PACKED HOUSE IN PAONIA FOR “FEAST”

Friday night, 10 February was frigid, in the single digits. In spite of the cold, once again, the Western Slope Chamber Music Series filled the Blue Sage Center for the Arts in Paonia. This time it was to hear the western slope’s own chamber, fusion, Celtic, eclectic group called “Feast”. Feast is Katherine (Catie) Mientka (keyboards), Tyme Mientka (acoustic and electrified cello), Hubert Pralitz (violin and electric fiddle) and David Alderdice (percussion and drum set). The program was a hybrid. The first half comprised traditional classical trios, duos, and solos for violin, cello, and piano. The second half, with the whole band on electric/amplified instruments, was a mixture of Celtic music (fiery and soulful from Ireland and Scotland), American folk (hot fiddle tunes from Mark O’Connor) and gypsy passion (variations on Carmen by Franz Waxman).

From the very first number the crowd was Feast’s captive. The performance was witty with moments of roaring laughter. The first part was crowned with soaring violin and cello. Even a broken A-string on the violin did not stop them nor distract the crowd. In the classical portion the mood varied from the deep, often dark, melancholy of Bedrich Smetana to the pyrotechnics of the “rock star” of his day, violinist and composer Nicolo Paganini. “You are allowed to laugh,” quipped Pralitz in the middle of Paganini’s “Nel Cor Piu Non Mi Sento” – a violently funny and incredibly difficult bowing extravaganza that had the audience in alternate stitches of laughter and gasps of awe. The second half of the performance “... was like chamber music’s Mannheim Steamroller, great taste, wow!” opined Mike Wiley a local cellist.

David Sheppard, a local jazz guitarist, summarized it this way. “It should be quite enough that the Mientkas and Alderdice always turn out in an excellent performance. But this time, the addition of violinist Hubert Pralitz, with world class power and delicacy serving up a range of bowing, plucking, pulloffs and harmonic technical fireworks that can only be ascribed to a handful of contemporary performers, made for an extraordinary evening.” A lapsed violinist, who did not want to be identified, concluded, “Flash and dash, incredible. I don’t know whether to shoot my violin or put new strings on it.”

Feast comes together with tested strengths. As the classical Mientka Duo, Tyme and Catie performed internationally to critical acclaim in Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, and the USA. Their debut at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. received a standing ovation. They have been featured frequently on NPR's "Performance Today". Both Tyme and Catie have Master’s Degrees in Music Performance. The Mientka Duo holds many honors and awards, including a special prize at the Concours International De Musique De Chambre in Paris. Hubert Pralitz is renowned for flawless technique and an unerringly brilliant musical sensitivity. He has won many international competitions, and holds a long list of distinguished awards. He has performed for heads-of-state of Israel, France, Poland, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru, as well as Pope John Paul II. He has collaborated with many musical stars including Leonard Bernstein, Herbert von Karajan, Krzysztof Penderecki, Witold Lutoslawski, Lorin Maazel. Pralitz studied at the National Superior Conservatory of Music in Paris, and graduated with highest honors, receiving Master’s of Music degree, from the famous “Mozarteum” in Salzburg. David Alderdice was introduced to the violin through the Suzuki method at age 5, then switched to percussion and rhythm at age 10. His formal music study focused on applying the musical aesthetics, concepts, and principles, with mysticism, to his musical performances. He was first call drummer for IAR Records, and is first call drummer for Thirdstream Records, with over a dozen recordings. His expertise includes funk, rock, jazz, and world-beat, with a high interest in jazz and ethno-musicology. Highlight performances include the Kennedy Center, the Romanian Embassy, and the Blues Alley Jazz Club.

Feast was born from an urge of the Mientka Duo (Tyme and Catie) to perform in different kinds of venues. They met Dave here in the North Fork Valley, and a group was born. Then came the violin. At first they called it “Nova Mientka”. Then came a name change. As Catie tells it, “I woke up one morning after a dream-filled sleep and knew we had to call the group ‘Feast’ ”. When asked “why?”, she could only offer “I just knew.” And a “feast” they provide.

Incendio Review 2007