Music gets delayed sometimes...
Dear Friends,
Music gets delayed sometimes. Sometimes a composer makes a piece even better. Sometimes strange circumstances get in the way of scheduled performances. Right now, that is happening all over the world, and to Portland Piano International, too.
You have probably been awaiting the unfortunate news that, indeed, PPI’s leadership has determined that we cannot present our splendid 2020-21 season, curated by Vladimir Feltsman. Two very big challenges, and myriad small ones, stumped us: it is likely that our performance venue, Lincoln Performance Hall at PSU, will not re-open through the end of this calendar year, obviating our first three performances; three of our six planned distinguished artists live outside the U.S. in countries that currently restrict travel to and from America. In short, we simply cannot go on stage, alas.
We are re-scheduling Vladimir’s entire season to 2022-23. With a little patience, you will still get to hear him and his great roster of fellow artists.
Below, I will tell you about options for faithful subscribers. (Thank you!) First, though, I’d like to tell you a little tale from the world of “delayed music.”
Two of the greatest triumphs in Romantic-period music, Brahms’s Sonata for Two Pianos, Opus 34bis, and the Piano Quintet in f minor, Opus 34, had long gestations. Begun in 1862 when he was 29 years old and already experienced in composing music for small ensembles of instruments, the Sonata and Quintet simmered for another two years as he had originally begun the material as a work for a string quintet (unusually with two cellos instead of two violas), then, facing criticism of its sonorities as an all-stringed instrument work from his violinist friend, Joseph Joachim, he revised all the material into the massive sonata for two pianos, the scherzo of which we will hear on Anderson & Roe’s live-streamed concert for us on August 16. After the 1864 debut of that wonderful work, at Clara Schumann’s urging, Brahms transformed the material again into the marvelous piano quintet. Both the two-piano sonata and the quintet are mainstays, happily, in concert programs. He destroyed the manuscript of the original string quintet version, as he had done with some 20 string quartets composed in the same period. Sometimes you just have to wait for the best stuff. Here is a short take from the splendid two-piano sonata.
If you subscribed already for the 2020-21 season, thank you from the best parts of our hearts! It would have been grand. We invite you to take one of these options about your subscription:
(For all the options below, please e-mail Associate Director, Robin Power, at robin@portlandpiano.org or telephone 503-228-1388.)
Contribute the value of your subscription and we will immediately send you a receipt for tax purposes and will be grateful for your helping to ensure our future.
Tell us that you would like to roll over your subscription to the 2021-22 season, another line-up of terrific recitalists. This option may be especially attractive to some because we anticipate a slight increase in the price of subscriptions in that season, but yours will be unchanged. We will be grateful for your helping to ensure our future.
Ask us for a refund and we will send your check pronto, no questions asked. Knowing that you will want to return next season, we will save your seats and be in touch when the new subscription period opens next spring. Of course, we will be grateful for your helping to ensure our future then.
Tomorrow, we will write again to tell you about good plans we have for serving up lots of alternate programming this year from PPI to keep your piano-enthusiasm in peak shape. For right now, please know that we send profound gratitude for your being part of our community of piano lovers.
All the best,
Bill Crane, executive director