Fourth Presbyterian Church Noonday Concert


Jonathan Zeng – Music by the Fountain – Fourth Presbyterian Church – July 22, 2022

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The concert was promoted as Jonathan Zeng, voice and piano. Zeng sang, but someone else, who was introduced, but not promoted, and didn’t speak, but did wave to the audience, played the piano.

Zeng’s voice was fine, but I found him boring. I would rather just have listened to the piano and heard in my head the voices of the performers who made famous the mostly Broadway show tunes he led us through. I was not surprised to learn, afterwards, that his resume includes a lot of work with opera companies, and not one musical theater credit I could find. Note to self, next time look at the resume before going.

Zeng’s patter, so important in cabaret type acts, was lackluster, and less than spontaneous, as evidenced by him being guilty of misreading his notes to say that a song had been indicted into some hall of fame, before correcting himself to say inducted.

He also admitted to not knowing, prior to including a song from it in his act, that Kiss Me Kate was based on Taming of the Shrew, or why Judy Garland had such a large fan following, until a friend of his took him to see A Star is Born (there wasn’t one today).

Piece of advice, Don’t admit these kinds of things when trying to work a room (or courtyard), unless you know how to make them funny. He didn’t.

Courtyard Concert – Fourth Presbyterian Church – July 1, 2022

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Eric Schneider and Andy Brown were back together again. Last year, while praising the music, I highlighted Schneider’s song introduction shortcomings. Maybe he read my piece, as this year he didn’t even try to tell us any background information, except that he did know that Hoagy Carmichael wrote the song New Orleans, but was from Indiana, which was a prime example of what Schneider thought was funny. I disagreed.

In my opinion, Brown is the better musician of the two. Perhaps I just don’t have a refined ear, but on a couple of occasions, Schneider’s playing this year reminded me of Commander Riker’s trombone issues in Star Trek – just never could hit that note in Nightbird.

Whereas Riker admitted it was his fault, Schneider, at one point, regaled us with his version of the creation of the clarinet, which, according to my research, was maybe 50% accurate, and why therefore it was so hard to play, which, in any event, would not explain the one particularly alarming note that emanated from his saxophone, rousing me from my contemplations in the church courtyard’s idyllic setting.

Still, the rain held off, and thanks to Brown the concert was well worth its free price of admission. I will go back to see him performing solo in a couple weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Chen – Fourth Presbyterian Church Noonday Concert – January 21, 2022

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The last time I saw Chicago Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Robert Chen perform solo was in January 2019. And the last time I was this awestruck was when I saw how good my multiflex, cordless, stick vacuum cleaner was at picking up all the dust on the floor under my bed.

Chen played some Bach and Paganini, but the one piece I want to mention is Ysäye’s Danse Rustique, Allegro giocoso molto moderato, which I believe is translated as a barn dance, played while quickly eating a chocolate lava cake in a library containing virtual files.

Chen’s interpretation was clearly different than mine, and admittedly better, but the most notable part of the performance was his ability to maintain his concentration when an unmasked man (clearly not The Lone Ranger) walked through the sanctuary shouting (probably about nothing, but possibly about the recent decision to keep the Doomsday Clock at 100 seconds to midnight rather than advance it forward).

Chen, looked up, but never missed a beat, unlike me, as when I think I may have heard someone in Nepal sneeze and am then forced to stop in the middle of the piece I’m playing and start over.

Music by the Fountain – Libby York – Fourth Presbyterian Church – August 27, 2021

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York must not have gotten the memo that Andy Brown accompanies everyone I see perform lately. Instead she had Jeremy Kahn on keyboard.

Starting next week, the concerts are scheduled to move indoors. Shockingly, no one asked me, but I would suggest, given the current state of things, and good weather, that they stay outside for at least another month, especially if they want my continued attendance.

I admit that might throw a monkey wrench (or more appropriately a hand plane, metal plane, or doming tool) into the plans for next month, as moving the largest organ in the Midwest, complete with its 143 ranks and 8,343 pipes, into the garden might prove problematic, but I, for one, wouldn’t be disappointed if they postponed the organ concerts (indefinitely).

