Over the top in Eugene

By RICHARD STORM CORRESPONDENT
Article published Sep 5, 2004
Sarasota Herald Tribune

EUGENE, Ore. -- Coming to the Oregon Bach Festival as I did, fresh from the Sarasota Music Festival, proved to be an exercise in sensory and intellectual overload.

But once the idea of a lazy vacation with some music was eradicated from my mind, the headlong pace was welcome and stimulating.

Seen and heard all over the leafy, collegiate town of Eugene, the festival has been running for 35 years, during which it has grown from a few organ and choral concerts to a comprehensive education and performance event. It ran from June 25 to July 11 this year. Some 50 events are spread over that time, not including the hundreds of rehearsals, discussions and master classes that make the rich performance schedule possible.

The logistics of the schedule are impressive, including management of two paid 50-voice choruses, one of them from Germany, plus a full orchestra, soloists, master class conductors, the 87-member Youth Choral Academy scholarship chorus and a team of guest commentators and lecturers, this year including Robert Levin and Allen Vogel, both familiar to Sarasota festival audiences.

Leading this army is renowned German conductor Helmuth Rilling, backed by the University of Oregon and an armada of administrative workers and volunteers.

The program, concentrating on the work of Johann Sebastian Bach, included his "St. Matthew Passion," the B Minor Mass, three of the church cantatas, several organ compositions and a performance of the "Goldberg Variations" by pianist-conductor Jeffrey Kahane.

Enriching this schedule was Mozart's "Requiem Mass" (as completed by Robert Levin), Mendelssohn's "Elijah," recitals of German lieder and many other works for chamber groups.

Everything I was able to hear attained a high level of quality; the B Minor Mass, for example, was the finest performance I have ever heard.

But wait, there's more: Polish contemporary composer Krzysztof Penderecki conducted his own flute concerto and a performance of Beethoven's "Pastoral Symphony"; the youth chorus, under the direction of Anton Armstrong, worked through an intense 11-day schedule toward a concert of Bach, Mozart and contemporary music.

A three-concert Composers Symposium honored George Crumb, who was present to hear 11 new works commissioned from young composers for the festival. And music critics Tim Page (Washington Post), John Rockwell (New York Times) and Matthew Gurewitsch enlivened events with their discussions.

Clearly, music at the highest level was not lacking during my visit, but it should be noted that life here was by no means limited to that admirable discipline. Oregon is well known for its superb organic produce, locally made wine and micro-brewery beers. Any impartial observer would feel obligated to sample these wares in depth, and I did so with diligence.

My scientific survey concluded that one can eat and drink very well, indeed, here in charming outdoor cafes, woody pubs and elegant restaurants.

This is a university town, rather laid-back, so even the most refined and ambitious of these undertakings were relaxed and casual.

Staff, some of them students, are friendly to the point of garrulity, helpful and amusing. Even the taxi drivers are intensely interested in the festival and anxious to point out other attractions to fill the minimum free time available.

In that connection, this is the land of eco-tourism and white water rafting, available almost at will. During my visit, there was an extraordinary fair: Art and the Vineyard, including arts, crafts and a huge array of wine-tasting opportunities. The weekly outdoor markets, too, are fine, bursting with beautiful produce and taking credit cards!

During my stay, large groups of parents and their offspring were in town for a softball tournament, while the Eugene Emeralds (a Class A league baseball team) were in the midst of its annual summer series. The Eugene Pro Rodeo was on, as was the Oregon Country Fair, a drug- and alcohol-free counterculture shindig.

Unfortunately, the festival schedule made it impossible for me to catch these, but the idea was enticing.

Would I return to the Oregon Bach Festival? You bet I would, and for a longer stay next time. Bring on the overload, I say. Hit me again with incredible music and beautiful surroundings.

Festival tickets: Prices are reasonable, running from a top of $49 for the choral-orchestral concerts in 2,500-seat Silva Hall of the Hult Performing Arts Center down to $12 for the Composers Symposium in the intimate Beall Concert Hall on the university campus. Packages are available, and the Valley River Inn has special deals including concert tickets. To contact the festival, access www.oregonbachfestival.com, where you can order tickets with a credit card or call the box office at (541) 682-5000. (Whimsy abounds here, so they call this the "Bach's Office.") Although many events are heavily sold in advance, it seemed to me that there were last-minute seats available at most of the concerts I attended. There are free events, too, some of them including top talent in performance and discussion of festival repertoire and other matters.

Getting there: Eugene has a fine new airport, served by Delta and United airlines through Salt Lake City. From Sarasota, connections through Atlanta or Tampa are convenient. Oregon is in the Pacific time zone, three hours earlier than Sarasota.

Where to stay: I stayed at the Valley River Inn, rustic architecture wrapped around excellent high-tech services, on the banks of the Willamette River ($129 per day before taxes, breakfast not included, 800-543-5266). The restaurant, Sweetwaters, is excellent and quite trendy in its fusion menu. There is a Hilton downtown next to the performing arts center ($139 per day before taxes, breakfast not included, 800-445-8667) and many smaller inns, many of them furnished with antiques and fine art. All the usual national chain hotels and motels can be found too. The Convention and Visitors Association of Lane County can provide full information (800-547-5445), or look on the Web at www.cvalco.org.

Where to eat: To be honest, friends and I tended to return to the same superb place frequently: Cafe Zenon at 898 Pearl St. (503-343-3005). The young owners and chefs at Zenon have a way with fresh fish that is truly admirable, and the menu changes each day depending on the market. Prices are reasonable, at about $20 for entrées.

Just across the street, another place with outdoor dining, Ambrosia, offers an Italian menu, as does Beppe and Gianni's on 19th Avenue.

Another restaurant with a big emphasis on local produce and Pacific fish is Café Marche, in the Fifth Street Public Market, owned by some of the original partners in Zenon. Lunch on the flowered patio was excellent. Right across the street from the Hult Center, the 6th Street Grill serves good food based on local produce and a fascinating list of Oregon beers and wines. Near Beall Hall, just off the U of O campus, there are several pubs featuring a wide range of local micro-brew, including one stout called "Terminator," reputed to be thick enough to stand a spoon in.

Eugene is not a large city, although there is a confusing network of one-way streets that takes a bit of time to get used to, so it is possible to go from concert venue to hotel or restaurant with a minimum of bother. The downtown area has been well spruced-up with new landscaping, taking full advantage of Oregon's superb flowers and trees, rewarding the walker.