Texas Christian University Wind Symphony in Review

Texas Christian University Wind Symphony in Review
Bobby R. Francis, conductor
Texas Christian University Jazz Ensemble
Curt Wilson, conductor
Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall
February 24, 2011

 

Texas Christian University brought its wind, brass and percussion players to Carnegie Hall, and I for one was pleasantly surprised regarding the extremely high quality of these young players. When the first-rate American Brass Quintet appeared on stage as guest artists, for example, they didn’t put these students in their place by comparison; on the contrary, everyone blended in so well that it was difficult to differentiate between the students and the pros.

Joseph Turrin’s excellent “Jazzalogue No. 1” from 1997 opened with a finely tuned, polished sound. The contrapuntal entrances were well placed and the balance was very clear. Jeremy Strickland, guest conductor, deserves kudos for preparing them so thoroughly. Patrick Williams’ Rhapsody for Concert Band and Jazz Ensemble was equally excellent, as guest conductor Curtis Wilson did a splendid job coordinating the many entrances.

John Mackey’s “Hymn to a Blue Hour,” composed last year, is a beautiful, stately, solemn work that was performed with deep commitment and excellent intonation. Here, guest conductor Brian Youngblood deserves credit for the preparation. Anthony Plog’s “Concerto 2010” is a solidly structured work with often pungent harmonies and raw melodic voicing. The percussion has a lot to do, and they were excellent, except that the xylophone was ahead of the brass in spots.  The harmonic style changes a bit too abruptly, but not nearly as much as in David Maslanka’s amateurish and eclectic Symphony No. 8 from 2008. Not only is it cliche and basic in its tonal language and counterpoint, the chordal changes and sectional transitions were often shockingly random.

In any case, these young musicians and their conductors deserve much credit for their topnotch performances of all the works on the program. They made a great impression.

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by Anthony Aibel  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

The Texas Christian Percussion Orchestra in Review

 The Texas Christian Percussion Orchestra 
Merkin Concert Hall, New York, NY
February 23, 2011

The Texas Christian Percussion Orchestra

In a very fine recent concert by the TCU Percussion Orchestra at Merkin Hall, the group was especially notable for two remarkable assets.  The first was a fluidity of talent, allowing several different players to shift from one instrument to another with apparent ease and expertise.  In this era of specialization, it was a pleasant surprise.  The second was a sensitive awareness of balance, something rare in young musicians (or musicians in general, for that matter.)  It was nice to hear finely graded dynamics on instruments like the snare drum and tam-tam, which are so often played without subtlety. 

A variety of mallet instruments dominated the stage space and the compositional texture of the program, especially in its first half.  Raymond Helble’s Prelude and Rondo alla Marcia, an attractive neo-Baroque work, initiated a trio of fairly traditional pieces with reinforced melodies resting on plush harmonies.  Offrendas #3, a sun kissed Brazilian lullaby by Ricardo Souza, followed in smooth succession, beginning placidly, and evolving into something more rhythmically dense, while retaining a calm surface.  The composer Eric Ewazen, present at the performance of the third piece, his three movement Symphony for Percussion, rightly applauded the players enthusiastically for a beautiful rendition.  The symphony, with big tunes and a Hollywood sensibility, was a perfect match for the musicians at their level of artistry and expression. 

The works on the second half of the program were more expansive in both instrumentation and contemporary orchestral techniques.  Dave Hall’s nightmarish Doors, the aural equivalent of a Dali painting, was followed by David Maslanka’s Hohner, a highly sophisticated and atmospheric composition, with an unusual structure.  It began with an exhilarating coup de theatre, a blast of antiphonal tympani, with an aftershock of rattlers from all corners of the stage.  The TCU Orchestra rose to the challenges of both these pieces with fervor and consistency.  For the program’s finale, Dwayne Rice’s I Ching required still greater depth and dexterity, especially from the mallet players.  They employed the same relaxed focus and concentration as they had all evening, a proof of their own maturity as musicians, and a testament to the excellent training they have received from their teacher and conductor, Brian A. West. 

