What to do tonight? Our Gavin Borchert suggests you see eighth blackbird (yes, they spell it that way) at the Benny:

My guess is that in the future, it'll become apparent that Arnold Schoenberg's most lasting and significant contribution to music history was not the twelve-tone composition method he codified (which never became the lingua franca he envisioned), but his establishment of the "Pierrot ensemble"--the grouping of violin, cello, flute, clarinet, and piano he used in his 1912 work Pierrot lunaire, which has become the dominant template for contemporary chamber music. With or without percussion, it's basically the 20th century's answer to the string quartet. (Locally, Quake was an example, and the Seattle Chamber Players comprise the core of one.) At the top of the heap sits Chicago-based eighth blackbird, one of the most acclaimed and audience-friendly new-music groups around--thanks not only to their talent and energy but to their savvy Internet presence; just search their name on YouTube for several rehearsal and performance clips. They'll perform tonight (music by Reich, Rzewski, and others) on a concert showcasing musicians from their alma mater, Ohio's Oberlin Conservatory. GAVIN BORCHERT

Benaroya Recital Hall, Third Ave. & Union St., 292-2787, www.ticketmaster.com. $20. 7:30 p.m.

www.homestarrunner.com

Jennifer McCausland, Executive Director of the Bellevue Philharmonic Orchestra, just can't catch a break. Earlier this month, we wrote about the fallout from her refusal to recognize a local branch of the American Federation of Musicians as the negotiating body for future contracts with philharmonic players. The reaction was instant and vicious. Currently there are 59 comments on our blog post breaking the news, with detractors calling McCausland incompentent and mean-spirited.

As if that weren't enough, the BPO canceled a holiday concert after the group managed only 50 ticket sales.

Adding to the pile, today Washington State Jobs with Justice named McCausland the 2008 "Grinch of the Year" specifically because of the labor dispute, but also because: "Under McCausland's tenure, the organization has lost funding and may even end up with the cancellation of the remainder of the season, putting more people out of work," according to a press release.

McCausland was not available to receive the award when Jobs with Justice activists showed up at BPO's administrative offices. She shares the dubious honor with former SWeekly cover subject Dennis Bassford.

As if a vicious labor dispute between orchestra players and management wasn't enough to deal with (the comments section of the blog post breaking news of the dispute, featuring some strong opinions is available here), the Bellevue Philharmonic sent an e-mail to musicians yesterday saying the Dec. 19 concert of holiday-themed classics at First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue will be canceled due to low ticket sales.

As of yesterday the BPO had sold about 50 tickets, many to members of the Board of Directors. The full e-mail from Board President Dale Miller is below the jump.
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The Bellevue Philharmonic is tuning the strings and warming up their lips for the annual holiday Messiah concert this Friday. But it's not all peace on Earth and goodwill to all behind the scenes across Lake Washington--far from it.

The musicians, new Executive Director and Board of Trustees are locked in a labor fight over contracts. The players want management to negotiate future contracts with them as a union under the American Federation of Musicians. Executive Director Jennifer McCausland, finishing her first year at the helm, says it just isn't a good time.

The dispute goes back to last summer when the core group of musicians expected the normal round of contract renewals. Bassist Bryce Van Parys says for the last decade, season-long contracts were generally renewed for everyone still playing at the end of the previous season. The music director weeded out problem players throughout the year if problems persisted.

But this year saw major overhauls in the classical music ensemble. In a bid to make the group more competitive with other local groups (it doesn't seem a stretch to read that as the Seattle Symphony) the board of trustees hired Jennifer McCausland, a former Seattle Symphony board member and owner of Apollo Music Ventures, a company that puts on smaller chamber-style events. In a move that made most orchestra members furious, McCausland ignored the traditional way of renewing contracts. Last summer she sent notices to 13 string players that they needed to audition to renew their 2008-2009 season contract. None of those members were actually let go, says principal clarinet, Mary Kantor. But bucking tradition and making them play in open auditions for their spots--in some cases on short notice--seemed like pretty much the same thing, Kantor says. "I would call that firing."
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Like this, but with beautiful music and no silly clothes.

