Orchestra Moderne NYC: Women Warriors: The Voices of Change in Review

Orchestra Moderne NYC: Women Warriors: The Voices of Change in Review

Amy Andersson, Founder and Music Director
Composers: Nathalie Bonin, Miriam Cutler, Anne-Kathrin Dern, Sharon Farber, Mandy Hoffman, Penka Kouneva, Starr Parodi, and Lolita Ritmanis
Guest performers: Sonita Alizadeh, Isolde Fair, Nathalie Bonin, Gillian Hassert, Riga Cathedral Girls’ Choir TIARA, The Visionary Singers
Honorary speaker: Masih Alinejad
Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, NY
September  20, 2019

Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall was the venue for Orchestra Moderne NYC’s Women Warriors: The Voices of Change, a multimedia symphony concert celebrating women activists who are fighting for social justice. I’m certain the hall and the date had to be secured at least a year ago or more, but it seemed eerily apposite that this thrilling, innovative orchestral concert was given on the day that millions of people, many of them schoolchildren, called a “climate strike” in protest of the political inaction on an issue that threatens the very host we all rely on: Earth.

Any fears I had about the event being more “agenda” than “art” were quickly allayed by two things: the quality of the performances, and the sheer emotional power of the coordinating images. How many times do you get to witness an Afghan young girl, exiled to Iran, who has been sold into marriage twice (age 10 and 16), and is now a rapper?

I wish one event like this could move the hearts of those whose hearts need moving, but alas, humans never seem to learn. All the issues on this powerful affirmation of women’s strengths are still, sadly, pertinent and unsolved. Basic freedom, AIDS/HIV, LGBTQ rights, war/peace, religious clothing requirements, climate change, clean water, child brides, police overreach, gun violence, sexual assault, reproductive choice.

This made for an evening that would have been hard to take were it not for the superlative assembly of much-awarded women composers for film, television, and even video games. Add to that a well-curated visual screen behind the performers, with documentary stills and moving footage of historic women’s rights figures and current events.

This concert event should be required viewing at the U.N. general assembly that begins in New York on Monday; and it should be done in every high school and college domestically and worldwide.

The concert was divided into “chapters,” each dealing with a different social issue. I understand that Amy Andersson, the founder and music director of the Orchestra Moderne NYC, worked on realizing the concept for two years. Those are two well-spent years. The number of world premieres in one event was stunning.

For way too long, the female element has been marginalized: composers, conductors, performers (except perhaps in opera) have not been represented with the same privilege as their male counterparts, and it continues. But events like this go a long way toward redressing that. May there be many more.

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Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) Artist Series presents Lela Kaplowitz in Review

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) Artist Series presents Lela Kaplowitz in Review

Lela Kaplowitz, jazz vocalist
Joe Kaplowitz, piano; Lucia Kaplowitz, violin; Mat Muntz, double bass; Gary Fritz, percussion
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
September 19, 2019

Croatian-born jazz singer/songwriter Lela Kaplowitz gave a largely entertaining, always sincere, concert on Thursday night. It was essentially a live performance of her latest CD, titled To One. She was backed by a four-piece ensemble that included her husband Joe Kaplowitz (an excellent jazz pianist), daughter  Lucia Kaplowitz(violin, and vocal and beatbox contributions), and two other fine musicians, double bassist Mat Muntz, and percussionist Gary Fritz.

For my taste, in this idiom, the vocals could have used a microphone, for Ms. Kaplowitz threatened to be swallowed up by her small backup team. A CD can be engineered so that these issues go away, but a live performance has its own rules.

That being said, I wish I could convince my classical singers to have the physical freedom Ms. Kaplowitz exhibited, as well as her joyful charisma. This made her message, a sort of “new-age” jazz effusion, much more compelling.

The lyrics were somewhat cliché, although the universality of them could not be gainsaid. Ms. Kaplowitz wishes to create a musical experience that will be elevating for all listeners, with music as a positive, vibrating force. I agree with the thesis, but I did not find the comparisons with the “great singer-songwriter era of the 1970s” as stated in her manifesto. No matter, she absolutely portrayed her own personal vitality with her engaging stage presence.

Seven of the selections were arranged to coordinate with the seven chakras, or spiritual energy centers of the body, according to ancient Hindu texts. They contain healing energy and can be unblocked for greater vitality in life.

Clearly, Ms. Kaplowitz believes in this life force, and her personal radiance went a long way toward redeeming the sameness of some of the material. She also generously gave solos to each member of her ensemble, all of whom were wonderful.

I would like to hear Ms. Kaplowitz again in covers  of more standard jazz perhaps from the American songbook, or Croatian songbook. Now that would be something unusual!

