Making it Tick
Unearthing the uniqueness of the grassroots Buffalo concert series at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
The world knows violinist Pinchas Zukerman as a colorful musician. But he is a colorful talker, too. Buffalo found that out four years ago when Zukerman appeared on the Ramsi P. Tick Memorial Concert Series –a set of five intimate concerts that take place at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.
“We picked up Pinchas Zukerman at the airport, and he came off his private jet with his cape swirling,” says Phil Rehard, one of the Tick series’ organizers. “He kept saying, ‘What the #@($* is this –this church? What the @#$(*&?’”
Rehard loved the earthy enthusiasm that Zukerman, who returned to Buffalo later that year to perform for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2004 season-opening gala, exhibited for the Tick series. “He was into it in a big way,” he laughs.
The people who plan the Tick concerts are used to eliciting that kind of amazement, even if they’re not used to hearing it in those particular words. The grassroots Buffalo concert series is, as far as anyone can determine, unique.
With no corporate sponsorship or public funding, a group of Buffalo concertgoers get together every year and bring to town some of the world’s top classical music stars. By purchasing subscriptions in advance, listeners can see these musicians for far less than it would cost to see them in higher-profile venues, like Carnegie Hall. (Which is, incidentally, where Zukerman was headed, a matter of days after his Tick series appearance.)
Named for a former manager of the BPO who was also a tireless music fan, the series has been rolling now for six years. During that time, the volunteer organizers have bagged such big names as pianists Earl Wild, Emanuel Ax and Richard Goode; violinists Joshua Bell, Nikolaj Znaider and Midori; and guitarist Pepe Romero.
There have been a few memorable vocal recitals, too, including mezzo soprano Rinat Shaham and singing groups including Chanticleer, the Waverly Consort and Cantus. Surprises are sometimes in store. Earlier this year, the Tick series brought in the Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero, who played both Bach and jazz.
Just announced, the 2008-2009 Tick season strikes the usual artful balance between well-known names and buzzworthy up-and-comers.
The lineup for next year is:
• Oct. 1: Korean violinist Chee-Yun, considered by many to be the next big thing. She will be playing a 1708 Stradivarius on loan from Samsung.
• Oct. 28: Pianist Jeremy Denk, who played the Tick series before as accompanist to violinist Joshua Bell. Denk, a rising star in his own right, has a Web site, www.jeremydenk.net , where he blogs irreverently about music as well as his problems as a pianist and a single guy. • April 22, 2009: The Chatham Baroque, an ensemble that plays on period instruments, conjures up the magic of Bach’s era.
• May 1, 2009: Emmanuel Pahud, the storied first flutist of the Berlin Philharmonic, accompanied by harpsichord great Travor Pinnock.
• May 29, 2009: A rare recital by Israeli pianist Yefim Bronfman. The last time Bronfman was here was 15 years ago, with violinist Isaac Stern.
From Mozart to the mall
The Tick series gives Buffalo a chance to get an up-close-and-personal glimpse of artists who might not otherwise come to Buffalo for an intimate recital.
Once, when concertgoers were enjoying coffee in the church basement before show time, they could hear pianist Peter Serkin warming up, practicing Mozart in a back room.
When violinist Hilary Hahn arrived for her concert, she waived her practice time to go computer shopping at the Walden Galleria.
And Midori became one of the many artists who, to the organizers’ astonishment, have asked for bananas. “I don’t know why they always request those,” says one of the organizers, Peter Angelakos. “She wanted bananas –not too ripe, but not green, either.”
Angelakos pauses. “She was delightful.”
Holy Trinity Church is situated conveniently across the street from the Anchor Bar, a proximity that has led to legendary post-concert feasts.
Last fall, the Hungarian-born pianist Andras Schiff, an internationally renowned artist who, like Zukerman, had been snagged for a recital in Buffalo on his way to Carnegie Hall, kicked off the 2007-2008 season. Rehard and Angelakos picked him up at the airport. In the car, they were regaling Schiff with talk of Beethoven, who is a specialty of his.
Then Schiff interrupted. “Aren’t you famous for chicken wings?” he asked.
“Our eyes lit up,” Angelakos laughs.
Talk about a happy ending: After Schiff had played his Beethoven sonatas –No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 –for an appreciative crowd, the action shifted to the Anchor Bar. There, a blissful Schiff feasted on the tavern’s trademark treats, watched World Series baseball and drank in the Buffalo experience.
Sometimes, Tick concerts have an impact on the city’s musical scene. Emmanuel Ax, the afternoon of his appearance, detoured to the University at Buffalo and played a free noontime concert for music students.
And veteran virtuoso Earl Wild, who is now in his 90s and has retired from the concert stage, enjoyed his Buffalo visit so much that he subsequently made several recordings here.
Angelakos says that artists are always overwhelmed by the beauty of Holy Trinity, a small, historic church with beautiful statues of angels. When the violinist Joshua Bell came to town, his accompanist, Jeremy Denk, couldn’t wait for Bell’s reaction to the church and its acoustics.
“He said, ‘Joshua, wait till you hear this church!’ ” Angelakos recalls.
Subscriptions to the 2008-2009 Tick series are $185, which includes all five concerts. They are selling faster than usual. Rehard thinks that might be because the concerts begin at 7:30 p. m., an earlier hour than in the past, and the season has been reconfigured to avoid the bad-weather months.
It could be just that word is getting around.
For info on the Tick series, call 886-2400 or 866-6883.
