Young Artist Program fellows Darrian Lee and Deborah Olivier (violins), Rhiannon Bishop and Scott Rogers (piano), Jacob Resendez and Victoria Day (cellos), Isaac Fuentes (viola) and Emmali Ouderkirk (bassoon). 

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 July 25, 2016 Doubtless Cactus Pear Music Festival artistic director Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio intended no political message when she programmed this season’s abundantly pleasurable two final concerts, July 15 and 16 in Coker United Methodist Church. But the political, never absent from the arts, became especially salient in these concerts in the light of the subsequent week’s Cavalcade of Snarls in Cleveland. The Cactus Pear programs — mostly French on July 15, mainly American on July 16, all 20th and 21st century both nights — did convey a political message: The way to cultural, economic and moral advancement is through cosmopolitanism, not insular nationalism; through intellectual curiosity, not dogma and willful ignorance; through adaptation and joyful  creativity, not nostalgia for an imaginary Age of (Fool’s) Gold.  Of course, there was nothing remotely medicinal about these concerts, unless your idea of medicine is a broad smile of delight. A few highlights: Bass-baritone Timothy Jones, long a favorite of San Antonio audiences, was in glorious voice — well-aimed, carefully controlled, resonant, a store of warm honey in a steel pot — in works by Maurice Ravel, Francis Poulenc and the American Kevin Puts, whose In at the Eye: Sx Love Songs on Yeats’ Poetry was commissioned by Cactus Pear and was given its world premiere on July 16. It is scored for baritone, piano (Jeffrey Sykes), flute (Stephanie Jutt), violin (Ms. Sant’Ambrogio) and cello (Anthony Ross). The composer was present for the occasion.  Mr. Puts is a remarkable talent. Each of the six songs occupies its own distinct space — distinct in attitude, in atmosphere, in instrumental palette and especially in the kind of course the composer charts across the waters of tonal harmony. The diversity of approach never seemed arbitrary, but closely matched the specific feeling of each poem. The composer’s settings fit Mr. Jones’s voice nicely — this was their second collaboration.  On July 15, Mr. Jones’s superb French diction and sense of theater yielded splendid results in the three songs of Ravel’s Don Quichotte à Dulcinée and Poulenc’s zany Le bal masque, a “profane cantata” to bizarre texts by the French avant-garde poet Max Jacob. (He was arrested by the Gestapo in Paris but died of pneumonia before he could be transported to Auschwitz.)  The instrumental octet in the Poulenc was an embarrassment of riches, most notably from violinist Eric Gratz and percussionist Sherry Rubins.  Paris between the two world wars was the most cosmopolitan city in the world. Bohuslav Martinu left his native Bohemia for Paris in 1923 and eagerly soaked up the cultural streams that blended there. One of the most delicious results was La revue de cuisine, which braises jazz, tango and the Charleston in a neoclassical broth. The stylish, polished performance brought together Wayne Ching (piano), Ms. Sant’Ambrogio, Mr. Ross, Sam Almaguer (clarinet), Sharon Kuster (bassoon) and John Carroll (trumpet). Mr. Almaguer and Mr Ching are both alumni of Cactus Pear’s Young Artist Program. (Martinu fled Paris ahead of the advancing German army in 1941 and moved to the United States. One of his American works, the Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra, was given its world premiere by the San Antonio Symphony in 1954.) Also from Paris between the wars came Georges Auric’s effervescent Trio for oboe (Rong-Huey Liu), clarinet and bassoon, in a lithe, spirited performance.  In a more serious vein, Claude Debussy’s Sonata in D minor for cello (Mr. Ross) and piano (Mr. Sykes) benefited greatly from the cellist’s finely nuanced dynamics, pitch inflections and phrasing.  Apart from Mr. Puts’s song cycle, the most memorable music on the July 16 concert was American composer Michael Daugherty’s Firecracker, a virtuosic showpiece for oboe (Ms. Liu in a jaw-dropping performance) with flute, clarinet, violin (Mr. Gratz), cello (Beth Rapier), percussion and piano (Mr. Ching). As in his widely performed Metropolis Symphony (inspired by Superman comics), the music is urban, irrepressible, nutty. It earns its points with intricate, constantly shifting rhythms and provocative instrumental and harmonic colors. Melody? Who needs it?  This season’s eight Young Artist Program fellows (ages 15-18) gave a fine performance of Colin Sorgi’s rescored and largely recomposed version of his 2006 winning entry in Cactus Pear’s competition for young composers, Terminal Velocity.  The new scoring is for piano four hands, two violins, viola, two cellos and bassoon. It’s a propulsive work, more or less in the minimalist tradition, closing in a repeated major chord but going through wonderful harmonic transformations on the way.   The festival closed with a first-class account of Bela Bartok’s Contrasts for clarinet, violin (Ms. Sant’Ambrogio) and piano (Mr. Ching). Mr. Almaguer was near-faultless in the challenging clarinet part, composed for Benny Goodman, and all three players showed great sympathy for Bartok’s style, amalgamating modernist and Hungarian folk influences. Did the audience appreciate it? The rapt silence for the slow movement answered affirmatively. Ms. Sant’Ambrogio announced that this season was the last in Coker United Methodist Church, home for the past seven years. Next season the festival moves to Concordia Lutheran Church, on Loop 1604 a little west of Huebner Road.   Mike Greenberg   .

