Experience the world premiere of David Schiff’s Vineyard Rhythms, celebrating the hibernation-to-harvest life of an Oregon vineyard, plus and Piazzolla’s Tango-inspired Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. It’s three full “years” around the world of not-to-miss music!

David Schiff’s Vineyard Rhythms was commissioned by Chamber Music Northwest with the generous support of Susan Sokol Blosser.

Program Notes:

DAVID SCHIFF (b. 1945)
Chamber Concerto No. 2 for Violin and String Nonet: Vineyard Rhythms
WORLD PREMIERE• CMNW COMMISSION

I. Hawk (winter to spring)
II. Gaia (spring to summer)
III. Harvest (fall to winter)

When Susan Sokol Blosser first asked me to compose a violin concerto to honor both her mother, who was a violinist, and the vineyard she loved, she sent me some of her writings that evoked the changing seasons at her famed vineyard in the Dundee Hills, Oregon. She also invited me to visit the vineyard as often as possible to view the vine-covered landscape over the course of the year. Her words and my many visits inspired me.
       
My challenge was to transform what I saw and felt into a concerto. I decided on a three-movement format, with each movement portraying the passing of one season into the next, but from three different points of view.
       
The first movement, Hawk, moves from the depths of winter to early spring, from an avian perspective; on my first visit to the vineyard, Susan had pointed out a tree with hawk’s nest, and on every subsequent visit, at least one red-tailed hawk monitored my strolls.
       
The second movement, Gaia, is a song of the earth, beginning with a chant in the violin’s lowest register, gradually warming from spring to summer. 
       
The third movement, Harvest, is a celebration of nature’s bounty, and of all the intense human labor needed to turn dormant fields into the world-renowned wines that display the Sokol Blosser label.

— © David Schiff, on the challenge of composition    

In Winter the vineyard rests quietly. Seemingly the only activity is the hawks riding the wind currents. But below ground the vines are regrouping, gathering strength to be ready for the next season when they will once again burst forth. As the weather warms, the buds on the pruned canes swell, unfurling suddenly into tiny rosy-tipped baby leaves. Miniature grape clusters with tiny tendrils emerge. As Spring arrives, the vineyard throbs with activity—hawks soar, bluebirds nest, swallows swirl. The bright new growth holds the promise of the vintage.           

In Summer, the vines grow to cover their wire trellis, while the grape clusters develop and ripen in the warm sun. Hawks circle above and newly hatched finches, swallows, and bluebirds flutter in the leafy canopy. The vineyard pulsates with life.     

Then Harvest—the culmination of the year’s work. Controlled chaos as the vineyard crew harvests the fruit and the winery hums with activity. When all the fruit is in, the vines send their energy back down to their roots and shed their leaves. The long silence begins as the leaves turn yellow and slowly drop to the ground.  Hawks still circle but the swallows gather and then, as one, all fly south. Dormancy.   

In the vineyard, time is circular. The vines stay put and the seasons flow effortlessly, one into the next, weaving a multicolored, multilayered tapestry. Like the vineyard, we are the same person year after year, but we each have our own season of hope, of growth, of maturing, of inactivity or withdrawal, and then of renewal. The vineyard is my metaphor for life.

— © Susan Sokol Blosser, founder, Sokol Blosser Winery

David Schiff - Chamber Concerto No. 2, Vineyard Rhythms - III. Harvest

David Schiff - Chamber Concerto No. 2, Vineyard Rhythms -  II. Gaia

David Schiff - Chamber Concerto No. 2 For Solo Violin And String Nonet, Vineyard Rhythms - I. Hawk

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Chamber Music Northwest 51st Summer Festival Highlights. Gloria Chien & Soovin Kim, Artistic Directors.

All selections performed and recorded live as a part of Chamber Music Northwest’s 51st Annual Summer Festival in Portland, Oregon, June 24 – July 25, 2021. For private use only. No portion of these recordings may be duplicated, shared, or broadcast without prior authorization.

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ERICH KORNGOLD Piano Quintet In E Major, Op. 15

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Enjoy 80 exceptional Chamber Music Northwest performances, representing every one of our first 50 summer festivals from 1971 through 2021. From our very first concert featuring founding Artistic Director Sergiu Luca through David Shifrin's forty years at the helm of CMNW, you will discover beloved classics, newly discovered masterpieces, and world premieres commissioned by Chamber Music Northwest over five incredible decades.

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David Shifrin, Artistic Director

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Chamber Music Northwest's 49th Summer Festival Highlights. David Shifrin, Artistic Director.

All selections performed and recorded live as a part of Chamber Music Northwest’s 49th Annual Summer Festival in Portland, Oregon, June 24 – July 28, 2019. For private use only. No portion of these recordings may be duplicated, shared, or broadcast without prior authorization.

Recording Engineer: Rod Evenson

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Now in its 54th season, Chamber Music Northwest serves more than 50,000 people annually in Oregon and SW Washington with exceptional chamber music through over 100 events annually, including our flagship Summer Festival, year-round concerts, community activities, educational programs, broadcasts, and innovative collaborations with other arts groups. CMNW is the only chamber music festival of its kind in the Northwest and one of the most diverse classical music experiences in the nation, virtually unparalleled in comparable communities.

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