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by David La Marche  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

CD Review: Tien Hsieh, piano

CD Review: Tien Hsieh, piano
“Mostly Transcriptions” in Review
Tien Hsieh; Piano Titanic Ti273
Bach-Busoni Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C Major, BMW 564
Schubert-Liszt  “Der Muller and der Bach“, D. 795 No. 19 (S. 565); ‘‘Die Schone Mulleri“
Chopin-Liszt  Meine Freuden, Op. 74 No. 5
Bach-Liszt Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor, BMV 542
Schumann-Liszt “Widmung” (Myrthen, Op. 25 No.1)
Cortese Elegy (2008)
Schumann-Liszt “Frulingsnacht“ (Liederkries, Op. 39 No.12)
Schubert-Liszt “Litanei auf das Fest Aller Seelen“, D. 343
Liszt “Venezia e Napoli” (Gondoliera; Canzone; Tarantella)

Tien Hsieh

The two exceptions to this “Mostly Transcriptions” CD are the “Venezia e Napoli” triptych from Liszt’s Second Book “Italie” of his work Annes de Pelerinage (Years of Pilgrimage), and Glen Cortese’s Elegy, composed in 2008. Along with the Bach-Busoni, both were handsomely played at Ms. Hsieh’s Weill Hall recital in May 2008 (which I had the pleasure of reviewing in Volume 15 No. 3 of this journal). When I heard the Cortese at its World Premiere, I expressed a desire to rehear the composition. On closer scrutiny, the Elegy is indeed attractive–in a style rather reminiscent of Copland’s vintage period (e.g. “Appalachian Spring”).

I was hoping that Ms. Hsieh would have likewise recorded the rarely encountered and atypically self-effacing Liszt piano transcription of Beethoven’s song cycle “An die Ferne Geliebte”, and perhaps she will on her next CD. But ‘faute de mieux’, I am very pleased that she has returned with her impressively exciting accounts of the Bach-Busoni and also the Bach-Liszt Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor, and the Schumann-Liszt “Widmung” (which was likewise an encore at the end of the 2008 Weill Hall concert). I still retain in my mind’s ear beautiful performances of Beethoven’s Op. 111 and Schumann’s “Humoresque” at that recital.

In commenting upon this recorded anthology, I can reiterate that Tien Hsieh is a formidable virtuoso and also a magnetic musical persona. Her bio says she was born in Taiwan and that she studied with her mother, Sylvia Hsieh (a renowned pedagogue in her own right), and with Dr. Marc Silverman at the Manhattan School of Music (her other mentors were Abbey Simon, Ruth Tomfohrde, Jane Allen and Carol Tafoya). In terms of color, texture and concentration on detail, she immediately makes you sit up and take notice! The opening measures of the Bach-Busoni Toccata, slashing and sparely pedaled, along with the arranger’s clever “Busonifications”, recreate the facsimile of the original organ, with its characteristic squeal and visceral intensity. (I might add that the state-of-the-art fidelity of the recording further enhances the physical allure of this thrusting and appropriate interpretation). (Note too, Ms. Hsieh’s precise articulation of the Fugue).

Her high-Romanticism approach works wondrously well in much of the chosen selections, although just two of the compositions of the “Mostly Transcriptions” roster may be a little ‘too much’:  The Liszt version of “Der Muller und der Bach” seems a trifle fussy, with the melodic line overstretched, and Ms. Hsieh, in my opinion, allows the accompaniment roulades to be a distraction away from the gravitas, and at the expense of ongoing simplicity. (There is a remarkable recording on Vista Vera by the Soviet pianist Rosa Tamarkina, (1920-1950), who died tragically from cancer at the age of 30). Likewise, the Van Cliburn RCA recording of his signature piece, the Schumann-Liszt “Widmung”, also strikes this writer as more ongoing and less finicky than Ms. Hsieh’s.

Liszt’s “Venezia e Napoli” is, to be sure, an intriguing contrast to Jerome Lowenthal’s just released version, Bridge 9307A/C, of the complete “Annees de Pelerinage”, and Lowenthal’s tautly structural interpretation. Lowenthal, who studied with the late William Kapell, makes a wonderful contrast with Ms. Hsieh’s slower, more ruminative take on the pieces. Both extremes make cogent good sense as unquestionably ‘idiomatic’.

All of the remaining items are, in their various ways, miraculously and convincingly recreated. Note, too, that the total timing of 77:15 is uncommonly generous. The disc is warmly recommended.

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by Harris Goldsmith  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Dan Franklin Smith, piano: “La Vida Iberiana” in Review

Dan Franklin Smith, piano: “La Vida Iberiana” in Review
Musica de Camara
St. Cecilia’s Church, New York, NY
February 18, 2011
 

Dan Franklin Smith

Just less than a year ago, I had the pleasure of giving a rave review to Dan Franklin Smith in a recital of works by living composers. Though that first hearing set the bar very high, I was delighted, in his recent program entitled “La Vida Iberiana,” to find that my enthusiasm for his artistry has not waned.

