For the latest installment of Town Hall’s TownMusic series, cellist
Joshua Roman has scrapped the standard notion of a classical
concert. Instead, he’s assembled a compelling program that mixes rock
and classical without watering down either genre.
At first glance, the second half of the concert may exert the
broadest appeal; Roman and a chamber quartet back up singer, actor, and
Stranger Genius Award winner Sarah Rudinoff and John
Osebold of “Awesome” in a medley of songs by Radiohead.
Musicians love the odd structures and the
let’s-write-a-pocket-symphony ambition that emanates from
Radiohead. I do, too. I’m curious to listen for sonic links between
Radiohead and the first half of the concert, which begins bravely with
music by a living classical composer—Dan Visconti’s
Fractured Jams
written in 2006—and one of the
most intense chamber works of the 20th century, Quartet for the End
of Time by Olivier Messiaen.
Scored for violin, cello, clarinet, and piano, Messiaen
(1908–1992) wrote the Quartet in 1941 while imprisoned in
POW camp. The French composer described the Quartet‘s musical
language as “essentially unmaterial, spiritual, and Catholic.” Indeed,
the titles of the Quartet‘s eight movements such as “Dance of
Fury for the Seven Trumpets” and “Vocalise for the Angel Who Announces
the End of Time” refer to the Bible’s apocalyptic Book of
Revelation.
And though another apocalypse—the Nazi sweep across
Europe—was close by, Messiaen’s Quartet edges toward hope,
from the desolate (and heart-stopping) clarinet solo of “Abyss of the
Birds” to the buoyant, dancing rhythms of the “Dance of Fury.” With a
sine tone-like violin melody and gently undulating piano chords, the
final movement, “Praise to the Immortality of Jesus,” transforms
serenity into blissed-out triumph. 
Catch Joshua Roman and friends on Thurs Jan 10, Town Hall, 1119
Eighth Ave, 800-838-3006, 7:30 pm, $15–$20.
Thurs 1/10
ZIGGURAT QUARTET
Saxophonist Eric Barber and pianist Bill Anschell front an edgy,
eruptive quartet inspired by the serpentine time-stretching of South
Indian classical music. Tula’s, 2214 Second Ave, 443-4221, 8
pm—midnight, $8.
Fri 1/11
DALE SPEICHER
How many percussionists bother to play a microtonal vibraphone? Not
many, but Dale Speicher does. One of the hidden treasures of the
Seattle scene, the percussionist proffers a program sure to please fans
of the avant: Christian Wolff’s “Pairs,” the Rebonds of Iannis
Xenakis, along with works by Robert Ashley, Charles Lipp, and Stuart
Saunders Smith. Speicher premieres James Romig’s A Slightly Evil
Machine, a multi-instrumental solo for wood and metal instruments
described as a “jagged, polyrhythmic journey.” Speicher also presents
“The King of Denmark,” Morton Feldman’s hauntingly quiet masterpiece
for solo percussion. Fourth floor Chapel Performance Space, Good
Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave N, 8 pm, $5—$15 sliding scale
donation.
Sat 1/12
PAGLIACCI
It seems strange to stage Pagliacci without its boon
companion, Mascagni’s opera Cavalleria Rusticana, or as a
friend of mine exclaimed, “Pag but no Cav?” Italian tenor Antonello
Palombi, famed for replacing Roberto Alagna in midscene during a
performance of Aida several years ago, heads the cast. Through Sat Jan 26; see www.seattleopera.org for details.
Sung in Italian with supertitles in English. McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer
St, 389-7676, 7:30 pm, $25—$137.
DUO AMADEUS
Violinist Elizabeth Blumenstock, concertmaster of San Francisco’s
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, teams up with fortepianist Tamara
Friedman to perform solo and duo compositions by J. S. Bach, Mozart,
and Beethoven. George Bozarth leads the intriguingly titled preconcert
talk, “Who Was Nannette Streicher and Why Did She Wash Beethoven’s
Socks?” Also Sun Jan 13 at Queen Anne Christian Church at 3 pm. St.
Stephen’s Church, 4805 NE 45th St, 726-6088, 8 pm,
$10—$25.
CAPPELLA ROMANA
Fr. Ivan Moody conducts this very fine Portland-based vocal ensemble
in Orthodox choral works from Finland by a host of new (to me, at any
rate) composers, including Boris Jakubov (1894—1923), Peter
Mirolybov (1918—2004), and Pekka Attinen (1885—1956). With
Finnish-American soprano Maria Männistö. Town Hall, 1118
Eighth Ave, 866-822-7735, 8 pm, $15—$30.
Mon 1/14
CASCADE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The CSO serves up the kind of varied program other bands would do
well to emulate. Along with meat-and-potatoes classical (Brahms’
Symphony No. 2) lurks a gem (the Valse Suite, op. 110
of Prokofiev), and the rarely heard Concerto for Marimba and
Vibraphone by Darius Milhaud. The soloist is the splendid
percussionist Matthew Kocmieroski, a longtime compadre and collaborator
with the Seattle Chamber Players. Edmonds Center for the Arts, 410
Fourth Ave N, Edmonds, 425-776-4938, 7:30 pm, $15/$20.
Tues 1/15
JOEY DEFRANCESCO TRIO
A master of the Hammond B-3, this jazz organist knocked me out last
year at the Triple Door. DeFrancesco courses along the keys like a sip
of smooth Scotch, gracefully dispensing howling runs, funky
foot-pedaled bass lines, and deftly chosen drawbar tones. Also Wed Jan
16. Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave, 441-9729, 7:30 pm, $24.50.
