NEW@NIGHT: Soundscapes of Hartke, Shaw & Penderecki
Netsuke—Japanese miniature carvings— are worlds unto themselves, and Stephen Hartke’s Netsuke explores all their intricacy. Two-time Grammy Award nominee, Jennifer Frautschi, and Portland’s own Monica Ohuchi traverse this captivating work, along with stunning works by Caroline Shaw and Krzysztof Penderecki.
6pm | Happy Hour & Conversation with Caroline Shaw
Post-concert Q&A with artists
The Old Church
Wednesday, 7/3 • 7:00 pm PT
Program
Click on any piece of music below to learn more about it.
- CAROLINE SHAW “Plan and Elevation” (2015)
CAROLINE SHAW (b.1982)
Plan and Elevation (2015) (15’)I. The Ellipse
II. The Cutting Garden
III. The Herbaceous Border
IV. The Orangery
V. The Beech TreeI have always loved drawing the architecture around me when traveling, and some of my favorite lessons in musical composition have occurred by chance in my drawing practice over the years. While writing a string quartet to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Dumbarton Oaks, I returned to these essential ideas of space and proportion — to the challenges of trying to represent them on paper. The title, Plan & Elevation, refers to two standard ways of representing architecture — essentially an orthographic, or “bird’s eye,” perspective (“plan”), and a side view which features more ornamental detail (“elevation”). This binary is also a gentle metaphor for one’s path in any endeavor — often the actual journey and results are quite different (and perhaps more elevated) than the original plan.
I was fortunate to have been the inaugural music fellow at Dumbarton Oaks in 2014-15. Plan & Elevation examines different parts of the estate’s beautiful grounds and my personal experience in those particular spaces. Each movement is based on a simple ground bass line which supports a different musical concept or character. “The Ellipse” considers the notion of infinite repetition (I won’t deny a tiny Kierkegaard influence here). One can walk around and around the stone path, beneath the trimmed hornbeams, as I often did as a way to clear my mind while writing. The second movement, “The Cutting Garden,” is a fun fragmentation of various string quartets (primarily Ravel, Mozart K. 387, and my own Entr’acte, Valencia, and Punctum), referencing the variety of flowers grown there before they meet their inevitable end as cuttings for display. “The Herbaceous Border” is spare and strict at first, like the cold geometry of French formal gardens with their clear orthogonals (when viewed from the highest point), before building to the opposite of order: chaos. The fourth movement, “The Orangery,” is evokes the slim, fractured shadows in that room as the light tries to peek through the leaves of the aging fig vine. We end with my favorite spot in the garden, “The Beech Tree.” It is strong, simple, ancient, elegant, and quiet; it needs no introduction.
—© Caroline Shaw
- KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI Duo Concertante for Violin & Double Bass (2011)
KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI Duo Concertante for Violin & Double Bass (2011)
In the 1960s, Polish composer and conductor Krzysztof Penderecki (1933–2020) rose to fame as an icon of the musical avant-garde. Despite the challenging nature of his music, he showed a unique ability to captivate audiences in concert halls while also crossing over to popular cultural acclaim. His music has appeared in films including The Shining and The Exorcist, and pop musicians like Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood cite Penderecki’s influence to this day.
In 2011, Penderecki wrote a Duo Concertante for Violin & Double Bass, one of relatively few showpieces in the repertoire for double bass virtuosos. Its Italian title, Duo Concertante, implies that both instrumentalists should be considered soloists.
Composing music for two instruments at opposite ends of the pitch spectrum like violin and double bass presents unique challenges and opportunities. Penderecki mitigates those challenges by asking the bass to tune a whole step higher than usual. He also gives each soloist’s line a sense of independence, fostering hearty musical dialogue instead of harmony.
Like many of Penderecki’s later works, this duo shows a relatively melodic, lyrical side of the composer. Avant-garde techniques appear here and there for effect, but the focus never strays from the talents of the two performers.
