Music in the Valley
I love how the music scene in and around Baltimore is always offering new discoveries. I was a guest at Music in the Valley for the first time this evening, only to discover that the concert series has been going since 2008 in partnership with the BSO’s concertmaster, Jonathan Carney. It’s in the bucolic setting of St. John’s Church, Western Run parish, and the concerts are followed by a generous and delicious buffet reception, which we shared with the artists at a picnic table in the dusk.
Tonight, the artists were Jonathan Carney and Friends: his daughter, Gracie, who played her secret love, viola (she actually studies violin and is off to music school in Bloomington, Indiana); Julie Sauvignon, who plays regularly in the violin section of the BSO; and pianist, John Nauman. Jon, Julie, and Gracie opened with Romantic Pieces by Dvorak, Julie and John played the Sonata by Debussy, and John raised the roof with the solo piano version of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. After intermission, it was the formidable Franck Sonata with Jon and John. I have never heard it better played, and doubt I will again. There was so much musicality and synergy between them throughout, and the fiendishly challenging 2nd movement, as well as the coda of the last movement, were electrifying.
The next Music in the Valley series of six concerts begins on September 18th. Do yourself a favor, if you haven’t already done so! Music in the Valley at St. John’s Western Run Parish.
Tags:Jonathan Carney, Music in the Valley
