Meg Cotner

What a delight it is to listen to a recording like Nathanial Mander’s The 18th Century French Salon and get lost in the magnificence of this glorious musique de clavecin.

This summer I have had the pleasure to listen to two recent recordings of Domenico Scarlatti’s keyboard sonatas, one by Pierre Hantaï and the other by Richard Lester.

​Last year, the Rocky Butte Farmers Market held two very successful pop-up markets, and this year we’ve expanded to five monthly markets, thanks to a groundswell of community support. The markets will take place on the first Saturday of each month from June to October 2020, and will run from 9am to 1pm each day.

Our first set of recitals for the new decade and year 2020 featured Korean pianist Dasol Kim. He gave two very moving programs that included notable terminal works for a couple of composers. It seemed like there was a lot of calm energy in the room as people filed in to get their seats, but that didn’t last for long, as we were presented with a number of opportunities to cheer and applaud Dasol’s beautiful playing.

Corvallis-based El Palenque Mexican Restaurant and Cantina is opening in the location of the shuttered The Original Taco House on 82nd Avenue. A liquor license application was the first clue (thanks to a tip on Facebook) of their impending arrival, and a little research confirmed the relationship of this El Palenque with the Corvallis location.

News and views from the Western Early Keyboard Association, December 2019.

The second set of recitals of the 2019 / 2020 Portland Piano International SOLO featured performances by NYC-based Israeli-American pianist Inon Barnatan.

Music-loving Portlanders filled the pews at The Old Church Concert Hall for a noontime recital of riveting piano playing by young Georgian pianist Natalia Kazaryan.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the 10th Annual Portland Fermentation Festival AKA Stinkfest. Sure, it was aromatic in there (Ecotrust’s Billy Frank Jr. Conference Center) but not offensively so (at least to my nose).

On Saturday, October 13 at 2pm, the Western Early Keyboard Association had the pleasure of welcoming harpsichordist Barbara Baird to Portland for a recital of music by 18th century women composers.

Portland Piano International is thrilled to announce that renowned Canadian pianist and composer Marc-André Hamelin will curate Portland Piano International’s 2019 / 2020 SOLO season!

On Tuesday, April 17, 2017, Symrise led a private roundtable discussion in Portland, Oregon with a select group of 2018 StarChefs Portland Rising Stars. Symrise’s VP of Marketing, Emmanuel Laroche, led the session, asking the panel a variety of questions that resulted in a convivial discussion on a variety of issues and topics.

On Tuesday, April 17, 2018, Symrise led a private roundtable discussion in Portland, Oregon with a select group of 2018 StarChefs Portland Rising Stars. Symrise’s VP of Marketing, Emmanuel Laroche, led the session, asking the panel a variety of questions, and one subject that was particularly interesting and robust was the topic of innovation — along with creativity and handling tradition — in their work.

Portland Piano International opened its 2018-19 season on the weekend of October 6 and 7 with recitals by Russian-American pianist Olga Kern. She gained attention in 2001 during her historic Gold Medal win that year at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas; she was the first woman to do so in more than thirty years.

From pour-over to loaded espresso drinks.