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Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents¡Buena Onda! Music from South America in Review

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents¡Buena Onda! Music from South America in Review

María Guinand, guest Conductor; Martín Palmeri, composer/conductor; Saul Zaks, guest conductor; Alberto Grau, DCINY Composer-in-Residence
Carla Filipcic Holm, soprano; Kirsten Allegri Williams, mezzo-soprano; Shawn Mlynek, tenor; André Chiang, baritone
Daniel Binelli, Bandoneón
Distinguished Concerts Orchestra and Distinguished Concerts Singers International
Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium, New York, NY
June 23, 2019

 

There certainly was plenty of buena onda (good vibes) in DCINY’s final offering of the season, another typically well-sung, perhaps overly generous, program of massed choirs. The vibes were provided by two distinguished Venezuelans: Alberto Grau (born in Spain) and María Guinand; and two eminent Argentinians: Martín Palmeri and Saul Zaks. The international contingent was particularly varied, with Netherlands, Brazil, Argentina, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Hong Kong, France, United Kingdom, and Russia represented. In fact, the only flaw I could find in this afternoon of music was in myself, a certain cultural distance that caused me to give myself a few sermons (silently) during it.

 

Whatever shortcomings Venezuela may have as a nation-state at the moment, they have certainly mastered bringing a healthy, fun relationship to music into the lives of children, mainly through the seemingly miraculous educational method called El Sistema, which has produced, notably, Gustavo Dudamel, and many others. Both Mr. Grau and Ms. Guinand are veteran musician-teachers within the system.

 

Mr. Grau’s music incorporates bodily movements (often called eurhythmics) to go along with the rather simple folk and childlike tunes he employs. The Cinco Canciones Infantiles is a reworking of music about El San Pedro (Saint Peter), whose festival parranda takes place on 29 June. A few centuries ago, in joyful thanks from a slave mother whose daughter was cured of a severe fever through prayer, she promised to honor the saint with song and dance. The choir was called upon to whoosh, clap, and otherwise move rhythmically, which they did with unflagging enthusiasm. Solo groups taken from the larger choir sang with assurance. Their leader, Ms. Guinand, led the proceedings with a very holistic atmosphere; how lucky these young musicians are to be exposed to such a master. She elicited myriad colors and real, subtle diminuendos from the choir.

 

The same forces stayed in position to render Mr. Grau’s Opereta Ecológico, in which four natural things: wind, river, sea, and tree, all extol their own value in poetic lines. His style is consistent- more eurhythmics and good humor. At a time when the earth’s very future habitability is being called into question, these little sermons are more relevant than ever.

 

A pause was needed to change out the children’s choir for adults and prepare for Martín Palmeri’s first offering, the celebrated Misatango. As I mentioned in my review of his Tango Credo (April 30, 2017), the tango, a sublimated erotic ritual dance involving great contrasts of attraction and repulsion, seems a “wrong fit” for the Catholic Mass. That’s where one of those “self-sermons” came in for me: I realized that the Baroque excesses of Bach and the high-Classical operatic styles of Haydn and Mozart were also once considered “inappropriate” music for worship, as compared with the sobriety of Palestrina’s counterpoint. So, time moves on, and it’s best to be flexible about such matters!

 

Carla Filipcic Holm, a large-voiced soprano (but one with control and shadings) has long been associated with this composer and work, and she delivered beautifully, as did bandoneón player Daniel Binelli. The feeling and sabor were perfect.

 

After intermission, Mr. Palmeri presented (from the keyboard as he had done in the Misatango) the other four newly-composed movements of his Gran Misa, again in full tango style—the conductor was the excellent Saul Zaks. (Credo and Gloria have been performed before.) Oboe and trumpet (instruments not shunned by Bach, but not customarily found in tango bands) were given pride of place. Mr. Palmeri’s orchestration is ingenious and interesting, and the choral work was very good. If performed in its entirety, all six movements would form a nearly two-hour work. Two hours of tangos is a lot for me- I do apologize for my limitation, I certainly need an Argentine immersion experience! All the soloists (Ms.Holm, Kirsten Allegri Williams, Shawn Mlynek, and André Chiang) were excellent, and the large supportive audience went wild with their admiration, and why wouldn’t they?

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Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Calling All Dawns in Review

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Calling All Dawns in Review

Swiss Gospel Singers & Friends
Christer Løvold, Director, Piano
Jonathan Griffith, DCINY Artistic Director and Principal Conductor
Christopher Tin, Composer/Conductor
Distinguished Concerts Orchestra
Distinguished Concerts Singers International
Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium, New York, NY
June 9, 2019

 

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) curated another typically (over-)generous program of choral music, and most of it was very well done. If I were to re-title the afternoon, it would have to be something like “The Victory of Globalism.” The massed choirs were even more international than usual, with Germany, Hungary, Switzerland, France, and Trinidad & Tobago, as well as the domestic participants. All told, somewhere north of 500 singers participated.

