Jim Tevenan

Summer music festivals, those great opportunities to experience favorite sounds and hear new potential favorites in relaxed settings and frequently outdoors, were an early casualty of the COVID pandemic. In 2020 performances were few and almost entirely virtual. 2021, however, is a year of resurrection and rebirth for these events that are an essential part of the art music world’s chemistry.

Summer music festivals, those great opportunities to experience favorite sounds and hear new potential favorites in relaxed settings and frequently outdoors, were an early casualty of the COVID pandemic. In 2020 performances were few and almost entirely virtual. 2021, however, is a year of resurrection and rebirth for these events that are an essential part of the art music world’s chemistry.

This is a two-part preview of regional programs: the Flathead Valley’s Festival Amadeus, and, along the Clark Fork River, the Montana Baroque Music Festival. We begin

On The Piano Bench today, a live and lively session with Matt Goodrich, Music Program Director at the Sandpoint Music Conservatory and Head of Piano at the Coeur d'Alene Conservatory. Matt tells the story of his music upbringing and discusses the recital he gives this Friday evening at 7 at the Hamilton House in Coeur d'Alene, home of the Coeur d'Alene Conservatory. We'll hear several examples of music from that program played by Matt in our KPBX Performance Studio.

We welcomed Inland Northwest Opera's General Director Dawn Wolski and prinicpals in this weekend's INO production of G.B.Pergolesi's The Maid Turned Mistress, Heather and Derrick Parker, to our KPBX studio for music and conversation. Joining them was pianist for the production, Mary J. Trotter. In addition to hearing a performance of two duets from the show, we talked about opera, this production, the challenges INO faced during the pandemic, and how the company has adapted to new realities.

Northwest Arts Review is just about done packing in preparation for its first vacation in three years, but we're not going anywhere until we welcome Cheryl Coughlin of the Wallowa Valley’s Josephy Center with truly exciting news about that great cultural resource. Plus, a Nathan Weinbender review and a few musical and music-related gems from our first season, including a nugget of wisdom from pianist Stephen Hough and a return visit to a unique Inland Northwest performance space courtesy of flutist Alicia Mielke.  

We’re all about music on this week’s Northwest Arts Review. The Spokane Symphony’s Mateusz Wolski drops by to share insights learned during the pandemic year, Andrea Olsen fills us in on the Spokane Valley Summer Theatre’s upcoming in-person events, and we’ll meet Bozeman Symphony Orchestra composer-in-residence Scott Lee. We’ve also got music from our studio, one of the student performances recently recorded, and Classical era sounds from the Spokane Symphony’s online spring series, beginning with this Mozart.

We're delighted to welcome back Spokane Symphony concertmaster Mateusz Wolski to our KPBX studio for a conversation about his major "take aways" from the extended pandemic restrictions and his violin festival, created to help fill the void left by cancellation MusicFest Northwest.

This week on Northwest Arts Review we take a trip south to investigate the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival, back this summer after a COVID-enforced hiatus in 2020. Artistic Director Timothy Christie fills us in on the festival’s offerings and we’ll hear a bit of music from an earlier season that is part of this year’s festivities as well. Also, Dan Webster is by to offer his take on a new pandemic-inspired film, and we’ll have music in and out from our studio, courtesy of pianists Archie Chen and Rhona Gouldson-Chen.

Archie Chen and Rhona Goudlson-Chen played live on The Piano Bench today, Archie from the Bunte Blätter of Robert Schumann, then Archie and Rhona with duets of dances of Johannes Brahms and Antonin Dvorak, closing with a nicely jazz-tinged arrangement by Milton Kraus of Henry Mancini's "Moon River."

On this edition of Northwest Arts Review, we dip into our archives for segments from two interviews with author Timothy Egan, whose fascinating true life crime story Breaking Blue is currently featured on The Bookshelf. Also up are Nathan Weinbender and Dan Webster’s takes on the new sci-fi thriller A Quiet Place, Part II and the final installment of music from our recent Sibling Revelry Kids’ Concert, featuring the Treis family of St. John, Washington.

We welcome baritone (and Sandpoint Conservatory Music Director) John Fitzgerald and pianist (and familiar KPBX presence) Melody Puller for conversation and performance. The piece we'll hear, and one especially relevant these summery days, the Songs of Travel of Ralph Vaughan Williams, setting the poetry of Robert Louis Stevenson.

This week on Northwest Arts Review, Chris Maccini welcomes Pulitzer Prize-winning author and next Hagan Series speaker, Hilton Als. We’ll also meet Gatie Nicario-Geelan, artist and recent immigrant to Spokane from the Philippines. Music is from another of the families who contributed to our latest Kids’ Concert.