Mr. Smith embarked on his musical tour appropriately with Turina’s “Sanlúcar de Barrameda,” named for the port in Spain from which explorers Columbus and Magellan set sail. The “Sonata Pintoresca” as it is subtitled, was resplendent with the colors and imagery of Spain (as suggested by titles of its four contrasting movements) and was played with virtuosity and sensitivity. Improvisational transitions that can sometimes sound vapid possessed life and inevitability, while trills that can easily sound meretricious were gripping and heartfelt. Mr. Smith strikes one as the kind of player whose integrity could probably ennoble even the most maligned and cliché-ridden works; in a world where Ravel is used for commercials and Liszt is played by cartoon characters, such playing is a much-needed antidote.

It is always a joy to see the still-underappreciated Mompou on a program, and Mr. Smith’s Cancion y Danza No. 6 that followed was no exception. I would have liked its phrases wrung a bit more of their inherent pathos, but that is perhaps a tall order after the exhausting and exhaustive Turina. It could also be that the piano was not cooperating (an Otto Altenburg in a highly reverberant church), but in any case, there was room for more dynamic nuance.

To close the first portion of the program was Infante’s “El Vito Variations”, which had some audience members humming with happy recognition. Though I confess I’ve always thought of the piece as unlikable kitsch (and yes, there’s some kitsch I like), Mr. Smith’s expert treatment came close to redeeming it for me.

“La Maja y el Ruisenor” (“The Maiden and the Nightingale”) by Granados (from Goyescas) opened after intermission. Once again, the piano did not seem ideally suited to the piece, but the pianist handled the tinnier treble lines with grace.  Following the Granados came Surinach’s Cancion y Danza, No. 1, a nice but contrasting tie-in to Mompou’s work of the same title.

Representing Portugal, Vianna da Motta’s delightfully pianistic “Chula do Douro” (from Scenas Portuguesas, Op. 15) gave another perspective on “La Vida Iberiana,” albeit filtered through Lisztian ears. Mr. Smith played it with élan, setting a good backdrop for the plaintive opening of “Alma Brasileira” (Choros #5) by Brazilian, Villa-Lobos, played with a wonderful coloristic sense and plenty of atmosphere. Iberian influence on the New World entered the program here.

“Sin Rumbo” (subtitled Vuelvo al Sur or “Return to the South”) was a welcome taste of the ever-popular Piazzolla, and Santa Maria (#1 from Plenas) by Hector Campos-Parsi brought the musical tour to the infectious rhythms of Puerto Rico, energetically projected. The recital closed with André Previn’s “Three South American Sketches” (Festivo, Flor de Jardim, Mina d’Agua), played with the same brilliance and panache that I recall hearing when Smith played them last May, though now in a fresh context.

An enthusiastic audience received an encore of the famous Albeniz Tango in D (though the only word of the announcement we could make out was “Falla” so we were quite surprised – a hazard of not using a microphone perhaps).

All in all, it was another success for Mr. Smith, and also for Eve de la O, who has been dedicated to this music series, Musica de Camara, for 31 years.

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by Rorianne Schrade  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Duo Sirocco in Review

Duo Sirocco in Review
Nathalie Houtman, recorders and xiao (chinese flute)
Raphaël Collignon, harpsichord
Pro Musicis 
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
February 16, 2011

 

Duo Sirocco

What a wonderful and informative evening!  More than just a concert of music for recorder and harpsichord, it was a virtuoso display by two masters of their instruments, combined with a most enlightening history lesson. Yet there was nothing pedantic about this evening’s presentation entitled “A Baroque Concert in the Chinese Emperor’s Palace.” From the opening “Air Chinois” to the closing sonata by Arcangelo Corelli, the concert flowed along so gracefully and pleasantly that it almost seemed to be choreographed.

Who knew that “the musician, missionary and priest Teodorico Pedrini (1671-1746) was sent to Beijing in 1701 by the Pope at the behest of the Emperor of China, who had expressed a wish to have a European artist in his service?” (The preceding was a quote from the fine program notes written by members of the Duo Sirocco and Dr. Richard E. Rodda.) Who knew that one of the first serious western studies of non-western music was written by the French Jesuit missionary Joseph-Marie Amiot (1781-1793) who arrived in Beijing in 1751?