Swiss Gospel Singers are three words one doesn’t anticipate seeing in succession, and never did I think I would be hearing and reviewing such a group. Nevertheless, the choir of about 100, composed of four separate choirs all directed by Christer Løvold, was well-trained and their ensemble was good. Four of the ten selections seemed to exemplify the best of what I expect when the word “gospel” is used, that is, a certain ecstatic worship fervor and a genuine sense of swing. Those four were: The Sweetest Song I Know, To My Father’s House, Kyrie, and Will The Circle Be Unbroken? However, the choir was often nearly drowned out (something that rarely happens at a DCINY event) by the amplified small jazzy instrumental ensemble that accompanied them. Well-done solos, both instrumental and vocal, were conveyed by some of these same players. The other selections made a somewhat anodyne impression.

After a reset to orchestra and massed chorus, Robert Ray’s Gospel Mass delivered on its promise of combining the Catholic Ordinary of the regular mass with the aforementioned ecstatic enthusiasms of true gospel. Hard to believe, but when this work was composed, just over 40 years ago, it was intended as an experiment, for one performance only! Its longevity is a testament to its quality. Jonathan Griffith helmed the group with his trademark excellence, bringing out every thrilling detail—no balance issues here. Vanessa Thomas was the super soloist.

After intermission, it was Christopher Tin’s turn to lead his massive, truly global song cycle Calling All Dawns, which gave its name to the entire concert. Mr. Tin is a two-time Grammy winner whose music has been performed in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Hollywood Bowl, among others. His song Baba Yetu, originally written for the video game Civilization IV, holds the distinction of being the first piece of music written for a video game ever to win a Grammy Award. Mr. Tin’s Calling All Dawns won him his second Grammy in 2011 for Best Classical Crossover. He also composed the opening song from the recent hit movie Crazy Rich Asians.

Calling All Dawns is so vast in scope and conception, it is hard to convey in words. Multiple languages are sung, and vocal soloists range from traditional “western” oratorio singers to Portuguese fadistas, Indian classical vocalists, and Maori chanters! The cycle is divided into three sections: Day, Night, and Dawn, each with prayers for the three stages of life: birth, death, and rebirth. Joy, mystery, and hardship, as Mr. Tin states in his excellent, brief note, all mirror the complicated nature of human beings. The work ends in triumph, however, after all the darker challenges, new life wins. “Life is always right/And I do not fear mine/Whatever comes, let it come” and “I do not fear life/Nor its counterpoint/Whatever comes, let it come” were very inspiring moments, as well as the line “Gather, gather and go forward!” A beautiful affirmation for a June day, indeed.

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Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Immortal Invisible: The Music of Pepper Choplin and Mary McDonald in Review

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Immortal Invisible: The Music of Pepper Choplin and Mary McDonald in Review

Jonathan Griffith, DCINY Artistic Director and Principal Conductor
Miran Vaupotić, guest conductor; Dimitry Ishkanov, piano
Mary McDonald, DCINY Composer-in-Residence and piano
Pepper Choplin, composer/conductor
Distinguished Concerts Orchestra; Distinguished Concerts Singers International
Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium, New York, NY
May 26, 2019

 

The Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) Memorial Day weekend extravaganza continued on May 26, 2019, with a generous helping of inspirational patriotic and sacred choral music, preceded by a Beethoven piano concerto. After all, if you can’t be shamelessly inspirational on Memorial weekend, when can you? The concert raised an interesting question for me: What is the difference between patriotic fervor and religious fervor? Are they really almost the same?

The program began with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto “No. 2.” in B-Flat major (it was actually composed before “No 1.”), played by the Russian born fourteen-year-old Dmitry Ishkhanov. He took the stage looking a lot younger and smaller than fourteen, but his musical wisdom was tender and lyrical, very satisfyingly mature indeed. Conductor Miran Vaupotić drew scrupulously phrased playing from the reliably excellent DCINY Orchestra, attentive to every dissonance and resolution, as was the soloist. Mr. Ishkhanov played with beautiful line, enthusiasm, and some imaginative ideas tending toward the introspective, which I greatly appreciated. His tempi were brisk, as I imagine a young Beethoven would have dispatched them, yet never garbled. His physical involvement during the orchestral tutti, when he wasn’t playing, was a joy to watch.. And what a polyphonic player he revealed himself to be, particularly in the clearly voiced cadenza to the first movement. Soloist and orchestra gave the sense that they were really “talking” to each other. He highlighted the rhythmic high jinks in the third movement (trochaic vs. iambic) in the way that all the best players do. I look forward to hearing how all his immense talents develop. He favored the wildly enthusiastic audience with a solo encore: Gershwin’s Prelude No. 3, which though showy, lacked a bit of the jazzy “swing” so crucial to the style.