Opus 31 of Music that Matters honors one of our region’s beloved musicians and educators, Marc Hafsø. Retiring after a very long teaching career that included 18 years as director of choral and vocal activities at Whitworth University, Marc joined us for conversation around his musical upbring and subsequent career, illustrated by performances from the Whitworth Choir.  

Today, Chris Maccini welcomes Trent Reedy and Jawad Arash, two writers from opposite sides of the globe who are collaborators on a new young adult novel, Enduring Freedom. Dan Webster reviews Without Remorse, the latest Tom Clancy screen adaptation, and we have music from the Girges family, performers in our latest Kids’ Concert.

KPBX Program – EWU Music Majors

The Piano Bench

11:00am – May 18, 2021

Vocalise (Arr. Adrian Mann)                                                                         Rachmaninoff

EWU Cello Ensemble

Grace Ahola (Sophomore-Composition/Cello Performance)

Gloria Miller (Freshman-Music Ed)

This week on Northwest Arts Review, Chris Maccini welcomes Marnie Rohrholm from SAGA grant awardee, Spokane Valley Summer Theatre, Verne Windham chats with Lieutenant Chris Cornette, leader of the Navy Band Northwest in honor of Navy Week in Spokane. Also, Nathan Weinbender offers a movie review, and Navy Band Northwest has music for us.

Today, Chris Maccini welcomes the next SCC Hagen Center “Diversity Dialogues” speaker, Luis Rodrigues. Two of Verne Windham’s recent From the Studio guests, Sandpoint Conservatory director Karin Wedemeyer and the Spokane Symphony Music Director James Lowe offer their observations and strategies for dealing with the current state of pandemic affairs through engagement with music. A particularly sublime moment from a young pianist and some Spokane Symphony sounds complete the aural picture on this edition of NWAR

Polina Beymanov is a junior piano and voice major at Whitworth University, a piano student of Dr Judith Schoeflin and voice student of Scott Miller. She came to our KPBX studio to play her junior recital program, which included music of J. S. Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Of particular interest were two selections somewhat off the beaten path, Oscar Peterson's arrangement of Richard Rodgers' "Little Girl Blue," and two Bagatelles of William Bolcom.

Today, we continue to celebrate winners of the most recent SpokaneArts grants as Chris Maccini talks with Garfield Elementary School teacher, Samuel Rasmussen. Verne Windham presents reflections by Spokane Poet Laureate Chris Cook on his Poetry in the Neighborhood project. I’ll talk with Gonzaga University’s Matt McCormick about this Friday’s Student Film Festival, and we’ll have music from out studio, courtesy of pianist Melody Puller.

North Idaho pianist  and music educator Melody Puller rejoins us for an hour with Jim Tevenan around the music of one of the greats of the French Baroque, Jean-Philippe Rameau.

Whitworth University senior Piano Pedagogy and Composition major Mikah Turpin plays a reprise of his Graduation Recital for us, with music by Sebastian Bach, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Toru Takemitsu, Ludwig van Beethoven and Jenö Takács.

We recently featured the Grammy-winning Naxos release, The Passion of Yeshua, a contemporary take on a classic form by American composer Richard Danielpour. Assisting us was conductor JoAnn Falletta, who shared with us her insights on the piece. This is the full interview, with brief musical samples.

This week on Northwest Arts Review, Chris Maccini talks Dr. Carlos Gil, the next presenter in SCC’s “Diversity Dialogues” series. Verne Windham welcomes SSO Music Director James Lowe to KPBX after a long COVID separation from both Spokane and his orchestra. And Dan Webster offers his take on a current Netflix documentary. Plus, we have music from cellist Kevin Heckmatpanah and the Spokane Symphony Orchestra.

Elizabeth Hamilton is a Whitworth University junior performance major on both violin and piano.

She is also playing Beethoven’s Concerto No.1-I with the Whitworth Orchestra on May 8.

Elizabeth's Piano Bench selections:

Ludwig Van Beethoven: Sonata Op. 90-I

Lowell Liebermann: Nocturne No. 2

JohannSebastian Bach: Prelude and Fugue in F, WTC II

Fredric Chopin: Ballade in Ab

Henry Mauser is a junior piano performance and biology double major at Gonzga University. He is part of Greg Presley's studio, and presented his junior recital at Gonzaga March 22nd. Henry recorded the program here in our KPBX performance space, and we are pleased to present it now as a Piano Bench broadcast and podcast. Here is Henry's program:

Sonata No. 31 in A♭ Major, op. 110 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

I. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo

II. Allegro molto

III. Adagio ma non troppo – Fuga. Allegro ma non troppo