MOZART AND GLAZUNOV, MIDSUMMER MUSIC, MUSE STURGEON BAY, 20 JUNE 2026
With more MOZART (the clarinet Quintet in A major, K 581 “Stadler”) on the program and nearby in downtown Sturgeon Bay, I put this one on our schedule. In so far as I knew of Alexander GLAZUNOV, it was in passing at best and certainly I didn’t know his cello (two of them!) Quintet in A major, Opus 39, G 84 specifically. The instrumentation appealed and reading that he was a friend of Tchaikovsky; a student of Rimsky-Korsakov; a teacher of Shostakovitch; and colleague of Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, and Stravinsky certainly helped place him but didn’t provoke unqualified enthusiasm.
Still, as with the Raff last time, I appreciate the curation of MIDSUMMER MUSIC in keeping composers in the repertoire. GLAZUNOV (1865-1936) is a generation and a half or maybe two after Raff (1822-1882), so have appealing chamber music conventions well in hand. That is, whereas the MOZART certainly had a bit of a concerto feel with the clarinet soloing over a string ensemble (four pieces in this particular case) and with that the clarinet was more in the violin range whereas it being a viola or even cello is where its timbre and tone interest me most. GLAZUNOV’s voices intertwined significantly and many themes were led by the lower voices. Shirley Chisholm was back on viola and she introduced three movements, first and second by herself and the fourth with the cellos. The second had lots of pizzacati from all five of them and that aspect caught my ear. The two cellos of course gave an appealing depth. Mara McClain was the first cello and was prominent in the music. For the MOZART she sat dead center and seemed to cue the others, though it might simply been her intelligent and lively facial expressions. She seemed to be having more fun than anyone on both pieces. David Perry as first violinist was personally restrained, putting the emotion into the playing.
The MOZART was wonderfully as expected. JJ Koh took advantage of this early showcase for his instrument to contribute to the infectious fizz of these melodies.
MUSE STURGEON BAY is a somewhat austere performance space though its range of musicians is appealing. I’m going back at least twice for jazz and to renew a conversation with the artistic director. But I counted only 18 people in the seats, some of whom like the two from Write On Door and at least one apparent family member of a musician. It’s a new venue for them and it was a Saturday night, still I hope they establish MUSE as a successful location.