After a pause, about half of the twenty-four church choirs from across the country (and one from Canada) took the stage, with the orchestra, and Mary McDonald, the composer of the set, serving as pianist, while the co-founder of DCINY, Jonathan Griffith, conducted. Her selections were on the patriotic side, with a great deal of climactic fanfares and a tendency to be “grand,” with snare drum and cymbals providing military evocations. Even if there was a sameness to everything, Maestro Griffith managed to draw thrilling fortes from his choir, both in Ms. McDonald’s original works and her arrangements of traditional material. Some of the works were played attacca, which created the feeling of a mini-suite. For me, the standouts were America (O beautiful for spacious skies) and Let There Be Peace on Earth, which I learned was written in 1955 (I always thought it was earlier). What a fitting tribute to the men and women who are placed in harm’s way every day to protect our freedoms.

After intermission, Pepper Choplin conducted a large sampling of his accessible, extremely effective sacred music with the other half of the choirs, perhaps given extra fervor by the fact that they are, in fact, church choirs. If there was more variety in Mr. Choplin’s group, I attribute it to the huge and varied nature of worship topics. Seven soloists, drawn from the choir, all contributed their bits with confidence: Corinne Rhodes, Lorna K. Jones, Gail Beckman, Melissa Owens, Sara Clarkson, Vanessa Crinell, and Bruce Ewing. They won’t soon forget the feeling of singing solo in Carnegie Hall! Mr. Choplin also drew wonderful shadings from his choir, and the DCINY orchestra again proved their mettle. However, I found the two a cappella selections: Sweet Are the Prayers of a Friend, and Let All the People Say “Amen” to be the most exciting, for one could really hear the superb work of the choir.

 

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Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Vocal Colors in Review

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Vocal Colors in Review

Alexander L’Estrange, composer/conductor
Joanna Forbes L’Estrange, soprano; Ges Ray, bass; Musicians from DCOrchestra; Distinguished Concerts Singers International
Matthew Melendez, conductor
John Muehlheisen, DCINY Composer-in-Residence
Tess Altiveros, soprano; Great Bend Chorale (WA)
The Newtown High School Wind Ensemble (CT), Kurt Eckhardt, director
Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium, New York, NY
May 24, 2019

 

A diverse and entertaining program presented by Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) entitled Vocal Colors took place in Carnegie Hall’s main auditorium on May 24, 2019, as most New Yorkers were clogging area roads in the annual Memorial Day getaway race. The truly international forces (a choir from Vietnam was among the participants) were well-prepared , and enthusiastic as ever .

The evening began with one of Alexander L’Estrange’s many large-scale cantatas, designed to bring music participation into the lives of children in as accessible a way as possible. This one, Zimbe! Come, sing the songs of Africa!, has been celebrating some of the folk materials of Africa for ten years now. Fourteen sections run the gamut of religion, play, lullaby, wedding, drinking, funeral, and protest songs. Mr. L’Estrange’s skill lies in providing simple unison melodic material for the younger voices, with more intricate harmonies supplied by older (sometimes professional) voices. Backed by a five-piece jazz ensemble, the music had great swing, and Mr. L’Estrange himself is a very kinetic conductor, with obvious great positive energy directed to his forces. Soprano Joanna Forbes L’Estrange (Mr. L’Estrange’s wife) provided some joyful solos.

After a brief pause, the Great Bend Chorale from Washington took the stage, along with a five-piece string group, piano, and the excellent soprano soloist Tess Altiveros to present two works, Andrey Stolyarov’s take on Out of the Depths, (De profundis, Psalm 130); and the world premiere of a DCINY commission, John Muelheisen’s politically relevant work Borders.

Mr. Stolyarov notes that his work arose out of an immense recent family tragedy, and indeed the mood was appropriately somber, with long pedal points from the double bass. The overall feeling was rather static, perhaps a representation of emotions frozen in shock. Although it is quite difficult to achieve, I never heard the final “s” on the word “depths” from either choir or soloist, leaving one to understand “out of the depth.”

The theme of how we treat strangers, never more crucial than at this moment, formed the arching unifier of Mr. Muehleisen’s extended cantata, Borders. “Politically relevant” music is always risky, but the choice of texts was so thoughtful in this case, with a huge cross-cultural span, that it showed the issue without being too didactic. The most effective moment, for me, was the revelation of letters from an Irish woman, starving in the potato famine of the mid-19th century, writing to her son, who presumably emigrated to the US. Here, the work of Ms. Altiveros was clear and very poignant. Two very small children, one boy and one girl, also made a significant brief utterance.

After intermission, the wind ensemble of Newtown High School from Connecticut played five varied selections, showing off their considerable skills. What a pleasure it was to associate the name Newtown, CT, with something other than the tragic school shooting of six and a half years ago. I wondered if perhaps everyone in this ensemble knew someone personally affected by it, yet, as D.H. Lawrence says: “We’ve got to go on, no matter how many skies have fallen.”

