Clarinetist Palmer offers superb arrangements

Clarinetist Todd Palmer led off the Chamber Music IV program with a stunning performance of Claude Debussy's gorgeous "Premiere Rhapsodie" for clarinet and piano. Even better, Palmer played his own sumptuous arrangement of the work, scored for string quartet, flute, harp and string bass.

Festival regulars Tara Helen O'Connor, Catrin Finch and the St. Lawrence String Quartet were joined by Ed Allman, principal bassist of the Charleston Symphony. Palmer's arrangement is suitably rhapsodic, shimmering in fine Debussyan fashion.

Hearing it performed, I found it difficult to remember the original. Palmer understands that the best orchestrations are ones that give the individual players idiomatically written parts that are gratifying to play; that was certainly the case here.

The program ended with another Palmer arrangement, this time of Carl Maria von Weber's "Invitation to the Dance," a sweeping, romantic waltz that used to be a popular encore piece for pianists. Though nowhere near as substantial as the Debussy, the work provided a welcome opportunity to hear some beautiful solo work from St. Lawrence cellist Chris Costanza, as well as some brilliant additional coloring courtesy of flutist O'Connor, doubling here on piccolo.

Elsewhere on the program, soprano Courtenay Budd sang two selections from her CD, "Sleep is Behind the Door: Lullabies for Disaster Relief," an obscure but haunting song by Dvorak and a movement from Canteloube's "Chants d'Auvergne."

The Canteloube piece begins with a

relaxed lullaby feel that segues into what you might think of as molto relaxando, after the baby has fallen asleep. At this point, Budd and the six players accompanying her summoned their best sotto voce sound, to sublime effect. The St. Lawrentians then played Schumann's rich, moving Quartet in F Major with their customary exuberance, as well as scrupulous attention to musical subtlety and unity of ensemble.

Intermezzo II

Intermezzo II featured conductor Anthony Barrese and members of the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra. Rossini's overture to "L'italiana in Algeri" ("The Italian Girl in Algiers") was distinguished by sharp, precise ensemble work, plus some of the sweetest piccolo playing I've ever heard, courtesy of orchestra member Madelene Campos.

The second piece, Giovanni Bottesini's "Grand Duo Concertante," originally for two string basses and orchestra, was performed here in an adaptation by Camillo Sivori, who rewrote one of the solo bass parts for violin.

Bassist Aaron John Baird and veteran Festival Orchestra violinist Melissa Ann Ussery gave a blistering account of this showpiece. Bottesini, who put the string bass on the map as a virtuoso solo instrument, makes fearsome demands of any player intrepid enough to attempt this piece. Diabolical arpeggios run up and down the full length of the instrument, to stratospheric heights.

At times the part lay so high it looked like Baird was actually over the edge of the fingerboard, with his fingering hand precariously close to his bow. However, he tossed all of it off with beautiful tone and excellent intonation.

Ussery, a passionate and highly skilled player, did an equally commendable job, but Baird was the star, if only because it's so shocking to see a solo bassist play with this level of virtuosity, which is essentially a prerequisite for concert violinists. (In fact, as Barrese suggested in introducing the work, the rarity of this kind of ability among bass players is probably why Sivori re-wrote one of the parts for violin.)

Baird and Ussery were fully involved with each other as performers, and Barrese proved to be an exceptionally good accompanist. In the final work, Tchaikovsky's well-loved "Serenade for Strings," the 17 players produced a lush, well-integrated string texture. Barrese came off as eminently capable, and he obviously knows the piece thoroughly, but he didn't seem fully and deeply moved by its beauty.

If he had been, the players would have responded with more passion. Nonetheless, he built momentum steadily and with excitement in the long crescendo of the fourth movement, leading to a recap of the work's triumphant opening theme, and a rousing end to the concert.

Pianist Enrico Pieranunzi

Enrico Pieranunzi is an endearingly soft-spoken, middle-aged Italian fellow who happens to be an elegant and sophisticated jazz pianist. His solo set on Wednesday night included eight pieces, all but one of which were his original compositions.

Pieranunzi is classically trained, and it shows. His first song, entitled "Love Whispers," had a Chopin-esque beginning, with jazz harmonies woven in. As the number proceeded I could hear overtones of Ravel and Debussy, in what struck me as a sumptuous blend of classical and jazz playing.

Even as he cut loose into more traditionally jazz-like excursions, he hung onto his classical underpinnings, careful to keep a foot in each camp. You could almost say that Pieranunzi is his own self-contained "Festival of Two Worlds." A few other original pieces had a rhapsodic, minor-inflected South American flavor, flirting with but never completely settling into a syncopated beat.

At times I was reminded of the Claude Bolling jazz suites that were popular in the 1970s and '80s, but Pieranunzi's harmonic sense is more advanced, and his blending of styles is more subtle. He's like a lyric poet of jazz.

The one standard he played, "My Funny Valentine," was more of a composed fantasia than an improvisation. It began with a long, elaborate, slightly dissonant meditation before the main tune set in. The well-known melody was given a colorful, original treatment, with exquisite substitute harmonies and some dazzling right-hand passagework.

The audience responded with enthusiasm and obvious respect, but not the delirium that sometimes greets solo Festival artists. I think this may be because Pieranunzi's style, at least as a soloist, does not include the kind of hard-swinging jazz that makes it impossible for you to keep your feet still.

However, he's appearing again on Saturday night to play a trio set with bass and drums. It will be interesting to see what effect the addition of a rhythm section has on his groove.