I like big, flashy choral music as much as the next person. The pounding timpani in Verdi's overwrought Requiem, sopranos trilling atop the Ode to Joy, and Carmina Burana's epic finish. But some of the best music written for choirs is for more thoughtful, and talented small groups. The Renaissance Singers (wearing black, no corsets and poofy sleeves here) performed a selection of pieces from Tudor England Saturday at Trinity Episcopal downtown. The group is very young and relatively new making them ideal for performing pieces probably written with a boy choir in mind.

There's no pounding base or shrieking soprano, just complicated and intricate harmonies that resolve in a kind of peaceful elegance only an a capella piece can achieve. After a raucous night hosting the extended family, including soon to be in-laws, for volcanoes (more on that tradition here) the concert brought the whole holiday weekend down to a more manageable level. The music didn't challenge non-musical friends and family too much while simultaneously impressing the aficionados. My dad says all renaissance music sounds the same to him, but in a good way. Plus they poured generous glasses of wine at intermission--brilliant!

Just a few days before their season begins, the Seattle Symphony sent this press release:

"Gerard Schwarz, Seattle Symphony’s Music Director since 1985, has announced he will step down from that post when his current contract expires at the end of the 2010–2011 season. Maestro Schwarz made the announcement today from Benaroya Hall, the majestic venue he helped build ten years ago this season. Beginning with the 2011–2012 season, Schwarz will assume the lifetime title of Conductor Laureate and return to conduct the Orchestra for several weeks each season."

Later on: "Board Chair Susan Hutchison announced that a search committee will be formed to work on the direction and timing of the search process," followed by a long list of achievements and milestones. Three seasons would be just about the minimum time for a successful search and a smooth transition. No word on what Schwarz's future plans are.

UPDATE: This article on the departure in today's NYTimes didn't pull any punches about the orchestra's reaction, quoting one player by name; it sounds as though after Schwarz's announcement, at a recording session (of William Schuman's Sixth Symphony, btw, so keep an eye out for that), some of them could barely restrain themselves from dancing on their chairs.

Seattle Opera's second International Wagner Competition on Saturday night at McCaw Hall turned up a group of eight finalists with already-burgeoning careers, any one of whom I'd be happy to see back in one of the company's productions. But after a tightly-run evening (scheduled for three and 3/4 hours, we were done in three), tenor Michael Weinius and soprano Elza van den Heever took the two $15,000 prizes. Weinius chose two arias that showed off an impressive range: his tone and manner were as honeyed in the "Prize Song" from Die Meistersinger as they were intense, even edgy, in the title character's Act 2 scene from Parsifal. Van den Heever, who also took the Audience Choice award, opened the evening with a wonderfully charming and exuberant "Dich, teure Halle" from Tannhauser , and after intermission offered a dreamy, shimmering "Einsam in truben Tagen" from Lohengrin. The choice of the orchestra (led by Asher Fisch) in their informal vote was mezzo-soprano Nadine Weissmann with two gripping excerpts from the Ring: monologues by Erda and Waltraute from Das Rheingold and Gotterdammerung.

Those were my top three picks, too; I cast my vote for Weissmann, who of all the singers I felt was the most magically skillful at pulling me in, casting the storytelling spell that seems to me to be what opera is all about. The other finalists were Erin Caves, Deborah Humble, Darren Jeffery, Jason Collins, and bass Peter Lobert, my plus-one's pick. I found his bass not ideally dark and weighty enough for the role of Hagen, Gotterdammerung's villain, but he won me over with his second selection, Daland's Weber-esque aria from The Flying Dutchman, making me think of a bunch of character parts I'd love to hear him in.

Outspoken critic Norman Lebrecht defended Gerard Schwarz during his contentious tenure with his other orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic (see his August 2004 article here). But today’s post on his blog, La Scena Musicale, shows Schwarz is clearly yesterday’s bangers and mash; Lebrecht is “all googly-goo” (in my plus-one’s colorful phrase) over the orchestra’s current conductor (since November 2006), Vasily Petrenko.

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