A work by Rossano Galante titled The Falls purported to be about water spilling over a ledge, but if the title had been “Apollo 11 Lands on the Moon,” it would have been equally apt—I simply wasn’t getting “water” out of it. The clever Arabesque, a three-section piece by Samuel R. Hazo was inhabited with strong rhythmic drive. The group created truly terrifying sounds, as intended, in Robert W. Smith’s Inferno section from his programmatic rendering of Dante’s Divine Comedy. They were also quite controlled in Eric Whitacre’s own arrangement of his “hit tune” (originally for a cappella choir) Lux Aurumque (Golden Light). I feared that the work might lose some of its “cosmic” quality without the voices, but was very happy to find that it did not. They were also excellent in Leonard Bernstein’s jazzy 1977 tribute to his colleague Mstislav Rostropovich, called Slava! (subtitle: A Political Overture). The shifting rhythms held absolutely no terrors for these talented students, a quality I sincerely hope will transfer to their ability to negotiate shifting politics as they mature.

 

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Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Fresh Sounds: The Music of Russell Robinson in Review

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Fresh Sounds: The Music of Russell Robinson in Review

Russell L. Robinson, composer/conductor
Distinguished Concerts Singers International
Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
May 5, 2019

 

The DCINY presentations continued with a concert of middle-school-aged children, almost 400 of them, about half utilized on each half of a fine program conducted by the prolific and venerated Russell L. Robinson. This must be a very difficult age to teach, what with raging hormones and all manner of other distractions. Yet, I found the dedication, singularly and collectively, of these fine youths very inspiring, and their sounds indeed “fresh.” They came mainly from the South, with a few other states (Oregon, Washington, and Indiana).

Russell Robinson has created over 500 choral compositions, including arrangements, published by all the major outlets in this country; he is constantly sought after to lead seminars and the like, and one can see why when presented with the finely detailed evening he gave us.

Each half of the program was structured very similarly, so it was almost like hearing the same concert twice, with different performers: a couple of “light” classical pieces, a traditional spiritual, a folk song, some more indigenous African music, a jazzy improvisatory song, and finally a rousing anthem to the power of music, all arranged or composed by Robinson.

 

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Fresh Sounds: The Music of Russell Robinson

 

I found the sounds made by the choir to be mellow and unforced at all times, girls outnumber boys by about two to one, and the arrangements are generally SAB (soprano, alto, baritone). Their diction was clear, and their attention to stressed and unstressed syllables was truly refreshing, surely due to the detailed attentions not only of Robinson, but also of their individual home conductors. Their rhythmic sense was very good, and many of the numbers had clapping, a foot stomp or two, and easy motion swaying from side to side, sometimes with hand and arm gestures, principally in the African traditional styles. And I must mention that ALL selections were sung from memory, which is no mean feat.

Two different groups of soloists, a quartet and a sextet, on each half of the program, stepped forward and gave call-and-response jazzy riffs with superb poise, lapped up by the enthusiastic audience of family and friends.

The repertoire ranged from Thomas Morley and Baldassare Donato to Handel and Franck, and a healthy dose of the spirituals and folk songs Robinson is committed to introducing into the kids’ musical knowledge bank.

A very fine uncredited pianist and an African drummer added their colors to this inspiring evening.

I was led to ruminate on how much better off the world would be if everyone had a pursuit as valuable as participation in a choral endeavor; how perhaps we wouldn’t have either so much time for, or the desire for, unpleasant political maneuvers. As DCINY always says: “Changing lives through the power of performance.”

 

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Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents The Music of Eric Whitacre in Review

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents The Music of Eric Whitacre in Review

Distinguished Concerts Singers International
Eric Whitacre, composer/conductor
Kelly Yu-Chieh Lin, piano
Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall. New York, NY
April 28, 2019

 

I haven’t attended one of DCINY’s reliably excellent massed-choir events in some time, so I’m happy to report that they took their already high standard to a new level with Sunday’s presentation of the music of one of the great choral leaders in America today, Eric Whitacre. The choirs are meticulously prepared by their individual directors prior to coming to New York for what must be an intense, perhaps even frantic, couple of days’ worth of rehearsal with the main conductor, in this case, Mr. Whitacre. He has the magic that imparts unanimity to diverse forces, for this was one of the most nuanced choral evenings I’ve ever heard, everything from thunder to whisper and every shade between. Kelly Yu-Chieh Lin, his collaborative pianist, was also superb.

 

More than 450 singers gathered (about half employed on each half of the program), mostly from high schools and academies in the US and Canada, with a few other international outliers. Everything was introduced charmingly and concisely by Mr. Whitacre.

 

The lion’s share of the program was devoted either to compositions or arrangements by the Grammy award-winning Mr. Whitacre, with two spirituals filling in nicely. He seems to know everyone in the business, not just musicians, but also poets, so everything on the program was related.