I might describe York’s voice as almost husky, but that might imply sultry, which it isn’t. By the way, speaking lower than your natural register for a prolonged period can cause one to develop a tension-fatigue syndrome called Muscle Tension Dysphonia, commonly referred to as Bogart-Bacall Syndrome, no kidding.

York was okay, but not my cup of tea. I wonder if she knows how to whistle.

Elaine Dame – Music by the Fountain – Fourth Presbyterian Church – August 20, 2021

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It almost, but not quite, goes without saying that Andy Brown was once again present to provide accompaniment, this time for Ms. Dame’s jazz vocals. And, as usual, Brown let his guitar do his talking, although Dame occasionally would tell us what “Andy says” after conferring with him. I felt like I was watching Penn and Teller, especially given the magic of Brown’s playing.

Dame was no slouch either, as long as she was singing (especially her scatting), and not practicing her stand-up routine. After informing us that she would sing any request from the Great American Songbook, except Fever or Summertime (unless you had $300 to spare in your pocket), she nonetheless rejected a couple suggestions, both times adding “thanks for playing”, as if she were trying out for the once again, newly vacant position of Jeopardy host.

All in all it was a nice performance, though I wouldn’t go so far as to say that there is nothing like Ms. Dame.

Courtyard Concert – Fourth Presbyterian Church – August 13, 2021

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Saxophonist Eric Schneider had top billing, well actually the only billing, for the lunch-hour, jazz concert. But he was accompanied by the ever-present, supremely talented, but apparently not talkative, Andy Brown, on guitar, whom I also saw as a featured musician in Michael Feinstein’s recent show at Ravinia, where he didn’t speak either. (I’m waiting for his “Greta Garbo talks” in Anna Christie moment.)

Schneider did the song introductions, showing off at one point the reason why you should not have him on your Broadway trivia (or even essential information) team, as he misrepresented the song Put on a Happy Face as being from Pajama Game, rather than, as the audience members who contorted their faces at the error knew, Bye Bye Birdie.

But I hadn’t come for Schneider’s sober version of drunk jazz history, including his tidbit about the original pronunciation of Mel Torme’s last name (before he gallicized it by adding the aigu accent), but rather for the music, which was excellent.

Chen Family Quartet, Fourth Presbyterian Church, January 11, 2019; Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Symphony Hall, January 15, 2019; Phillppe Quint, Violin and Marta Aznavoorian, Piano, Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert, Chicago Cultural Center, January 16, 2019

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While others listening to classical music may try to appreciate its finer points or focus on getting inside the composer’s head, I just like the way it sounds, which leaves my brain free to wander during concerts.

Some day I might pick up a copy of Classical Music for Dummies, cowritten by David Pogue, whom I usually only think about as Techno Claus on CBS Sunday Morning, when I think about him at all, but who also is a monthly columnist for Scientific American.

But, until then, I think about things like the different shades of varnish on the cellos used in the Chicago Civic Orchestra’s terrific concert, which led me to an applied physics article on ‘the importance of the vibro-mechanical properties of varnish, its chemical composition, thickness and penetration into wood.”

It wasn’t so much during Chicago Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Robert Chen’s brilliant violin solo at Fourth Presbyterian Church, but rather after, that I began thinking about the space itself, when Rush Hour Concerts Artistic Director Anthony Devroye, who filled in on viola with the Chen Family Quartet that day told a couple of us who had trouble seeing from the back that the quartet didn’t use the stage because the asymmetrically curved wall behind it caused acoustic problems – more science.

No science entered my head during the Dame Myra Hess concert, which featured the music of Charlie Chaplin. Quint and Aznavoorian closed with Chaplin’s Smile, from Modern Times, which reminded me of Jimmy Durante singing Make Someone Happy at the end of Sleepless in Seattle, which reminded me of its screenwriter and director Nora Ephron, who was an answer on Jeopardy this week.

In the immortal words of The Statler Brothers’ classic (not classical) Flowers on the Wall (I counted 12 on my guest bathroom wall), “Now don’t tell me I’ve nothin’ to do.”

