Cincinnati Symphony Winds End Linton Season Splendidly

Dwight Parry

Richard Hawley

William Winstead

Elizabeth Freimuth

Michael Chertock

Linton Chamber Music enjoyed its third sold-out concert of the season Sunday afternoon at First Unitarian Church in Avondale.

And a fitting occasion it was, with principal wind players from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and CSO principal keyboardist Michael Chertock.  A more patrician cast would be hard to find, as would a more rewarding program, with Mozart’s Quintet for Winds, K. 452 and showpieces for oboe, bassoon and French horn.

Participants included oboist Dwight Parry, clarinetist Richard Hawley, bassoonist William Winstead and French hornist Elizabeth Freimuth.  It was a touch bittersweet in Hawley’s case since he leaves the CSO at the end of this season (after 17 years) to join the faculty of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston.  He will be sorely missed as a Linton regular, though hopes are that he will make a return visit soon.

Parry and Chertock led off spectacularly with Morceau de Salon for Oboe and Piano, Op. 228 (1859), by Johann Wenzel Kalliwoda.  The little known composer -- who did not stray from the service of his employer, Prince Karl Egon II of Furstenberg, perhaps to Kalliwoda’s detriment -- has given the oboe a virtuosic showpiece modeled on bel canto opera.  Parry demonstrated remarkable facility over the oboe’s considerable range.  He sang sweetly in more relaxed moments and flew over the keys in more energetic ones.  Meanwhile, Chertock underscored the drama of it all.

It was Freimuth’s turn in Robert Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro in A-flat Major, Op. 70, also with Chertock.  After a sonorous and very musical Adagio, she launched into the Allegro with untrammeled bravado.  She gave it a dramatic sweep, punching out its fanfare-like theme with ease and joining with Chertock’s sparkling accompaniment in a formidable reading.

   Another rarity, the Trio for Oboe, Bassoon and Piano by Francis Poulenc (one of a kind, perhaps), was performed with Gallic polish and wit by Parry, Winstead and Chertock.  The sounds CSO concert goers hear each week at Music Hall were given extended play in this delightful work which was, by turns, dramatic, flashy, aria-like and sassy, coming to a forthright, even tongue-in-cheek conclusion.

Centerpiece of the concert was Mozart’s Quintet for Piano, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn and Bassoon, a work unexcelled in its mastery of wind ensemble.  It is also a fountain of melody, and it was thrilling to hear the five musicians – Parry, Hawley, Freimuth, Winstead and Chertock – hand it off to each other, no one occupying the spotlight exclusive of the others.

From the rollicking syncopations of the opening movement to the lovely, flowing Larghetto and the perky Rondo finale, it was an exhilarating performance by a priceless ensemble fully accustomed to playing together. Encore please.

Linton’s 2011-2012 season was announced at the concert, the final one of the current season.  Highlights include the Linton series debut of pianist Menahem Pressler, which will open the season Oct. 23 and 24, and the world premiere in Jan. 2012 of Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Quintet for Piano and Strings.  There will be six concerts at First Unitarian Church, all on Sunday afternoons.  Five of them repeat at Congregation Beth Adam in Montgomery on the following Monday nights.

The 2011-2012 Linton Chamber Music Season

Oct. 23, 24. Menahem Pressler, piano. Alexander Kerr, violin. Paul Neubauer, viola. Eric Kim, cello.  Quartets for piano and strings by Mozart, Turina and Dvorak.

Dec. 4, 5. Dwight Parry and Mark Ostoich, oboe. Jonathan Gunn and Ben Freimuth, clarinet. William Winstead, bassoon. Robert Sullivan, trumpet. Thomas Sherwood and Lisa Conway, French horn. Cristian Ganicenco, trombone. David Fishlock, percussion. Timothy Lees, violin. Owen Lee, double bass. Stravinsky, “L’Histoire du Soldat” and Pastoral for Violin and Winds. Beethoven, Octet for Winds.

Jan. 15, 16, 2012. Joseph Kalichstein, piano. Jaime Laredo, violin. Michael Tree, viola. Sharon Robinson, cello. Harold Robinson, double bass. Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Quintet for Piano and Strings. Brahms, Quartet for Piano and Strings. Rossini, Duo for Cello and Double Bass.

Feb. 26, 27, 2012. Reiko Uchida, piano. Thomas Meglioranza, baritone. Timothy Lees, violin. Schubert, “Long for Spring.” Clara Schumann, Three Romances for Violin and Piano. Beethoven, Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 23. Louis Spohr, Songs for Baritone, Violin and Piano.

Apr. 1, 2012. Michael Chertock, piano. Pamela Frank and Andy Simionescu, violin. Nokuthula Ngwenyama, viola. Matt Haimovitz, cello. Schumann, Quintet for Piano and Strings and Five Pieces in Folk Style for Cello and Piano. Adrian Pop “Tituru” for Violin and Cello (Cincinnati premiere). Gideon Klein, Trio and Violin, Viola and Cello.

May 13, 14, 2012. Jaime Laredo, Benny Kim, violin. Ida Kavafian and Steven Tenenbom, viola. Sharon Robinson and Eric Kim, cello. Tchaikovsky, Sextet for Strings, “Souvenir de Florence.” Richard Danielpour, “Inventions on a Marriage,” Duo for Cello and Violin. Mendelssohn, Quintet for Strings, Op. 87.

All concerts are at First Unitarian Church except Oct. 24,   Dec. 5, Jan. 16, Feb. 27 and May 14, which are at Congregation Beth Abraham in Montgomery.

Subscriptions are $150 for six Sundays at First Unitarian ($170 after Sept. 16), $125 for five Mondays at Congregation Beth Adam.  Subscriptions comprising five Mondays plus Sunday April 1 are $150 ($170 after Sept. 16).  Information at (513) 381-6868.