 

Mr. Whitacre’s strength lies in his ability to write luscious, flowing, lyrical (for the most part) choral textures that are enriched by the “cluster” technique (think Ola Gjeilo, Paul Mealor), which gives an emotional “cloud” or aura to the traditional tonal underpinnings of the pieces. He music is challenging enough for high-school age performers without being impossible, and full of gratifying substance for the listener.

 

The program opened with Mr. Whitacre’s arrangement of The Star-Spangled Banner, a touch that lent a certain sincere, old-fashioned quality to the whole. I recall when many events began with it, after all, the three stages in Carnegie Hall each display an American flag onstage to the audience’s left. Now, I like my anthems, well, “anthem-y,” that is, not too artsy, but when it is as high-quality as it was here, I can’t really object. Only the chord cluster under the final word “brave,” seductive as it was, seemed to me to impart a moment of doubt rather than fervor (perhaps I watch too much cable news!).

 

Then came one of Mr. Whitacre’s greatest hits: Lux Aurumque (also the title of an album), translated as “Light and Gold,” though I prefer “Golden Light.” The Latin is a translation by Mr. Whitacre’s friend, poet Charles Anthony Silvestri (more on him below) from an English original poem by Edward Esch (rare, one usually translates from Latin). The expression of awe at the birth of the Christ child was rapturous, the control exhibited by the choir breathtaking. The work was created in 2000, but really took off as part of Mr. Whitacre’s “Virtual Choir” project in 2009, involving amateur and professional choirs from 120 countries.

 

The City and the Sea comprised five poems of E.E. Cummings. Here, the sophisticated poetry made perfect word understanding difficult, always a hazard for larger choirs. Only Robert Shaw seems to have been able to solve this problem definitively. The texts to all the works were printed in the program however, so one could relax and take in the choral subtext added by the music. In fact, here’s a topic for another time: At what point does the choral sound “itself” become the message, even more important than whatever words are being rendered?

 

The Seal Lullaby (text by Rudyard Kipling) is the remnant of a film project that never materialized (instead, the studio made Kung Fu Panda!). Thank goodness Mr. Whitacre didn’t destroy it, for it forms a very touching and effective piece for choir—the mother seal singing to her baby.

 

Another Cummings setting, i carry your heart, was prompted by a friend’s seventh wedding anniversary. This was another stunner along the lines of Lux Aurumque. The radiance created by the clusters was the perfect metaphor for human love.

 

Cloudburst (text by Octavio Paz), is an almost literal depiction of the quiet of nature preceding a thunderstorm, and the rain itself, involving handbells, light percussion, and the snapping of hundreds of fingers that resulted in an uncanny sonic rainstorm (at one point even the audience was invited to contribute).

 

After intermission and choir-switch, Five Hebrew Love Songs were accompanied by a string quartet and tambourine. They were sentimental, as one would expect in a love song, of course, and very well-sung.

 

Then came the two zany volumes of Animal Crackers, to the silly, fun miniatures of Ogden Nash: Panther, Cow, Firefly; Canary, Eel, Kangaroo. Here one glimpsed a less lyrical side of Whitacre, with sharp bursts of humor in the brief lines, just cute enough in their delivery. I did feel that it was almost an embarrassment of riches for these texts, and that they might come off better by a smaller chamber choir (just me, the audience ate it up!)

 

Home, a movement from a larger work titled The Sacred Veil, is another work set to Mr. Whitacre’s friend Charles Anthony Silvestri’s poetry. We learned that the poet’s wife died of cancer way too young, and in coping with his grief, he was led to theorize about a realm perhaps mysteriously connecting the living and the dead. The section titled “Home” is about the moment when the poet realized that he was in love with the woman who would become his wife; who gave him the sense of “home.” What a lovely tribute from one friend to another, and to the departed.

 

Two traditional spirituals followed: Elijah Rock, and The Battle of Jericho, both arranged by Moses Hogan, another friend of Mr. Whitacre (hence the connection) who also died too young (age 47). The energy was high in these, and the choral sound that resulted was quite different from Mr. Whitacre’s spun lines. That he was able to reveal it so well attests to his quality as an interpreter.

 

The evening ended with Sleep, and Mr. Whitacre told an anecdote about having originally set Robert Frost’s Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, but then being prevented from performing it or publishing it by the estate of the poet. Enter Silvestri. Mr. Whitacre had him fashion a poem with the same metric structure, to fit the existing music, and the result is this beautiful evocation. The choral diminuendo on the final word “sleep” (coincidentally, also the last word of Frost’s poem) went on repeating, each time softer, until one thought it couldn’t get any softer, and then it did. Amazing. I lost count of how many “sleeps” there were, a very good sign, since it means that I had surrendered my critical faculties to the music. Bliss.

