The Colorado College Summer Music Festival never disappoints.
On Monday, a capacity audience crowded the stark, utilitarian Packard Hall in Colorado Springs to revel in the dependably solid musicmaking of such high-caliber artists as clarinetist Jon Manasse.
Manasse’s lithe and graceful rendition of George Gershwin’s “Three Preludes” gave these standards a flavor of sensuality and in-the-moment immediacy. Only in the second movement did an overly sluggish tempo detract from the blues motifs that require a gentle momentum.
Originally composed for piano, the preludes were well-
served in this arrangement. Manasse took on the surging, jazzy melodies, and a string quartet – featuring the fine playing of violinists Mark Fewer and Stefan Hersh, violist Roger Chase and cellist David Ying – assumed the piano’s left hand role as accompaniment.
In Astor Piazzolla’s “Le Grand Tango,” Ying took center stage with pianist Susan Grace, who is also music director of the 21-year-old festival. For dramatic effect, both performers dressed in solid black, accentuating Grace’s delightful flair of brilliant red shoes and a red blossom in her hair.
While the total effect of the performance was a wonderful ride through galloping rhythms and richly textured sound clusters, Ying’s attempts to musically elicit the passion of a tangoing couple on the dance floor seemed somewhat forced and affected, and Grace’s playing overpowered the more tender cello passages.
The second half of the program featured pianist John
Novacek, who was also a highlight during last year’s festival. In “Relaxed Groove,” the first movement of John Adams’ whimsical “Road Movies,” Novacek and Fewer – wholly in sync with each other and the spirit of the travel music – evoked the feeling of a tranquil drive down a familiar road. The duo continued effortlessly through the second movement, an unperturbed progression of several minimotifs.
In the final “40% Swing” movement, with the driver’s foot heavy on the accelerator, Novacek and Fewer held their own, speeding and swerving along at an exhilarating, almost giddy pace.
That set the stage for a pleasing set of four varied rags, composed by Novacek and performed with the amply talented Steven Copes, concertmaster of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. In “Intoxication,” Novacek propelled Copes through a cyclone of syncopated musical activity that left the performers – and the audience – breathless.
The witty “4th Street Drag” offered respite in Tin Pan Alley style. And by the time the duo concluded with “Cockles” and “Full Stride Ahead,” Novacek had proved himself a gifted tunesmith who cleverly melds traditional ragtime rhythms with ingenious combinations of unexpected meters and modulations.
Less memorable was bassoonist Michael Kroth’s inarticulate performance of “Two Pieces for Bassoon and Piano,” by Paquito D’Rivera, as well as Erwin Schulhoff’s Sonata for Flute and Piano, performed by Grace and flutist Marina Piccinini.
The poised flute virtuoso is a strong performer with solid technique that was easily matched by Grace. Yet the soft, subtle nuances of the impressionistic score were often neglected.
Some of the more charming aspects of this little-festival-
that-could are its knack for novel programming, the obvious camaraderie among the musicians – many of whom return year after year – and the performers’ easy and often amusing rapport with their dedicated audience.
The festival concludes Tuesday. Call 719-389-6098.