—© Ethan Allred
- STEPHEN HARTKE “Netsuke” (2011)
STEPHEN HARTKE
Netsuke (2011)I. Tengu, the shapeshifter that feeds on the falsely holy
II. Tadamori and the Oil-thief
III. Tanuki playing the samisen
IV. Baku, the monster that devours nightmares
V. Demons carrying a rich man to hell
VI. Jewel of Wisdom with mountain pavilionsNetsuke are Japanese miniature carvings that were originally made to secure objects suspended from a man’s sash. Often very intricate in design, they represent a broad range of subject matters from depictions of animals and people to scenes from folktales, literature, and everyday life to fanciful supernatural creatures. This piece was inspired by six exquisite carvings from the Bushell Collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In the first movement, a tengu, a hawk-like goblin, takes on the appearance of a monk to lure a religious hypocrite to his doom. The second carving, Tadamori and the Oil-Thief, is a wonderfully kinetic depiction of a midnight scuffle between a samurai and a poor servant whom he has mistaken for a thief. A tanuki is a raccoon-like creature thought to have the power to change its appearance. In this small sculpture, one is seen dressed in a robe quietly playing the samisen. In my piece, I found myself thinking of the samisen duels that one frequently hears in Japanese theatrical music. While quite fearsome looking, with the head of an elephant and a lion’s mane, the baku is a shy creature that performs the useful service of protecting sleepers from nightmares. In the carving that inspired the fifth movement, a rich man has apparently set off on a journey, but instead of being carried by his usual bearers, seven demons have hijacked his sedan chair and gleefully cart him down to Hell. The final netsuke shows a serene mountain landscape intricately rendered in a water-drop-shaped piece of ivory. Gnarled, wind-blown trees and the verandas of handsome pavilions can be discerned through the mist. Commissioned by the McKim Fund in the Library of Congress, Netsuke is dedicated in friendship and gratitude to Matt Albert and Lisa Kaplan of eighth blackbird.
—© Stephen Hartke
Artists
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Nina Bernat
Bass
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American double bassist Nina Bernat, acclaimed for her interpretive maturity, expressive depth and technical clarity, emerges onto the world stage with awards and accolades, thrilling audiences everywhere. She was hailed by Star Tribune as a “standout” for her recent concerto debut with the Minnesota Orchestra, praising her performance as “exhilarating, lovely and lyrical…technically precise and impressively emotive.”
In 2023, Nina was honored as a recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant and winner of the CAG Elmaleh Competition. Recent 1st prizes include the Barbash J.S. Bach String Competition, the Minnesota Orchestra Young Artist Competition, the Juilliard Double Bass Competition, and the 2019 International Society of Bassists Solo Competition.
Engaged in all aspects of double bass performance, she has been invited to perform as guest principal bassist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Oslo Philharmonic, serving under the batons of conductors such as András Schiff and Osmo Vänskä. Nina is in demand as a passionate chamber musician. She began her involvement with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center as a member of the Bowers Program in 2025. She has spent summers at Marlboro Music Festival, Verbier Festival, Music@Menlo, and Chamber Music Northwest.
She is quickly becoming a sought-after pedagogue, having given masterclasses at the Colburn School, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and University of Texas at Austin, among others. She is on the faculty of Stony Brook University.
Nina performs on an instrument passed down from her father, Mark Bernat, attributed to Guadagnini.
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Jennifer Frautschi
Violin
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Two-time Grammy nominee and Avery Fisher career grant recipient, violinist Jennifer Frautschi, has appeared as soloist with innumerable orchestras including the Cincinnati Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. As a chamber musician, she has performed with the Boston Chamber Music Society and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and appeared at Chamber Music Northwest, La Jolla Summerfest, Music@Menlo, Tippet Rise Art Center, Toronto Summer Music, and the Bridgehampton, Charlottesville, Lake Champlain, Moab, Ojai, Santa Fe, Seattle, and Spoleto Music Festivals.
Her extensive discography includes several discs for Naxos: the Stravinsky Violin Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, conducted by the legendary Robert Craft, and two Grammy-nominated recordings with the Fred Sherry Quartet of Schoenberg’s Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra and the Schoenberg Third String Quartet. Her most recent releases are with pianist John Blacklow on Albany Records: the first devoted to the three sonatas of Robert Schumann; the second, American Duos, an exploration of recent additions to the violin and piano repertoire by contemporary American composers Barbara White, Steven Mackey, Elena Ruehr, Dan Coleman, and Stephen Hartke. She also recorded three widely praised CDs for Artek: an orchestral recording of the Prokofiev concerti with Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony; the violin music of Ravel and Stravinsky; and 20th-century works for solo violin. Other recordings include a disc of Romantic Horn Trios, with hornist Eric Ruske and pianist Stephen Prutsman, and the Stravinsky Duo Concertant with pianist Jeremy Denk.