 

The audience, formed primarily of friends and family, roared, and that moment at the end of each half when the “home” choral conductors are recognized always produces the biggest applause, so proud each of them must be.

 

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Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) Artist Series presents Renaissance Duo: Tzu-Yi Zoe Chen and Lan-In Winnie Yang in Review

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) Artist Series presents Renaissance Duo: Tzu-Yi Zoe Chen and Lan-In Winnie Yang in Review

Tzu-Yi Zoe Chen and Lan-In Winnie Yang, piano
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
April 12, 2019

 

Though April showers came our way, they brought a piano duo, and boy could they play! The Renaissance Duo, consisting of duo-pianists Tzu-Yi Zoe Chen and Lan-In Winnie Yang (who is also a composer), presented as a part of the Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) Artist series, brought a powerhouse program to Weill Hall on April 12, 2019. I recall fondly Tzu-Yi’s Weill Hall solo debut recital from October 11, 2014, reviewed in these pages (Tzu-Yi Chen in Review). At that recital, she played a suite by Lan-In, so to hear the two of them working together was almost foretold, but I had no idea it would be as delightful as it was.

 

Their unanimity of ensemble, scrupulous attention to phrasing, generous flexibility (so hard for two to achieve together), and their budgeting of dynamics all contributed to the fine impression they made. The two alternated which one played the Primo and Secondo parts throughout the evening, yet I was never thinking about the mechanics of ensemble playing with these two. The overarching theme of this generous program was transcription, the way composers repurpose existing material, whether by them or by someone else.

 

The concert opened with Busoni’s Duettino concertante nach Mozart, based on the perky Finale of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in F, K. 459. One usually does not think “-ino” when Busoni’s music is the topic, but here the dimensions of the piece (only six minutes) justifies it, even though the conception and working-out are grand. The duo managed to preserve the lightness of the original composer, yet when Busoni begins to go off in his complex contrapuntal direction, they responded without gross thickening of the texture. It sounded as if Mozart had lived another 100 years, this is the piece he would have written.

 

The other work on the first half was the Brahms Sonata in F minor, Op. 34b, the third reworking of a piece that eventually became the Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34. Brahms was a relentless self-criticizer and reviser. The duo’s seriousness of approach, and ability to handle masses of sound was greatly appreciated by me, as was their attention to soft lyrical playing. It is indeed thrilling to see two Steinway concert grands on stage, to know what they are capable of, and yet to hear them whisper together. This was a majestic, passionate, and warm performance, and they managed a minor miracle: I didn’t miss the string parts (!).

 

After intermission, the tone became decidedly lighter, beginning with a new version of the Finale from Ms. Lan-In’s recently commissioned Piano Concerto, “Sketches of Taiwan” (2014), an affectionate programmatic portrayal of the bustle of life in the island, specifically Taipei, I would imagine. The piece alternates fast material, with influences of Prokofiev, and lyrical material that hearkens to Rachmaninoff, even Khatachurian a bit. That I mention other composers is not a slam, I’m sure Ma. Lan-In’s music will show even more individuality as she matures. Her craft is wonderful, however, and the duo really opened up through the showier portions.

 

This was followed by William Bolcom’s humorous take on the Garden of Eden and the expulsion of Adam and Eve in a suite (originally for solo piano) of four modern ragtime dances. After Joplin, Bolcom really is the preeminent composer of rags. I found myself marveling at how stylish the women rendered each and every corner of the “cool” music, with such enjoyment and wit. The audience reacted with delight, especially in The Serpent’s Kiss, which is full of foot stomping, wood tapping, clucking, and whistling, none of which is easy to do in the context of also having to play the piano!

 

The recital concluded with a stunning performance of the fierce Lutoslawski Variations on a Theme by Paganini, the theme from the violin Caprice in A minor that so fascinated Liszt, Brahms, and Rachmaninoff, among others. It is an encyclopedia of technical difficulties, yet time and again the duo gave me the leisure to enjoy just how much “music” there is in the piece, which was only possible because of their sovereign command of their parts.

 

The audience would not let them go, so they reformulated to one piano, four-hands for two unannounced encores. The first was a zany thing in polka rhythm that I did not know, and the second was a hair-raising, hysterically good version of the Sabre Dance from Khatchaturian’s ballet Gayaneh. The loudest sounds of the entire evening took place (completely appropriate) in this work, and Ms.Tzu-Yi got up and switched places with her partner to play the last zinger bass note (she had been on the upper part).

 

 

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Key Pianists presents Terry Eder in Review

Key Pianists presents Terry Eder in Review

Terry Eder, piano
Weill Recital at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
April 8, 2019

 

Key Pianists, a valuable New York series that features under-recognized pianists in repertoire they are passionate about, presented its founder and patron, Terry Eder on April 8th at Weill Recital Hall. Ms. Eder modestly programs herself only once every couple of years or so, leaving the roster open to other deserving players. I reviewed her last performance in 2017 (Terry Eder in Review 2017), and wrote a profile about her in these pages as well (A conversation with Terry Eder).

