Just a few more concerts, and the 32nd season of Midsummer’s Music will be history. I can’t believe it. It has gone so fast. But I am also looking forward to the final program that opens Thursday, September 1st, and concludes in a fantastic Gala celebration at Björklunden on Labor Day, September 5th. I hope you will join us in making the most of these final concerts and especially celebrate with us on Labor Day. In addition to spectacular music, we will have wonderful food and beverages and a jolly time. Steve Robinson from WFMT in Chicago will be our special host for that afternoon’s festivities.
The program is all French, but not at all what you might expect. There is no impressionistic music. The main work is the highly charged Piano Quintet by César Franck. This is one of the most impressive and memorable chamber music works ever written. I wrote about it – and the historical novel it inspired, César and Augusta by Ron Harwood – in a previous column. This happens to be the 200th birthday of Franck, so it is fitting to end our season with this great masterpiece.
But the two works that begin the program are each unique in their own ways and show a different side of French music. I have spoken about Louise Farrenc, whose Trio for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano opens the program, in a previous column. We have performed more works by Farrenc over the years than any other female composer. Our first commercial CD from 1994 features another trio by Farrenc, but we have also performed her Nonet for Winds and Strings, the Sextet for Piano and Winds, and one of her Quintets for Piano and Strings. Although facing many of the seemingly insurmountable obstacles shared by the other women composers of her time, Farrenc had two things in her favor: She was born into an artistic family of painters, poets, and sculptors, so her artistic bent was better understood; Also, she chose her husband wisely. He was a publisher and amateur flutist. As the result, most of her music was published soon after it was written and remained readily available—a situation even many of her male colleagues could envy. The trio of hers that we will open our program with is a classic example of the kind of chamber music one would hear in the salons of Paris around the middle of the 19th century—full of grace, energy, and charm.
The second work on the program is the real sleeper (or should I say, blockbuster). Its composer, Éduoard Destenay, is a conundrum bordering on an enigma. We know almost nothing about him. We are slowly realizing that he wrote a substantial amount of music (I just came across his Opus 67, so he seems to have written that many pieces), but he did so mostly under the radar. Perhaps this was because he was a military man all of his life and seems to have written music almost in secret. He was born into a military family in Algiers and eventually became a member of the Legion of Honor, but his service seems to have been marked more by an administrative role than one on the battlefield. He had a remarkable musical talent that eventually sought expression in composition. We know that he did study composition for a while when he was stationed in Paris as a young man. Being in Paris would have also acquainted him with the remarkably advanced school of wind playing promulgated by the Paris Conservatory, probably the most advanced school of wind playing in the world at that time. This is perhaps the only explanation for the extreme demands that his Trio for Oboe, Clarinet, and Piano makes on his musicians. We are fortunate to have in Lindsay Flowers and JJ Koh, two players who have the facility and grace to bring off this breathtaking work.
So, you can see why, even though we are celebrating our gala with the glorious Piano Quintet of Franck to commemorate his 200th birthday, we are also saying, “This is your date with Destenay!” Actually, you have four possible dates with Destenay. We hope you will be with us for all the excitement of our gala, but we also have three other opportunities to hear the same program:
- Thursday, September 1, 7:00pm, Kress Pavilion, Egg Harbor
- Saturday, September 3, 3:00pm, The Clearing Folk School, Ellison Bay
- Sunday, September 4, 3:00pm, Hope United Church of Christ, Sturgeon Bay
- Monday, September 5, 3:00pm, Labor Day Gala! Björklunden, Baileys Harbor
(You can also still hear “Quintet Eloquence” on Friday, September 2nd, at Sister Bay Moravian Church.)
I don’t know if you are familiar with the joke about the piano tuner that, after a rather convoluted story, ends up with the punch line, “Opporknockety Tunes But Once!” Well, “Destenay” is similar. You only have so many chances to experience this compelling magic, so don’t miss it. We look forward to celebrating the end of our season with you. Thanks for a great summer.
Call 920-854-7088 or visit www.midsummersmusic.com for tickets or further information.
Jim Berkenstock
Artistic Director