›› MUSIC
There’s always room for cello Marin Symphony to Dvorak and conquer with Zuill Bailey by G r e g Cahill
“I
t’s very interesting that if you walk has slipped into the musical mainstream— into any of these historic musicians’ Brahms’ popular “Lullaby” closes the new homes, like the home of [cellist] Bailey CD. Janos Starker and so forth, there’s always a Bailey will perform an all-Brahms picture of Brahms on the wall,” says classical chamber-music program May 2 at Yoshi’s music star Zuill Bailey, who has a hit record- nightclub in San Francisco. ing of works by Johannes Brahms for cello And while Brahms will be on the proand piano. gram when Bailey joins “I have one on my wall, the Marin Symphony this too—it’s the one you see week (Brahms Symphony COMING SOON on the back jacket of the No. 1), the star cellist will Zuill Bailey performs May CD as he is overlooking be sitting that number out. 1 and 3 at 7:30pm with the [pianist] Awadagin [Pratt] He’ll need the rest— Marin Symphony at the and myself. he’ll be performing DvoMarin Center in San Rafael. “He’s one of those rak’s epic Cello Concerto, a Tickets are $29-$70. composers who really just considerable workout. 415/499-6800. brings it out.” “The Dvorak is the It’s been 114 years since torch, the greatest thing the death of Brahms, who we have for cello and brought the Romantic era to its zenith, and orchestra,” says Bailey during an interview the music of this German composer continfrom his home in El Paso, where he works ues to captivate not only classical audiences, as a cello professor at the University of Texas but those for whom his music has become and serves as music director of the El Paso the soundtrack of the modern world. Pro Musica Chamber Music Festival. He In fact, Bailey points out, Brahms is one first performed the Dvorak concerto in 1987 of the few classical composers whose music and recently recorded it in concert with the
Indianapolis Symphony for an upcoming CD. “It is the gala event. It’s the most celebrated piece in all of the cello literature and one of the most celebrated concertos for any instrument. It really gives everyone [in the orchestra] a moment to shine. It is a great symphony with a wonderful cello feature in it, so the conductor is creating this wonderful sound world and guiding solo French horn, solo flute, solo viola and solo oboe; the concertmaster has a solo, the cello section gets a chance to shine, and that’s before the cello soloist even comes in.” And then there’s the emotional sweep. “Dvorak wrote that piece under duress—he was venting out of his system a lot of emotion at a time in his life when at the Cellist Zuill Bailey doesn’t fret the small stuff. height of his powers the longtime love of his life was dying,” he says. “He started rewriting the work to weave in the tunes, the songs, that they shared. The end is very much a kind of dying sequence, but also an ascension into heaven. And the whole first movement is just a triumphant charge forward in celebration. It has everything in it. “If you don’t know any of that [background], for an audience member, it’s still a tremendous experience. But if you know that background, you understand that it’s a different experience each time the performers play it. “You walk out and you sit down and there’s so much inspiration and so many different avenues one can go as a player that you really go with the moment and let that vibe lead you.” And how does Bailey feel at the end of the performance? “It’s different each time,” he says. “I feel exhilarated. I feel completely pummeled because of what we’ve just done. I feel elated because you’ve lived a life, you’ve lived a whole experience through this work, and you’ve shared it with a massive group of people. “Every time I play it, I hear and see and feel something I’ve never experienced in that piece before. And every time I finish, I can’t wait to do it again.” < String Greg along at gcahill51@gmail.com. Tune up to the Marin music scene at
›› pacificsun.com/music APRIL 29 - MAY 5, 2011 PACIFIC SUN 17