Violin Virtuosos

From Joseph Joachim to Jascha Heifetz to Itzhak Perlman to Joshua Bell and so many more, solo violinists have been the closest things to rock stars in classical music. Star pianists like Liszt and Glenn Gould and Van Cliburn might argue, but as even flamboyant rock pianists Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elton John discovered, it’s easier to flash your chops onstage when you can stand up and move around.

The best-known violin virtuoso in his time was Niccolo Paganini, the early-19th-century Italian phenom whose reputation for flashy performances enchanted audiences but also overshadowed his compositions (for guitar and violin) after he died.

On Thursday, Nov. 16, at the Hult Center, a rising young violin star plays Paganini’s dazzling first violin concerto with Eugene Symphony — and behold, she’s neither European nor male. Simone Porter, a 20-year-old rising star from Seattle, will follow the trail blazed by women like Nadia Salerno-Sonnenberg. The orchestra also plays Dvorak’s seventh symphony and Berlioz’ Roman Carnival Overture.

Speaking of Rome, a couple centuries before Paganini, an earlier Italian virtuoso, Giovanni Kapsberger, made a reputation there for his own virtuosic compositions, mostly for lute and theorbo. Eugene guitarist David Rogers plays some of them in a free show Thursday, Nov. 16, at Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, which is displaying famous tapestries that formed the backdrop to some of Kapsberger’s performances.

In our time, classically trained violinists are as likely to front bands (especially country and bluegrass and occasionally jazz) as classical orchestras, like another Seattle-born fiddle phenom, Kishi Bashi, who also plays Thursday, Nov. 16, at the WOW Hall, or Andrew Bird. Another Northwest artist turning a “classical” instrument into a vehicle for contemporary personal expression is Portland Cello Project veteran Anna Fritz, a classically trained cellist and folksinger who’s worked with The Decemberists, My Morning Jacket, Dirty Projectors, and other bands who need a cello on a track.

Fritz’s solo work puts her cello and her supple voice front and center in original songs that often address political concerns, such as climate change and last year’s anthemic “On Wisconsin” (inspired by the state’s recent Republican labor-baiting). Others are more personal, including some with trans characters. She performs Saturday, Nov. 18, at Eugene Friends Meeting, 2274 Onyx Street.

Yet another classically trained cellist, Charles Mingus, became famous as jazz’s most renowned bassist-composer after the racist pre-World War II classical music establishment refused opportunities to a black genius from Watts. But Mingus’ classical studies influenced his later compositions, some of the greatest in American music of any kind, and toward the end of his colorful life, he even returned to writing for classical orchestras. On Friday, Nov. 17, the Carl Woideck Jazz Heritage Project surveys some of Mingus’ magnificent music at The Shedd.

If instead of strings, it’s wind instruments that blow up your skirt, head over to two concerts this week at Beall Hall. UO Wind Ensemble concert on Thursday, Nov. 16, features a wide range of music from late Renaissance composer Jan Sweelinck to 20th-century American masters William Schuman and Karel Husa to contemporary works by Roger Zare and Pulitzer Prize winner David Lang’s pugilistic cheating, lying, stealing.

Then on Saturday, Nov. 18, UO pianist Alexandre Dossin joins fellow faculty wind players to perform some of the loveliest, most charming classical music of the 20th century: French composer Francis Poulenc’s sonatas for flute oboe, horn and piano, plus a sparkling trio with oboe and bassoon and a chamber music masterpiece: Poulenc’s Sextet for piano and winds.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!