The program, described in the notes as an attempt “to reproduce a concert that would have been given at the palace of Emperor Qian Long (1735-1794),” began with “Air Chinois,” Amiot’s transcription of a Chinese melody, plaintively performed on the Xiao (Chinese flute) by Nathalie Houtman. Ms. Houtman, who began playing from the rear of the hall, walked towards the stage down the right aisle. The non-western aspect of the unaccompanied melody was reinforced by an expressive upward-sighing-figure at the end of each phrase. Meanwhile, Mr. Collignon was quietly walking down the left aisle and then up onto the stage. With perfectly rehearsed timing, he sat down at the harpsichord and joined Ms. Houtman for the conclusion of the Amiot.

The “western-music” part of the concert began with the Sonata for Recorder and Harpsichord, Opus 3 No. 6 by the aforementioned Teodorico Pedrini. (We were to hear two more of these sonatas later in the program, all part of the composer’s Opus 3, his only surviving works.) Although these works are of minor musical merit, they were beautifully performed with an impeccable sense of ensemble and great ornamentation. As they were of great historical interest, I am very glad to have heard them in this context. More interesting musically was the next work, a sonata by the French composer and flute virtuoso Michel Blavet (1700-1768).

Although they were brilliantly performed, the works by Pedrini and Blavet paled next to the music of Jean-Philippe Rameau and Archangelo Corelli. For this listener, the musical high points of the concert were the three harpsichord works by Rameau. I marveled at the harmonic vocabulary of “La Dauphine” and was thrilled by the weird chord progression in “L’Enharmonique,” made even more expressive by Mr. Collignon’s subtle use of rubato. The repeated notes imitating the sound of chickens in “La Poule” were made even more interesting by the way Mr. Collignon varied the articulation. This was great technical skill in the service of great music.

It should be noted that none of the five works which appeared on the printed program as “Sonata for Recorder and Harpsichord” were originally written for these instruments. As stated in the program notes, the three Pedrine sonatas were written for violin and bassoon continuo (bass instrument and harpsichord improvising the stipulated chords), the Blavet for transverse flute and basso continuo, the Corelli for violin and basso continuo. In the baroque, the bass instrument which doubled the lowest note of the harpsichord was often omitted, and other treble instruments could perform the parts originally written for violin or flute. The virtuosic high point of the evening took place during Ms. Houtman’s performance of the Corelli violin sonata, the concert’s final work. What is idiomatic on a violin would seem to be almost impossible on the recorder. After I heard the fast arpeggio “string crossings” in the first movement, in my notes I wrote “Wow!” After the second movement I wrote “faster?”, and after the third I marveled “even faster!!”  What fleet fingers, what quick tonguing, what thrilling playing!

After a rousing round of applause, Mr. Collignon ambled onto the stage strumming a tiny Renaissance guitar. Mr. Houtman followed, and together they brought the concert to a delightful conclusion with a rollicking performance of an arrangement of the Tambourin from Rameau’s “Pièces de clavecin, 1731.”

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by Harry Saltzman  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Continuum in Review: Music at the Crossroads/Composers of Central Asia

Continuum in Review: Music at the Crossroads/Composers of Central Asia
Merkin Concert Hall; New York, NY
February 13, 2011

 

Continuum’s “Music at the Crossroads” concert featured composers of Central Asia, and the program successfully combined ancient traditions with modern ones. Continuum’s exploration of rarely-heard music is sometimes a result of its travels to remote parts of the globe. In this case, the ensemble has toured several times to Central Asia, most particularly to Uzbekistan, but also to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. The strong musical traditions and the creativity of composers there obviously made an impact on the talented group of directors and performers that form Continuum.

The concert featured Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky, who is from Uzbekistan. Yanov-Yanovsky has worked tirelessly on behalf of his country’s cultural life as professor of composition and founder/director of the Ilkhom Festival, an innovative annual international event. Highly regarded in Europe and the former Soviet Union, he recently spent two years at Harvard University on a special fellowship invitation and currently is teaching in the Chicago area.  Continuum programmed three of his works: “Chang-Music IV” (1991), a work for string quartet which emulates the Central Asian cimbalom; “A-S-C-H” (Hommage to Alfred Schnittke for ensemble – 2004); and “Five Limericks by Edward Lear” (2005) for mezzo-soprano and piano trio. Each work and every musician captivated the audience at hand. Another fascinating work from Uzbekistan, “Music for Chamber Ensemble” (2004) was composed by Yanov-Yanovsky’s former student Jakhongir Shukurov; this was a smart addition to the program.

