Bath County isn’t exactly swimming in cozy winter pubs. So, with a little “Field of Dreams” logic, we will turn Herter Hall into our own winter pub at 6pm on February 1st, 8th, and 15th. We take away that annoying thing called a “stage,” plop Garth Newel Piano Quartet into the center of the room, and invite the audience to sit in a circle around the quartet. The bar is open all evening, and everyone is invited to freely drink and eat the delicious pub fare while getting a concert of fun and varied contemporary music.
Make that a pub + art gallery + concert for February 1st’s evening: Sansuini, Sandwiches, and Sangria. The amazing artwork of painter Robert Stuart will be on display for the event. The paintings will be part of GNPQ’s performance of Four Panels in a Gallery, a piano quartet inspired by four imaginary panels of art. As the score’s foreword explains:
“One day, I visited an art gallery to pass the time. Yes, there were paintings of barns and soldiers and bowls of fruit. Yes, there were stuffy portraits and lavish murals and fussy assembled things.
In one room, the light was more dim. A single bench sat in the center and on each of the four encompassing walls, there was a single large oblong piece. I don’t remember the artist’s name, couldn’t possibly have been Barnett Newman.
Through my eyes, I fell into each mass of color.
My heart sang for their music and my soul was set adrift…”
Panel 1: A melancholy indigo, with an orange nasturtium
Panel 2: A ensanguined scarlet fading to a blushy rose
Panel 3: White lilies in a baroque golden frame
Panel 4: Charcoal, with a sprig of yellow daisies
Four Panels in a Gallery was one of our 2018 Composition Competition finalists, and its composer, Frederick Frahm, had come to Garth Newel when we performed his piece seven years ago. He explained that the artwork he titled for each section did not physically exist. In revisiting this piece, the atmosphere evoked in the music made us think of Robert Stuart’s art, whose use of color is so visceral and moving that we thought it would be just the bee’s knees if people could stroll around during the performance and get drawn into the corresponding paintings, letting both the music and the visual art enhance each other’s effect. We sent the panel descriptions to Robert, and he selected four of his works to fit each one.
Full disclosure: Robert and Misa Stuart are two of our favorite people, and have been long-time friends of Garth Newel. Early this year, Robert’s paintings were on display at the Beverley Street Studio School Gallery in Staunton, and we attended his opening, fangirling over his creations to the point of taking selfies with our favorites. (Oh wait, were we not supposed to do that?)
We just love his artwork, and if you haven’t had the chance to experience it in person, we highly encourage you to come to this one night installation!
February 1st’s pub concert will also include three other works:
Caroline Shaw’s Gustave le Grey for solo piano, an evocative portrait of Chopin’s Mazurka in A Minor, Op. 17, No. 4, whose haunting chromaticism and sinewy tendrils of melody inspired a work that pulls you in with its evocation of something ancient and constant.
Roberto Sansuini’s Piano Quartet, a remarkable work that captures the beautiful fundamentals of nature, using the natural overtones of sound to portray the echoing ripples of a rock hitting the water, glittering rain showers, and wind slamming the door closed.
Sofia Gubaidulina’s Chaccone, a bold work that utilizes the full range and power of the piano. I like to think of it as Gubaidulina’s statement, an encapsulation of the powerful emotions she had against a system that told her that the path she was on was “mistaken.” That might be grandiose, but as a performer I feel like the piece is furious and defiant, which is, I guess, the prerogative of being a bullish performer.
If you’ve enjoyed hearing the piano transcription of Bach’s D minor Chaconne this past new year’s eve, but wondered what the original sounds like, then come on February 8th, where dynamic violinist Wanchi will perform this masterpiece of the solo violin repertoire. She will be presenting a fantastic program that travels from the grandeur of the baroque to the hilltops of Italy and to the modern riches of America with new works by composers John Corigliano, Adolphus Hailstork, Jeffrey Mumford, Judith Shatin, and Meira Warshauer.
Huang is currently Professor of Violin at James Madison University School of Music and contributes to the community as concertmaster of the Waynesboro Symphony and as a faculty member of the Heifetz Institute.
If you like movies, then you’ll enjoy our last pub concert on February 15th: Elfman, Enchiladas and El Espolon. The famously carrot-topped Danny Elfman is best known for his soundtracks of pretty much all the movies you’ve enjoyed (Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Men in Black, etc etc etc.) as well as the Simpson’s theme song. We discovered that he also wrote a really interesting piano quartet which, as expected, is cinematic in scope, exciting, and imaginative.
We’ll end the program with Pēteris Vasks’ monumental Piano Quartet, one of the most intense and profound chamber works written by a living composer. Vasks is currently 79 years old, and his music reflects his deep spirituality and commitment. For a preview, here is a clip from his Piano Quartet that GNPQ made during the pandemic:
Intrigued? Our Winter Chill concerts are all pay-as-you-wish, and all take place at 6pm. Make a reservation here for three cozy evenings this February.
