Shifrin joins symphony for ‘A Brahms Marathon’
By SALLY VALLONGO
BLADE STAFF WRITER
The arc of David Shifrin’s career has been like a lovely musical line rising clear and compelling from within a complex tangle of harmonies. Orchestrated, it might sound something like the Brahms Clarinet Quintet, that rich, tranquil sonic journey shared by a string quartet and the reed instrument that can instantly transport the listener to a beautiful inner place.
That classic chamber work is to be the highlight of Shifrin’s next appearance in Toledo Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle.
The program, “A Brahms Marathon,” will celebrate the Romantic spirit German composer Johannes Brahms conjured in nearly every work he created.
The program also comprises two clarinet sonatas — No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 120, and No. 2 in e Flat major, Op. 120 — plus a Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114.
Shifrin, the pianist Stefan Kasch, and select symphony musicians will collaborate in this innovative program, the first in the 2007-2008 Peristyle series.
“For me, this program is a challenge,” said Shifrin last week from his Connecticut home. “But it makes sense because the two sonatas, the trio, and the quintet are each so different from one another.”
During his career, Brahms completed two dozen chamber works. The symphony’s Blade Chamber Series last Sunday included one of the composer’s three string quartets.
Shifrin sees the value of the combination. “They epitomize what amounts to the coda of Brahms’ creative output,” he said.
Good thing, because it was his idea, after all.
“A couple of years ago, I was asked to put together a program that would be unusual and represent a ‘body of work’ for the Free for All Series at Town Hall in New York,” noted Shifrin, who retired from his faculty position at Yale University to spend more time performing and recording.
“Before that, I did not know how it would work to do all four works on a single program,” Shifrin continued. “But the result was really quite an effective musical journey.”
He pointed out that the works are not being performed in order of their composition exactly, although many were created in Brahms’ mature period. And of course, Shifrin added, “we will end with the mighty Quintet Op. 115.”
If Shifrin’s appearance in the Peristyle is welcomed by the audience, the performer is eager to return, too.
“I love playing in Toledo — especially the Peristyle,” he said.
As a rising star in his 20s, Shifrin already had been principal clarinet in the Cleveland Orchestra when he was hired by Serge Fournier, then music director of the Toledo Symphony, to sit first chair for several seasons during the late 1970s. At the time, Shifrin was on the music faculty at the University of Michigan.
Among his protégés was Ron Samuels, who served as TS principal clarinet for 16 years before moving to the same post in the Pittsburgh Symphony.
Shifrin left both positions in 1980, and his trajectory continued skyward, encompassing a sterling solo and chamber music career with orchestras in major U.S., European, and Asian cities. Shifrin performed with the Chamber Society of Lincoln Center from 1989 to 2004, the last dozen years as its artistic director.
In 2000 he won the coveted Avery Fisher prize, an award rarely given to wind players.
“I’m always happy to play Brahms,” Shifrin said.
His comfort resulted in a rare opportunity for Toledo audiences: the rehearsal of the quintet will be open to the public at 3 p.m. Saturday on the Peristyle stage, part of the symphony’s Artists Up Close series. With violinists Kirk Toth and Merwin Siu, violist Valentin Ragusitu, and cellist Martha Reikow, Shifrin will provide a privileged view of the making of marvelous music.
Tickets for the Sunday concert are $22-$40. Tickets for the Saturday Artists Up Close rehearsal are $10. Tickets are available at www.toledosymphony.com or 419-246-8000.
Contact Sally Vallongo at: svallongo@theblade.com or 419-724-6101.
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Original article: http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070930/ART10/70929024&SearchID=73295054899944