Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Turetzky's tango experience in Little Italy

The "Godfather" of San Diego contrabass, Bert Turetzky played at 98 Bottles last night, with his chamber ensemble featuring wife Nancy Turetzky on flutes, Alyze Dreiling Hammer on violin, Francesca Savage on viola, and Lorie Kirkell on cello, playing the music of tango master Astor Piazzolla.

Turetzky has always loved chamber ensembles, because they play "What they love to play, as opposed to orchestra work, where somebody else tells you what to play," said the bassist during a moment between pieces.

Turetzky wrote the book on contrabass virtuosity...literally. His 1974 treatise on extended bass technique "The Contemporary Contrabass," remains the definitive compendium on the subject. With all of his virtuosic experience, Turetzky still enjoys playing music that doesn't feature the bass in a primary role. He seems to have no ego in that regard--rather, he plays music that he wants to hear.

To that end, Turetzky led off the evening with a too short bass intro to "Libertango," soon dropping back to pedal the tango heartbeat of 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2, while the flute and violin laced an interwoven theme over the interlocking patterns of the bass, cello and viola.

Turetzky told stories about Piazzolla between numbers, always filled with funny insights and inside information which served as a reminder that he is also a noted music historian. This cat is more informative than Wikipedia, and twice as entertaining.

"Novi Tango," was next, and once again, violin and flute outlined the melody, this time, supported by a kind of modal harmonizing from cello and viola.

Piazolla's "Oblivion," followed. It's one of the composer's most cherished pieces, and it's easy to see why. It's got a gorgeous, almost heartbreaking melody--and when the strings and flute wound their way through it--one could imagine the slow, romantic choreography of star-crossed lovers.

Other highlights included the lush harmonies of "Milanga del Angel," and "Resurrection," a piece that showcased the delicious vibrato of cellist Kirkell, who's perfectly pitched glissandi deserved special recognition.

Each member of the ensemble got their chance to shine, and all of them have a sumptuous acoustic tone which they blended together without benefit of microphones. 98 Bottles has made some sound improvements to the room, (heavy curtains along the intersecting cinder- block walls) and the air conditioning was turned off, which aided the presentation of this delicate music immensely.

After a short intermission, the ensemble returned with "Undertango," which pulsed forward on the strength of Turetzky's bowed quarter-notes, supporting a theme that was cinematic in nature. The episodic melodic variations were perhaps evocative of the sites that might flash by your eyes on the subway--long stretches of light and shadow.

The flute and cello alternated soaring melodies over dark string textures, cutting right though the winter air on the composer's "Andante In A Minor," and Piazzolla's admiration of Bela Bartok was apparent in the spiky harmonies and dissonant glissandi of "Fuga," an intense exploration of darker emotions.

Turetzky told me some months ago that his goal in bringing chamber music downtown was simple: "play some beautiful music."

Mission accomplished.

Photos by Tom Harten

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

City Lights: Journey Through Light & Sound, Hotel Holiday Tea Service

Events December 7-December 11, 2024
Next Article

Remote work = cleaner air for San Diego

Locals working from home went from 8.1 percent to 17.8 percent

The "Godfather" of San Diego contrabass, Bert Turetzky played at 98 Bottles last night, with his chamber ensemble featuring wife Nancy Turetzky on flutes, Alyze Dreiling Hammer on violin, Francesca Savage on viola, and Lorie Kirkell on cello, playing the music of tango master Astor Piazzolla.

Turetzky has always loved chamber ensembles, because they play "What they love to play, as opposed to orchestra work, where somebody else tells you what to play," said the bassist during a moment between pieces.

Turetzky wrote the book on contrabass virtuosity...literally. His 1974 treatise on extended bass technique "The Contemporary Contrabass," remains the definitive compendium on the subject. With all of his virtuosic experience, Turetzky still enjoys playing music that doesn't feature the bass in a primary role. He seems to have no ego in that regard--rather, he plays music that he wants to hear.

To that end, Turetzky led off the evening with a too short bass intro to "Libertango," soon dropping back to pedal the tango heartbeat of 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2, while the flute and violin laced an interwoven theme over the interlocking patterns of the bass, cello and viola.

Turetzky told stories about Piazzolla between numbers, always filled with funny insights and inside information which served as a reminder that he is also a noted music historian. This cat is more informative than Wikipedia, and twice as entertaining.

"Novi Tango," was next, and once again, violin and flute outlined the melody, this time, supported by a kind of modal harmonizing from cello and viola.

Piazolla's "Oblivion," followed. It's one of the composer's most cherished pieces, and it's easy to see why. It's got a gorgeous, almost heartbreaking melody--and when the strings and flute wound their way through it--one could imagine the slow, romantic choreography of star-crossed lovers.

Other highlights included the lush harmonies of "Milanga del Angel," and "Resurrection," a piece that showcased the delicious vibrato of cellist Kirkell, who's perfectly pitched glissandi deserved special recognition.

Each member of the ensemble got their chance to shine, and all of them have a sumptuous acoustic tone which they blended together without benefit of microphones. 98 Bottles has made some sound improvements to the room, (heavy curtains along the intersecting cinder- block walls) and the air conditioning was turned off, which aided the presentation of this delicate music immensely.

After a short intermission, the ensemble returned with "Undertango," which pulsed forward on the strength of Turetzky's bowed quarter-notes, supporting a theme that was cinematic in nature. The episodic melodic variations were perhaps evocative of the sites that might flash by your eyes on the subway--long stretches of light and shadow.

The flute and cello alternated soaring melodies over dark string textures, cutting right though the winter air on the composer's "Andante In A Minor," and Piazzolla's admiration of Bela Bartok was apparent in the spiky harmonies and dissonant glissandi of "Fuga," an intense exploration of darker emotions.

Turetzky told me some months ago that his goal in bringing chamber music downtown was simple: "play some beautiful music."

Mission accomplished.

Photos by Tom Harten

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

"Inspiraling" Bi-Coastal Concert @ UCSD

Next Article

Mark Dresser: six bass hit!

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader