Kinderhook Neighbors for Good Growth

OVERWHELMING SUCCESS

for CHAMBER MUSIC GALA

Oh the beauty of Sunday,

to be present for an unfolding of music

born in the solitude of a composer's mind

and soul, in the company of the composer,

lifted into deeper understanding

by sharing the experience with

other music lovers.

Please know that your music and my thanks

are now a part of me forever.

Anne Mulderry, Kinderhook NY, January 24, 2005

Regarding the music of Robert Baksa

A review of the concert follows "Gala Report" below

By John Paul Keeler

For Hudson Valley Newspapers

GALA REPORT

A near capacity audience turned out Sunday afternoon for our benefit concert, which had been delayed one hour because of the blizzard. The snow stopped by 8:30 Sunday morning and the sun came out which helped road conditions. Unfortunately some ticket holders from other areas were prevented from attending. If they had made it to North Pointe, all seats would have been filled.

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Although the major roads in the immediate Kinderhook area were cleared, people did have some difficulty negotiating their way to North Point from the south. Because of the severity of the storm in the south, our special guest Mary Fairchild was unable to make it out of the back roads outside of Kingston.

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Robert Baksa’s music was beautifully performed by the musicians and well received. Baksa commented on each piece prior to its performance, often with comic overtones. One member of the audience mentioned to me, “Robert’s (Baksa) sense of humor comes out in his music.”

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Abbey Cash and Jayne Zinke set up tables of complimentary apple cider and finger deserts for the audience’s enjoyment during the intermission.

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At the conclusion of the final selection, the enthusiastic applause called for all the instrumentalists and the composer to take a curtain call. The concert was reviewed and I will pass it on to you when it’s published. (See Below)

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After the intermission I stated, “KNGG would like to thank the Charles & Mildred Schnurmacher Foundation for their grant which, in part, made the concert possible. I would like to thank the board of directors who worked together to pull this event together. We thank Jock and Ally Spivy for their hospitality by inviting us to Fox Point and for their generosity in providing the reception.

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“It is not possible to run an organization of this nature without dedicated volunteers. I wish to acknowledge three outstanding volunteers that have always been available to help at a moment’s notice, John Picket, Dick Morrill and Diane Whelton.”

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The Gala Reception at Fox Pointe, the home of Jock and Alexandra Spivy in the Village of Kinderhook was set in elegant, yet tastefully decorated early 19^th century rooms. The food served was well planned and beautifully prepared. The Champagne served was an excellent choice.

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Everyone had a great time and the Gala was a big success in many ways.

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Allen Schaefer

Published in the Register-Star

KINDERHOOK

By John Paul Keeler

For Hudson Valley Newspapers

On Sunday afternoon January 23^rd at North Point Cultural Center in Kinderhook, an all Baksa program of Chamber Music was performed to benefit Kinderhook Neighbors for Good Growth.

Review

The Concert could be considered a kind of retrospective of the musical career of composer Robert Baksa.

The program began with a work for flute and piano from 1957 titled “Aria for Flute”. This beautiful early Baksa piece shows a complete musical personality and is a deft mixture of the composer’s finest musical instincts.

Baksa’s grand “Sonata No 1 for Flute and Piano (1976) followed. This great work shows the composer like the late great Shostakovich fearlessly reaching back to the classical tradition of the 18^th Century and imposing on it Baksa’s own personal creative musical style.

Yvonne Chavez Hansbrough made her flute sing like our finest singers and Michael Clement at the piano was a perfect partner. One particularly enjoyed Baksa’s free fantasy cadenzas between the movements. This lovely work is available on two different CD recordings.

The first half of the program ended with three wonderful songs of 1976 set to words by Fenton Johnson and titled “Three Portraits” Baritone Steven Marking was the find of the afternoon. The young Baritone has metal in his voice quite like the great Met Baritone Cornell McNeil and his astounding English diction recalls John Charles Thomas.

The three wonderful songs are composed by Baksa in a way that gives the singer room for creative interpretation. Marking took full advantage and acted the songs tellingly. The first song “The Banjo Player” was all swagger and infectious humor. The next song “The Drunkard” showed the mixture of humor and tragedy in the sad addictive state. The third song “The Minister” was a searing repudiation of using religion for money. In the beginning of the song the minister witnesses to his calling with beautiful candor but soon tells us that he was let go by the Church because he could not make money and was replaced by a charlatan who was all money. The song ends with the serenity of a Bach choral as if the real minister came to grips with true spirituality.

In these three songs Baksa created real characters and Marking played them to perfection.

After intermission Baksa’s recent (2004) “Sonata for Flute and Guitar” was all gossamer lightness and poetry. The serene beauty of the slow movement found Sten Issachsen playing the guitar authoritatively and Hansbrough repeating her success with the flute.

The program ended with the popular “Spring Games” Sonata for Piano Four Hands of 2002 played with characteristic panache by Vladimir Pleshakov and Elena Winther.