and an a cappella “Over the Rainbow” scored big.

Chamber music is Music Mountain’s bread and butter, of course, and the concert on Sunday, Aug. 21, by the St. Petersburg String Quartet and pianist Melvin Chen drew a big crowd that was rewarded with an outstanding performance.

It started with Chen playing four small pieces by Poulenc, Ravel, Debussy and Castel­nuovo-Tedesco, each with the name of another composer (Bach, Haydn, André Previn. Why André Previn? Who knows?) embedded in the notes. Jonathan Yates, music director of Music Mountain, gave a brief talk before Chen came out about how certain keys could match letters such as “H” or “Y.” Each piece was charming in its own right and played well by Chen.

That set the stage for something completely different: Shostakovich’s somber, gut-wrenching String Quartet #8 in C minor. Full of pathos, this work is widely considered the composer’s most personal, and was dedicated by Shostakovich himself to the “memory of the victims of fascism and war.” The St. Petersburg String Quartet played it as if it were their last day on earth, yet with admirable restraint. It was devastating.

Following intermission, Dmitri Tulupov, a 13-year-old protégé of first violinist Alla Aranovskaya, performed the gorgeous “Meditation” from Massenet’s “Thaïs,” with Yates on piano. This prodigy brought the crowd to its feet.

The concert ended with Brahms’ Piano Quartet in G minor. A relatively youthful work of Brahms, it is already full of his characteristic major-minor shifts, interlocking themes, and expansive melodies. It was wonderful, after the Shostakovich, to hear the ensemble’s full-throated and remarkably unified playing, especially in the last two movements. The spirited final movement, “Rondo alla Zingarese: Presto,” a typical Brahms gypsy romp, capped off the afternoon.

Did someone tell Brahms, “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that Zing”?

Remaining concerts

Music Mountain’s summer season is nearing its end. On Saturday night, Aug. 27, Yates teams up with Cantata Profana, a youthful instrumental ensemble, and on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 28, the popular Arianna String Quartet will play a concert of Beethoven and others.

On Saturday, Sept. 3, the Shanghai String Quartet, with Yates at piano, plays Mendelssohn and Brahms, and on Sunday, Sept. 4, the Shanghai returns, with Yates and Gilbert Kalish taking turns on piano, in a concert of Schubert, Beethoven and Brahms.

On Saturday, Sept. 10, Jive By Five will play dance music from the jazz age. 

The season closes with a 9/11 memorial concert on Sunday, Sept. 11, featuring the Amernet String Quartet and clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein. The Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet, one of his late masterpieces, will be heard. The concerts ends with Barber’s elegiac “Adagio for Strings.”

For Music Mountain tickets and information, go to www.musicmountain.org or call 860-824-7126. Fred Baumgarten is on the board of managers of Music Mountain.