by Paul Orgel

Colchester, VT, 28 August, 2009. The Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, directed by the outstanding violinist Soovin Kim, an area favorite, made its official début this week with 3 concerts and a full schedule of related events.  I attended the 2nd and least traditional of the 3 programs and was sorry to have missed hearing Kim play.  The 1st concert contained the delightful “Dumky” Trio by Dvorák and the final concert featured the sublime Schubert String Quintet in C.

A Dispatch From the Land of Summer Chamber Music Festivals

by Paul Orgel

Burlington VT,  3 July 2009. CVNewEng readers may have noticed that I, your Vermont correspondent, rarely review Vermont concerts.  This is because, as an active player in the state’s compact, not to say “miniscule” classical music scene, I can almost always claim some personal or professional connection to the performers that makes reviewing a local performance feel tainted by conflict of interest, or at least, lacking the required objectivity.

by Paul Orgel

Burlington, VT, 20 February 2009. The University of Vermont’s Lane Series is run by Jane Ambrose, a music historian with wide-ranging interests and a history of presenting exceptional artists who are often at the start of major careers in programs that are far from run-of-the-mill.  The latest was Friday’s performance by the Chicago-based Lincoln Trio.  Their program, given in reverse chronological order, featured a recent piano trio by Pierre Jalbert (b. 1967) and two masterworks of the trio literature: Brahms’ Trio No. 2 in C, Opus 87; and Mendelssohn’s Trio No. 2 in c, Opus 66.

by Paul Orgel

Johnson, VT, 7 February, 2009. The Vermont Philharmonic, based in central Vermont, is the state’s “second” orchestra after the Vermont Symphony.  While the VSO is a professional group, the Philharmonic is made up of dedicated amateurs, but its current music director, Lou Kosma, is a caring, energetic, and highly professional musician.  He is a bass player in one of the world’s best ensembles, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.  In his time off, Kosma travels to Vermont and the Vt. Phil. has improved considerably under his leadership.