Cellist Anthony Ross, with pianist Jeffrey Sykes.

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Cactus Pear Music Festival

Bass-baritone Timothy Jones and oboist Rong-Huey Liu were among the standouts in Cactus Pear’s final weekend.Photos: 5050 Photo 

Cosmopolitan

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 July 25, 2016 Doubtless Cactus Pear Music Festival artistic director Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio intended no political message when she programmed this season’s abundantly pleasurable two final concerts, July 15 and 16 in Coker United Methodist Church. But the political, never absent from the arts, became especially salient in these concerts in the light of the subsequent week’s Cavalcade of Snarls in Cleveland. The Cactus Pear programs — mostly French on July 15, mainly American on July 16, all 20th and 21st century both nights — did convey a political message: The way to cultural, economic and moral advancement is through cosmopolitanism, not insular nationalism; through intellectual curiosity, not dogma and willful ignorance; through adaptation and joyful  creativity, not nostalgia for an imaginary Age of (Fool’s) Gold).  Of course, there was nothing remotely medicinal about these concerts, unless your idea of medicine is a broad smile of delight. A few highlights: Bass-baritone Timothy Jones, long a favorite of San Antonio audiences, was in glorious voice — well-aimed, carefully controlled, resonant, a store of warm honey in a steel pot — in works by Maurice Ravel, Francis Poulenc and the American Kevin Puts, whose In at the Eye: Sx Love Songs on Yeats’ Poetry was commissioned by Cactus Pear and was given its world premiere on July 16. It is scored for baritone, piano (Jeffrey Sykes), flute (Stephanie Jutt), violin (Ms. Sant’Ambrogio) and cello (Anthony Ross). The composer was present for the occasion.  Mr. Puts is a remarkable talent. Each of the six songs occupies its own distinct space — distinct in attitude, in atmosphere, in instrumental palette and especially in the kind of course the composer charts across the waters of tonal harmony. The diversity of approach never seemed arbitrary, but closely matched the specific feeling of each poem. The composer’s settings fit Mr. Jones’s voice nicely — this was their second collaboration.  On July 15, Mr. Jones’s superb French diction and sense of theater yielded splendid results in the three songs of Ravel’s Don Quichotte à Dulcinée and Poulenc’s zany Le bal masque, a “profane cantata” to bizarre texts by the French avant-garde poet Max Jacob. (He was arrested by the Gestapo in Paris but died of pneumonia before he could be transported to Auschwitz.)  The instrumental octet in the Poulenc was an embarrassment of riches, most notably from violinist Eric Gratz and percussionist Sherry Rubins.  Paris between the two world wars was the most cosmopolitan city in the world. Bohuslav Martinu left his native Bohemia for Paris in 1923 and eagerly soaked up the cultural streams that blended there. One of the most delicious results was La revue de cuisine, which braises jazz, tango and the Charleston in a neoclassical broth. The stylish, polished performance brought together Wayne Ching (piano), Ms. Sant’Ambrogio, Mr. Ross, Sam Almaguer (clarinet), Sharon Kuster (bassoon) and John Carroll (trumpet). Mr. Almaguer and Mr Ching are both alumni of Cactus Pear’s Young Artist Program. (Martinu fled Paris ahead of the advancing German army in 1941 and moved to the United States. One of his American works, the Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra, was given its world premiere by the San Antonio Symphony in 1954.) Also from Paris between the wars came Georges Auric’s effervescent Trio for oboe (Rong-Huey Liu), clarinet and bassoon, in a lithe, spirited performance.  In a more serious vein, Claude Debussy’s Sonata in D minor for cello (Mr. Ross) and piano (Mr. Sykes) benefited greatly from the cellist’s finely nuanced dynamics, pitch inflections and phrasing.  Apart from Mr. Puts’s song cycle, the most memorable music on the July 16 concert was American composer Michael Daugherty’s Firecracker, a virtuosic showpiece for oboe (Ms. Liu in a jaw-dropping performance) with flute, clarinet, violin (Mr. Gratz), cello (Beth Rapier), percussion and piano (Mr. Ching). As in his widely performed Metropolis Symphony (inspired by Superman comics), the music is urban, irrepressible, nutty. It earns its points with intricate, constantly shifting rhythms and provocative instrumental and harmonic colors. Melody? Who needs it?  This season’s eight Young Artist Program fellows (ages 15-18) gave a fine performance of Colin Sorgi’s rescored and largely recomposed version of his 2006 winning entry in Cactus Pear’s competition for young composers, Terminal Velocity.  The new scoring is for piano four hands, two violins, viola, two cellos and bassoon. It’s a propulsive work, more or less in the minimalist tradition, closing in a repeated major chord but going through wonderful harmonic transformations on the way.   The festival closed with a first-class account of Bela Bartok’s Contrasts for clarinet, violin (Ms. Sant’Ambrogio) and piano (Mr. Ching). Mr. Almaguer was near-faultless in the challenging clarinet part, composed for Benny Goodman, and all three players showed great sympathy for Bartok’s style, amalgamating modernist and Hungarian folk influences. Did the audience appreciate it? The rapt silence for the slow movement answered affirmatively. Ms. Sant’Ambrogio announced that this season was the last in Coker United Methodist Church, home for the past seven years. Next season the festival moves to Concordia Lutheran Church, on Loop 1604 a little west of Huebner Road.   Mike Greenberg   .