San Diego Spotlight : Harpsichordist Believes in the Past and Present

Harpsichordist Mark Kroll was not surprised when ethnic strife erupted in Yugoslavia this year. Two years ago, when he was teaching there on a Fulbright artist-in-residence grant, his harpsichord was held hostage by feuding Serbs and Slovenes.

“I had been teaching in Ljubljana and went to give a recital in Belgrade. The harpsichord was supposed to be sent ahead to a Serbian colleague in Belgrade, but when I arrived, there was no harpsichord. We then learned that the instrument was sitting in a truck along the way, because the Slovenian truck driver would not deliver in Serbia. After some contorted negotiations, we finally hired a Macedonian truck driver to bring the harpsichord to Belgrade,” Kroll explained.

The Boston-based harpsichordist does not expect similar obstacles when he performs Sunday afternoon and Tuesday night at the La Jolla SummerFest. But, as a traveling harpsichordist, Kroll knows he always needs to be prepared for unexpected instrument problems.

“I always come with a bag of tools. I don’t want to complain, but harpsichords are frequently in need of regulation. They are much more sensitive than pianos. I’m also prepared to do my own tuning, if that’s necessary.”

According to Kroll, when he started performing 27 years ago, few places could offer a reliable harpsichord.

“You had to take your own instrument or you didn’t play. The situation has changed a great deal during my career, and now I expect a good, or at least a playable, harpsichord in most places. California is easy, because there are a lot of good harpsichords there. But if you’re in northern Montana, you’re in trouble.”

On Sunday’s 2 p.m. all-Baroque concert, Kroll will solo in C.P.E. Bach’s D Minor Harpsichord Concerto and in J. S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5. Baroque music is Kroll’s cup of tea: He has devoted much of his study of the instrument to authentic 18th-Century performance practice, he directs the Early Music Series at Boston University, and he serves as chairman of the university’s historical-performance department. But he is also a passionate advocate of 20th-Century music for the harpsichord.

“I’m as historical as you can get and almost always perform with period instrument players,” Kroll said. “But you have to remember that you’re living in 1991. The harpsichord died around 1880, and I believe that, if it just plays dead music, it will die again. The harpsichord has a great sound for contemporary music, and it’s essential for the health of the instrument.”

At 8 p.m. Tuesday at La Jolla’s Sherwood Auditorium, Kroll will perform Manuel de Falla’s Concerto for Harpsichord, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Violin and Cello. Kroll described the concerto, which De Falla wrote in 1926 for noted harpsichordist Wanda Landowska, as one of the landmark 20th-Century works for harpsichord.

“The reason it works so well is that, when De Falla was composing the concerto, he worked with Landowska and sat side by side with her at the harpsichord.”

Kroll has just recorded, for Decca, De Falla’s other harpsichord opus, “El Retablo de Maese Pedro,” with the Montreal Symphony under Charles Dutoit. The compact disc is due to be released this fall.

Kroll recited a long list of 20th-Century composers--from Francis Poulenc and Frederick Delius to Elliott Carter, Luciano Berio, Gyorgy Ligeti and Ellen Zwillich--who have written successful pieces for his chosen instrument. Anxious to keep the list growing, Kroll has done a bit of commissioning himself. When he does, he coaches the composer on the harpsichord’s musical potential.

“I have them sit with me while I play, to realize what the instrument can do. Dynamics and colors, for example, are basically achieved by layering and articulation, since the harpsichord cannot play loud and soft like the piano. And I tell them not to depend too much on changes in registration, which is not standard.”

Fondly remembered. Members of the San Diego Opera company and loyal patrons mourn the passing last Saturday of baritone Harlan Foss. The 50-year-old singer appeared in 18 productions with the local company. Not one to sing title roles, he nevertheless excelled in a wide variety of roles, from Baron Duphol in “La Traviata “ and Yamadori in “Madama Butterfly” to the Vicar in Britten’s “Albert Herring.”

“Harlan was primarily a company singer in whatever company he worked,” said San Diego Opera general director Ian Campbell. “He was totally devoted to the audience, a singer who was a good friend, not just an artist. He had a host of friends here in the city--sometimes it was hard to get him to rehearsals because they vied for his time. He always left a part of himself with the company, and that’s not as common as we would like to see in this business.”

Foss was scheduled to sing Njegas in the 1992 San Diego Opera production of Lehar’s “The Merry Widow.” Foss died of colon cancer in North Myrtle Beach, S. C.

Kenner on the tube. Pianist Kevin Kenner will appear in the KPBS-TV (Chanel 15) documentary “IX International Tchaikovsky Competition,” which will be broadcast locally Aug. 30 at 9 p.m. Kenner, who won the contest’s bronze medal, will be featured in an interview following the documentary. In the 30-minute piece (airing at 10:30 p.m.), the Coronado native discusses his experience with this and other competitions with KPBS’s Dan Erwine and San Diego Symphony executive director Wesley Brustad.