By Kathryn Olsen
May 7 sees the Timpanogos Symphony Orchestra close its 2020-2021 season with Beethoven at 251 with Jenny Oaks Baker and Family at Timberline Middle School in Alpine. As a follow-up to the interview with conductor John Pew, Grammy-nominated violinist and mother Jenny Oaks Baker gave some insight to the piece at the heart of this week’s performance as well as the creative efforts of daughters Hannah Baker and Sarah Baker.
Kathryn: Regarding the Ludwig van Beethoven Concerto for Violin, Piano and Cello in C Major, is this the first time you and your daughters have performed it in concert?
Jenny: It is and we’re really excited to be able to do it.
Kathryn: I know this was originally scheduled for the 250th birthday of the composer last year/ Have there been any changes in how you three have played it or rehearsed in the intervening year?
Jenny: The wonderful thing about young people is that they just keep getting better and better. Especially with COVID-19, my girls have had a lot more time to practice than they did before because they’ve only been going to school four days a week and there’s a little more flexibility. Sarah, in the meantime, started having lessons two times a week, so they’ve both gotten better than they were the year before and they were very good the year before. It’s very exciting to be able to perform with them. My daughter Hannah recently got into the Royal Academy of Music in London, so she’s off to pursue her dreams, so it’s great that we can do this before she spreads her wings.
Kathryn: Since they just keep getting and better, as you said, did your daughters make any suggestions in the intervening time about the performance of the concerto that they hadn’t when it was originally being prepared?
Jenny: Rehearsals are pretty organic, so as you become a more developed player and person and musician, you gain a deeper understanding and have different ideas, so I’m sure there they did. There’s going to be a lot more depth to the musical performance, plus just going through difficulties like all the heartbreak and turmoil of the pandemic and everything that happens to you, you put into your playing. It affects your musicality and your emotional intelligence and that just gets poured in, so I think it’ll be a very exciting performance.
Kathryn: What was your first exposure to the Triple Concerto and did your daughters listen to it much before learning it?
You can see them only for viagra 25 mg unica-web.com the first time than there are for new teen drivers. A trip to an all-natural health and food store will tell you just how popular it is today. viagra no doctor After all every men have the right to enjoy sex to the fullest satisfaction at viagra sale canada https://unica-web.com/watch/2018/my-best-enemy.html its peak. This will get you into such a lowest price for levitra disease.Jenny: I remember listening to it as a young player and as an early teenager and thinking that it’s a great piece, but I never imagined someday playing it with my daughters.
Kathryn: And how did you introduce your daughters to it?
Jenny: I’ve been a good friend of Maestro John Pew for many years. After he expressed interest in performing it, we ordered the music and started listening to it and learning it. It’s been a year and a half and almost two-year process in this pandemic.
Kathryn: For each of the soloists, is there a passage or a movement in which you think their part shines in particular?
Jenny: It’s a very interesting concerto. The cello part is probably the hardest because Beethoven wrote it to be played very high and it’s very awkward. I don’t know if he played the violin, but he had written a violin concerto, so he knew how to get around the violin. The violin concerto is difficult and it’s awkward, but I don’t think it’s quite as awkward as the cello part in the Triple Concerto. It’s kind of written for a violin and yet, you have to play it on the cello. She’s been working very hard on it because of its difficulty and she has really mastered it. I’m really proud of her. Hannah, of course, has been working very hard on her Beethoven and I’ve been working really hard as well. It’s very exposed. You can’t hide anything, as is pretty typical of classical music. Everything is pretty apparent and you can’t hide behind a luscious sound and it’s very real. The way it sounds is the way you play it and there’s nowhere to hide. The second movement is pretty much just a cello concerto. It’s very much about Sarah, but it’s really a lot of fun. I think the third movement is probably my favorite and it’s got this end section that’s like a polka and its just a fun kind of romp. The whole thing is pretty difficult, but it’s very fun to be able to perform it with Hannah and Sarah. It’s one of the musical highlights of my life to perform with my children. They’re starting to leave the nest—our oldest daughter is on a mission and Hannah’s getting ready to leave and I’m approaching empty nester status. We’ll have to see how it works with our family in performances because I don’t want to hold my kids back, but I still want to perform with them for the rest of my life. We’ll see how it works into their lives and trust the Lord that everything will work out.
Kathryn: For people who will come out of the concert having enjoyed this piece, what is a work that you recommend they listen to next?
Jenny: The next thing I’m hoping for is Johannes Brahms‘ Double Concerto for violin and cello. It’s one of my favorites and now that Sarah’s good enough to play it, we’re hoping we’ll be asked to play it. We’re performing the first movement in Pennsylvania, along with some of the other music from my albums.
Kathryn: Are there any new recordings coming out or being planned, either as a soloist or with the rest of the family?
Jenny: We have the Christmas album, Joy to the World, that was released and hit #7 on the charts and was very popular. Last spring, I released my solo album, Epic, which hit #2 on the charts. Next year, I’m hoping to do another family album once my daughter comes back from her mission and I’m hoping to release another solo album. So, there’s a lot of things in the works.
With such a thrilling program, Beethoven at 251 with Jenny Oaks Baker and Family is sure to be an enjoyable experience for audiences of all ages. Hurry to get your tickets before the hall reaches capacity. The concert will also be available through streaming.
Timpanogos Symphony Orchestra Presents Beethoven at 251 with Jenny Oaks Baker and Family
Timberline Middle School, 500 W Canyon Crest Rd, Alpine, UT 84004
May 7-8, 2020, 7:30 PM
Tickets: $9-12
Contact: (801) 210-2466
www.thetso.org
TImpanogos Symphony Orchestra Facebook Page
Beethoven at 251 with Jenny Oaks Baker and Family
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