Born in Pasadena, California, Ms. Frautschi attended the Colburn School, Harvard, the New England Conservatory, and the Juilliard School. She performs on a 1722 Antonio Stradivarius violin known as the “ex-Cadiz,” on generous loan from a private American foundation with support from Rare Violins In Consortium. She currently teaches in the graduate program at Stony Brook University.
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Monica Ohuchi
Piano
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Monica Ohuchi’s “commanding pianism” (The New York Times, Anthony Tommasini), performing “with beauty, clarity and drive…[offering a] warmth…expressiveness [that’s] irresistible and deeply moving” (Barre Montpelier Times Argus) allows her an active career as a piano soloist, chamber musician, and pedagogue. “Dutifully and gracefully” (San Francisco Classical Voice) attentive to musical depth and detail, Ohuchi is the pianist and executive director of Fear No Music, and performs locally with Chamber Music Northwest, Classical Up Close, 45th Parallel, and the Chintimini Chamber Music Festival, among many others. Ohuchi’s engagements include collaborations with David Parsons Dance Company and the Oregon Ballet Theater, and soloing with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Marin Symphony Orchestra, and Newport Symphony Orchestra. She is a frequent guest clinician and adjudicator for the Oregon State and Washington State Music Teacher Associations, as well as the Oregon state chapter of the National Federation of Music, and a regular performer on All Classical Radio. Her solo album released on Helicon Records, Monica’s Notebook, is a series of piano études written expressly for her by her husband, Kenji Bunch. Ohuchi is currently the program director of music performance at Reed College, where she also teaches piano and chamber music. Ohuchi holds advanced degrees from the Juilliard School in Piano Performance. She most enjoys spending her time with her husband, their two children, and two pitbull-mix rescue dogs.
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Opus13
String Quartet, Protégé
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Sonoko Miriam Welde, violin
Edvard Erdal, violin
Albin Uusijärvi, viola
Daniel Thorell, celloThe Swedish-Norwegian string quartet, Opus13, is one of Europe’s most promising, up-and-coming young string quartets. Formed in 2014, the ensemble now comprises Sonoko Miriam Welde, Edvard Erdal, Albin Uusijärvi, and Daniel Thorell. They were 2nd prize winners of the prestigious Banff International String Quartet Competition 2022. In 2023, they received the Norwegian Equinor Classical Music Award, a coveted prize of one million Norwegian Crowns (approx. $96,000). Previous recipients of the award include Leif Ove Andsnes, Lise Davidsen, and Vilde Frang.
They have guested concert series and festivals such as the International Chamber Music Festival Utrecht in the Netherlands, Yeulmaru and Yonsei Chamber Music Festivals in South Korea, Rusk Festival in Finland, Swiss Chamber Concerts, and most of the major chamber music festivals in Norway, including Bergen International Festival, Stavanger, Rosendal, Trondheim, and Risør Chamber Music Festivals. Highlights in 2024 included debuts in Scotland and the United States.
Opus13 has collaborated with international top musicians such as Janine Jansen, Olli Mustonen, Julian Bliss, Alisa Weilerstein, Tabea Zimmermann, Jonathan Biss, and Konstantin Heidrich. They are mentored by Berit Cardas and Bjørg Lewis of the Vertavo Quartet, and have benefitted from masterclasses with many of the world’s leading chamber musicians, including members of the Belcea Quartet, Quatuor Ébène, Artemis Quartett, Oslo String Quartet, and Quatuor Mosaïques.
In their early years, Opus13 received invaluable support and performing experience from the Oslo Quartet Series’ Talent Program and the Crescendo Mentoring Program.
The Opus13s are Founders and Artistic Directors of Vinterspill på Lillehammer, a chamber music festival in the winter town of Lillehammer.