The Washington Square Music Festival@ St. Joseph’s Church

This was the first of the summer festivals and one can only hope the rest are as good. Starting traditionally with a Beethoven clarinet trio with Lutz Rath, on cello and David Oei on piano and Steven Hartman on clarinet. Then moving to a difficult Stravinsky concerto for piano and winds and finishing with an impossing new work for bass trombone and voice and winds, from David Taylor written just for the festival. Usually the concerts are in Washington Square, but this one benefitted from being in St. Josephs’ Church on 6th Ave. The Clarinet trio was beautifully played and sounded like a long time together group; they are not, bravo. The Concerto for Piano and Winds  is a daunting piece that Stravinsky wouldn’t let any one else conduct; what with changing time signatures a difficult sonic changes , but Lutz Rath tackled it with gusto and got a fine proformance . The David Taylor “Too Suite” was a show piece for his bass trombone,like a trombone only prettier, according to David. This was a roller coaster of sound from very soft to wild back and forth between the orchestra and the bass trombone and very effective. A real Washington Square show stopper to end a very entertaining and provocative concert.