 

EStrella Piano Duo (Svetlana Belsky and Elena Doubovitskaya) – Fourth Presbyterian Church – December 7, 2018

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I was expecting two pianos (piano duo versus piano duet), but what I got instead was two women, playing selections from Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, on one piano, at the same time, hands flying everywhere, occasionally crossing over each others’ hands, and bodies, with such grace and, at times, glorious frenzy, that one had to watch, not just listen, to fully appreciate the experience.

In exploring various combinations, I found four pianists playing two pianos, which I assume would be called a duet duo, or vice versa, and one pianist playing two pianos, whether the pianos be angled, or parallel to each other, including an interesting exhibition by a twelve-year-old girl stretching to use the pedals on both pianos simultaneously.

Speaking of pedals, when I asked the women after the performance how they determined who would play which side of the piano during their duets (it varied), Belsky told me she really likes to use the pedals and that that often affects their decision.

It hadn’t occurred to me watch their feet during the performance, though I did pay attention to who was turning the pages (it also varied, with one incident of an accidental double page turn that was quickly remedied without interruption to the music), so I don’t know if Belsky was pulling my leg. She had displayed a wonderful sense of humor during her introductions to the songs.

Both women in Estrella were born in Russia, so I have no idea why they chose a name that the Urban Dictionary defines as a totally cool Spanish girl (I also should have asked them that), though I concede that they seemed cool, even though their music was hot.

 

Mark and Anne Burnell – Fourth Presbyterian Church Noonday Concert – July 20, 2018

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My faith now has been restored in the Church’s outdoor jazz concerts, even when they’re indoors because of rain. The Burnells were a joy to see. Their arrangements were lively. There was humor and energy. Mark rocked the piano and did a great impression of a bass fiddle.

The Burnells appear at churches with some regularity. And, in addition to other venues at which they both perform, Mark’s trio regularly plays at the Tortoise Supper Club on State Street, without Anne, as a way, I suppose, of keeping the separation between church and State Street.

I haven’t seen their act before (though I would gladly see it again), so I have nothing against which to compare this performance, but they didn’t seem to let the venue restrict their playlist, which included the double-entendred (an adjective I just invented) Cy Coleman ditty, The Tennis Song, from City of Angels.

During the performance, Anne mentioned that she was wearing jewelry given to her by a couple friends in the audience, that she liked to wear the jewelry as a way of having her friends with her wherever she goes, but that she now had enough jewelry, so, if anyone wanted to give her gift, she could use some underwear. Something to think about if we get a group together to see her sing sometime in the future.

At the end of the concert, before two encores that pleasantly extended ten minutes past the scheduled conclusion of the program, the crowd rose in unison to give the Burnells a standing ovation. That seemed like no small feat given the average age of the Noonday Concert patrons (which doesn’t lend itself to them rising quickly from their seats), until I discovered that Anne also does fitness instruction for seniors.

Beckie Menzie and Tom Michael, cabaret – Fourth Presbyterian Church – July 13, 2018

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I was ten minutes late for the performance because I was tied up on a conference call (yes, even in retirement, there is the occasional conference call). I wish the call had gone longer.

I know Menzie and Michael perform together a lot around town and that, in addition, Menzie is a sought after arranger and accompanist. But how do you make I’ve Got Rhythm boring? Did the fact that it was Friday the 13th have anything to do with it? How about the partial solar eclipse in India today?

I imagined Gershwin turning over in his grave, which, since we were in Fourth Presbyterian’s courtyard, made me think of Elegy in a Country Churchyard, which I’m sure I’ve never read (or wanted to), but probably have seen as a Jeopardy answer numerous times. I tried to take my mind off such thoughts by visualizing Sutton Foster tap dancing to the song. That always helps.

According to Wikipedia, cabaret “is mainly distinguished by the performance venue, which might be a pub, a restaurant or a nightclub with a stage for performances.” That was the problem. The church didn’t serve alcohol.

I would have gotten up and left, but it was hot and I had a seat in the shade, so instead I pulled out my cell phone and checked my emails. It also helped that a couple seemingly mutant pigeons (at least by their odd coloring) landed on the fountain in the middle of the courtyard, and one of them did its best imitation of the Drinking Bird toy for several minutes.

I’m not a religious person, but, since I was at a church, I decided to pray during the final song, McArthur Park (voted in 1992 as the worst song ever recorded), and my prayers were answered, as there was no encore.