“I don’t play Bach,” says guitarist Michael Partington. He speaks
firmly, with conviction and without disdain or condescension. “Do you
know the old teacher’s joke?” he asks, with a hint of mischief.
“Everyone should know Bach, everyone should study Bach, but no one
should play Bach.” Partington adds, “I stick to music that I feel suits
the instrument. I prefer pieces written specifically for the
guitar.”
For a classical guitarist, the statement verges on heresy. Due to
the advocacy of Andrés Segovia, J. S. Bach—or, more
accurately, transcriptions of Bach—has remained an obligatory
staple of guitar concerts for decades. Yet Partington’s view, one
cognizant of the solo guitar repertory’s considerable growth in recent
years, is wise. The continual, near-mandatory presence of any single
composer on any kind of concert program is a sure way to stultify the
repertory.
Throughout our conversation, Partington, recently hired by the UW to
replace retiring professor Steven Novacek, has an avowed, passionate
preference for 20th-century guitar music: “There’s plenty of repertory
that shows off what the guitar has to offer—its gentle timbre, a
lyrical nature, and an intimate sound world.”
For his debut recital as UW faculty, Partington has prepared a slew
of alluring music, including three movements from Astor Piazzolla’s
Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas, Toru Takemitsu’s
Equinox, the Tres Piezas Españolas of
Joaquín Rodrigo, and Rossiniane no. 3, a potpourri of
Rossini themes by Mauro Giuliani. I’m especially interested in
Takemitsu’s wistful Equinox, which Partington agrees is
“magical.”
As a performer, the guitarist is matter-of-fact and eschews
histrionics. “My role is to entertain people,” acknowledges Partington,
“but my mission is to make them love the guitar.” 
Hear Michael Partington in recital Sun Oct 7 (Brechemin
Auditorium, School of Music Building on the UW Campus, 685-8384), 7:30
pm, $10.
Thurs 10/4
BYRON SCHENKMAN
A stellar pianist and former codirector of Seattle Baroque,
Schenkman plays music by Haydn and Mozart as well as Schumann’s
“Arabesque” and the “Danzas Argentinas” of Alberto Ginastera.
Bertha Knight Landes Room at Seattle City Hall, 600 Fourth Ave,
684-7171, noon—1 pm, free.
SEATTLE SYMPHONY
I’m baffled by the persistence of Robert Schumann’s face-slappingly
dull symphonies in the repertory; I love the German master’s chamber
music, but his orchestral works put me to sleep. Here, Schwarz and the
symphony sally through Schumann’s stodgy Symphony No. 2. The
first half of the program is very worthwhile: Stravinsky’s jolly
Suite from Pulcinella and Béla Bartók’s
Violin Concerto No. 1 with violinist Kyoko Takezawa. Also Fri
Oct 5 and Sat Oct 6 at 8 pm. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St,
215-4747, 7:30 pm, $17—$110.
FLUTE FORCE
Why don’t flutists form quartets? Their counterparts who play
stringed instruments (violin, viola, cello) enjoy the advantage of
several centuries of repertory and the prevalence of “common,”
inexpensive student instruments: Alto and bass flutes don’t come in
cheap student models. This flute quartet premieres Silver Halo by Joseph Schwantner, The Baths of Caracalla for four alto
flutes and prerecorded sound by Elizabeth Brown, and Seattle composer
Roupen Shakarian’s Flute Quartet. Fourth-floor Chapel
Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave N,
290-1601, 8 pm, $5—$15 sliding-scale donation.
JESSICA LURIE ENSEMBLE
NY-based saxophonist Lurie returns to front a quartet that radiates
propulsive, Balkan-influenced jazz. Egan’s Ballard Jam House, 1707
NW Market St, 789-1621, 9 pm, $10.
Fri 10/5
GREG SINIBALDI
One of the few bandleaders around town equally obsessed with
composition and improvisation, Sinibaldi premieres Mobiles with a superb roster of musicians, including Jesse Canterbury, Mark
Taylor, Tom Varner, and Geoff Harper. Fourth-floor Chapel
Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave N, 8 pm,
free.
JOE LABARBERA QUINTET
A veteran of the Bill Evans Trio, this drummer helms a
straight-ahead group with the fine trumpeter Clay Jenkins. You can also
catch the free, open workshop rehearsal earlier in the day at noon.
Kerry Hall at Cornish College, 710 E Roy, 325-6500, 8 pm,
$7.50/$15.
Sat 10/6
CLARINETTISSIMO
Clarinetist Sean Osborn leads a coterie of clarinetists in works by
Malcolm Arnold, Gerald Finzi, Henri Lazarus, and others, culminating in
a massed clarinet choir ululating through the Beatles’ “When I’m
Sixty-Four.” Brechemin Auditorium, School of Music Building on the
UW Campus, 685-8384, 6 pm, free.
BAROQUE NORTHWEST
Violinist Tekla Cunningham and harpsichordist Jennifer Streeter
augment the Baroque Northwest band for music by C. P. E. Bach, J. P.
Kirnberger, and Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679—1745), whose
harmonically bold works resurfaced in the 1980s after centuries of
neglect. Fourth-floor Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd
Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave N, 368-0735, 8 pm, $10—$25.
Weds 10/10
EYES AND EARS SUPERNOVA
Accompanying an evening of experimental films, Arachnid Arcade and
Garek Druss join forces with the fiercest free improvising combo in
town, Walrus Machine. Bring earplugs. Northwest Film Forum, 1515
12th Ave, 800-838-3006, 8 pm, $5/$8.50.
