GELFAND’S WORLD-Jacaranda is a chamber music organization that bills itself as "music at the edge," and performs mainly at the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica. I must confess that I don't know a lot about chamber music playing, much less the intense craft of string playing that is so much a part of it. But there I was on Saturday night, missing the second half of the football game between Notre Dame and Florida State, and happy to do so.
The star of the show was Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 9 in A major. Simple subtraction shows that this musical wonder has been around for 211 years. Saturday's performance showed not only why it is still being performed, but why there is good reason to hear the chamber pieces not only of Beethoven, but of lots of more recent composers such as Leos Janacek (1854-1928).
The other star of this performance was violinist Nokuthula Ngwenyama, (photo above) who was raised locally and has gone on to an international career. She was ably accompanied by another rising star, Steven Vanhauwaert.
Music critics write all sorts of technical comments using a language that most of us don't quite comprehend. Even the tempos, that is to say whether parts of the music are played with lullaby slowness or machine gun rapidity, are described in a language that is foreign to most of us. That's probably because terms like adagio and andante are, in fact, in a foreign language. At least one term, presto, is available to us masses, as it refers to playing something quickly.
What many of us have missed is that there is a lot to be heard and enjoyed, even if the average chamber orchestra does not include 90 pieces and does not reach Wagnerian peaks of volume. Still, in the First Presbyterian Church, the Lyris Quartet put out plenty of volume and fervor, not to mention tunes and emotion and a bit of angst now and then. One reason is that when you are confined to a smallish room with stony reflective surfaces and the audience is mere feet from the performers, there is plenty of sound to go around.
Jacaranda is the brainchild of Patrick Scott and Mark Alan Hilt. It brings in distinguished performers from time to time, but its own 
distinguished performers, the Lyris Quartet, have been something of a house orchestra to Jacaranda. The Lyris Quartet brags appropriately that its violinist Alyssa Park was the youngest to win the Tchaikovsky competition. Its cellist, Timothy Loo, is a name in his own right.
Strangely enough, I've alluded to the Lyris Quartet before, because they were the featured players in Long Beach Opera's The Difficulty of Crossing a Field, both in 2011 and 2014. Moreover, Loo is also principal cellist for the Long Beach Opera.
Instead of writing musical criticism of the old school variety, I'll simply link you to some videos showing Jacaranda performers in rehearsal and on stage. The Lou Harrison Double Concerto features Alyssa Park and Timothy Loo, along with drummer Ted Atkatz.
For something a little different, lets consider an excerpt from a Philip Glass opera, Einstein on the Beach, referred to as Knee Play 5.
{module [862]}
{module [662]}
The Jacaranda site has one eccentricity that you may find of interest. It offers what it calls "Our Picks," that is to say, CDs that have been recommended by the directors, and available for purchase. Jacaranda seems to have a working (and financially remunerative) relationship with the distributor, so take that into consideration, but it's nice to be able to find a critical recommendation for a recording of Mahler's First Symphony, including suggestions for alternative recordings.
One additional point needs to be made. There is a big difference between listening to a recording, even an excellent recording, and hearing a live performance. Even the fact that you have made the effort, and are joined by a live audience, makes a difference. Another difference is that no matter how well a recording is mastered and pressed, it is still an attempt to communicate what would have been heard in a live performance. By attending a live performance, you get the full experience. Saturday's full experience was worth the effort.
(Bob Gelfand writes on culture and politics for City Watch. He can be reached at [email protected])
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 12 Issue 85
Pub: Oct 21, 2014