 

On this occasion, she brought most of her vivid strengths, and though I take issue with some of the interpretive choices she made, the evening was a resounding success. Ms. Eder exemplifies the golden-age pianism of the so-called “Leschetizky method”: deep, relaxed, unforced piano sound at all dynamic levels. It is rare in our age to hear music-making of such purity and honesty, without artifice.

 

This quality was evident in the program opener, Dohnányi’s rarely heard Intermezzo in F minor from Opus 2, a work written under the influence of Brahms, so to speak. Its grim little theme returns for increasingly ornate variation treatment, pianistically thick, though every bit of it was warm and clear in Ms. Eder’s playing. I’m sure she feels quite committed to the work, but it did strike me as somewhat dated, “Brahms” without the self-discipline or austerity.

 

Ms. Eder followed this with the first impromptu from Schubert’s second set of four, in F minor, D. 935. This was presented with simple songfulness, though I did wish for greater dynamic contrast, especially in the softest sounds. Ms. Eder managed one magical nuance: she made the lyrical second theme, originally heard in A-flat major, sound much more angelic when it returned in F major.

 

Next came the first of Beethoven’s late sonatas, No. 28 in A major, Op. 101. The work is structurally innovative, and the famous lyrical opening starts “in the middle,” as though the music has already been flowing along before the part we hear begins. To achieve this effect, however, takes a much softer beginning volume than we heard, although Beethoven himself left it out, and an editor suggests p. I found Ms. Eder’s approach much more corporeal than spiritual. Again, throughout I wished for more pianissimi, as I know Ms. Eder is capable of them. Her rendition of the second movement’s march was appropriately angular. The third section, barely a “movement,” more like an introduction to the finale, again lacked the mysterious delicacy that can make the sadness palpable. That finale, marked mit Entschlossenheit (resolve or determination) was indeed resolute, a bit too stiff for my taste, needing more final abandon as the positivity of it breaks the spell of what went before, as well as a wider dynamic range—there are many pianissimi indicated.

 

After intermission, Ms. Eder returned with one of her amazing specialties: Hungarian piano music, the fruit of her training and also of years spent there. This time we received gratefully four rarely heard works by Zoltán Kodály, a noted ethnomusicologist who, with Bartók, catalogued and ennobled so much of eastern Europe’s heritage of folk music before it was lost. He was, however, also a prolific composer of his own music, often influenced by the folk studies and materials. The Transylvanian Lament, from Op. 11, was gorgeously played, haunting in all the right ways. This set off the contrast made by the sassy little Allegro giocoso (Op. 3 No. 7) even more. Interestingly, I recently heard someone else play the Méditation sur un motif de Claude Debussy recently in the same hall, and I was struck by how much individuality Ms. Eder gave it. The piece uses as its principal theme the motive from the Scherzo of Debussy’s String Quartet. Kodály was profoundly influenced by his studies in France, and here he produces dark, mysterious sections “inspired by” but not imitative of, Debussyian impressionism. The Épitaphe, also from the Op. 11 set of pieces, was Kodály’s response to the news of Debussy’s death in 1918, again another stunning revelation provided to us by Ms. Eder.

 

There followed the first book of Images by Debussy himself, and his own celebration of orgiastic love inspired by a Watteau painting and his own personal life, L’Isle joyeuse. With this music, my variance with Ms. Eder’s approach was greatest. I’m beginning to sound like a broken record (who remembers records?!), but I only intermittently heard the sophisticated mixtures of very soft tone that this repertoire needs. Conversely, I don’t know why she downplayed the climax in Reflets dans l’eau. For me, the most successful movement was, no pun intended, Mouvement, which means tempo or speed, a grim take on the mechanization of life (the Dies irae makes a couple of appearances). The “happy island” nearly came to grief due to memory lapses (which were more or less present all evening). Now those who know my writing know that I always say it’s not so important when something adverse happens, it’s how one continues that matters, and continue Ms. Eder did, always saving the situation. However, the beginning trill of L’Isle is marked piano then crescendo, it doesn’t start with a loud accent (however fiendishly difficult this is to accomplish!). Debussy knew he was creating a very difficult work, and he entrusted the premiere to the great Catalan virtuoso Ricardo Viñes. I must mention one more detail, the final ascending ecstatic “rocket” arpeggio must be immediately connected to the descending one which follows, plummeting all the way to the lowest note on most pianos, a gesture that has brought many pianists to grief (missing the note and thwacking the wood with their finger!), but that did not happen on this occasion.

 

After an enthusiastic ovation, Ms. Eder played Chopin’s Waltz in G-flat major, Op. 70 No. 1 (posthumous) ever so sweetly and with that beautiful tone mentioned earlier.

 

 

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