Throughout the evening, the music hinted at its unique ethnicity, but also pointed to the region’s ancient music. The Kazakh composer Aktoty Raimkulova’s “Alatau”, for ensemble (2011), and written specifically for this concert, reflects her country’s folk music. The title refers to the majestic mountains hovering over her city, Almaty. Continuum brought the usual spark and polish to the performance. The country of Tajikistan, while currently desperately poor and underdeveloped after a long civil war, has a rich musical heritage. Central Asian influences were heard in the works of Tajikistan-born Farangis Nurulla-Khoja: “Blind Flower” for mezzo-soprano and ensemble (2008), and Benjamin Yusupov’s “Haqqoni,” both written for and premiered previously by Continuum. Nurulla-Khoja now lives in Montreal, and Yusupov immigrated to Israel during Tajikistan’s civil war. “Haqqoni” combines a live ensemble with vintage recordings of ritualistic chanting—plus singing from his family’s Bukharian tradition.

All the performers were excellent: Rachel Calloway, mezzo-soprano; Tanya Dusevic Witek, flute; Moran Katz, clarinet; Renée Jolles and Airi Yoshioka, violins; Eva Gerard, viola; Claire Bryant and Chris Gross on cello; Jared Soldiviero, percussion; Cheryl Seltzer, piano and Joel Sachs, conductor. Continuum has chosen just the right music and performers for a memorable—and thought-provoking occasion.

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by Anthony Aibel  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Park Avenue Chamber Symphony in Review: Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff

Park Avenue Chamber Symphony in Review: Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff
David Bernard, conductor
Karine Poghosyan, piano
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1
Rachmaninoff Symphony No 2
February 13, 2011

David Bernard conducting the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony; photo credit Stefan Cohen

The generosity of spirit and affection that infuses the work of two of the most beloved Russian composers, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, must be genuine and heartfelt in a good performance.  By this standard, the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony scored a triumph in their rendering of two of these composers’ most iconic works, in a recent concert at All Saints Church.  The Armenian pianist Karine Poghosyan joined the orchestra for the Tchaikovsky First Piano Concerto in what proved to be a warm and sympathetic collaboration. 

The venue for the concert worked both for and against the artists.  As churches go, All Saints is small and intimate, where a good deal of the audience practically sits right on top of the orchestra.  While this allows for a more visceral experience of the music, the acoustic can be simply overwhelming and indistinct in the loudest and most densely textured orchestration.  And what else could explain the choice of a baby grand piano for the concerto but a simple lack of available floor space?  In spite of these liabilities, there was still much to admire in the performance. 

Ms. Poghosyan is a relaxed and natural musician, very obviously at home in the Tchaikovsky.  Her technique is big and secure, with blazing octaves, clean articulation, and a beautifully weighted touch.  More importantly, her virtuosity was not a shallow display of party tricks, but a tool for musical expression. Although it was a disservice to hear her on such an inferior instrument, her strengths were not diminished.  

David Bernard, the Chamber Symphony’s Music Director, led both pieces from memory, with clarity and a sense of spontaneity, even in such well worn repertoire.  Despite occasional struggles with ensemble and intonation, the orchestra played with a strong sense of style and commitment.  Several soloists offered impressive playing, notably the principal cellist and oboist in the Tchaikovsky, and the clarinet and English horn in the Rachmaninoff.  Special mention must be made of the string ensemble in general, who, under the guidance of Mr. Bernard and their concertmaster, David Edelson, play with the depth and fervor of the old school European orchestras. 

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by David La Marche  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Dieter Flury, flute and Maria Prinz, piano in Review

Dieter Flury, flute
Maria Prinz, piano
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
February 12, 2011

Dieter Flury and Maria Prinz; Photo Credit: Johannes Ifkovits

In this program, entitled “Viennese Classics for Flute and Piano,” Bulgarian pianist Maria Prinz and Swiss flutist Dieter Flury proved that you do not have to be born in Vienna to love its musical traditions. In her program notes, Ms. Prinz wrote that having lived and worked in the city of musical dreams for 25 years as “foreigners” has given them enough familiarity with, and enough distance from, the style to balance emotional involvement with objectivity.

 Mr. Flur, in addition to appearing with other leading orchestras, has been solo flutist of the Vienna Philharmonic since 1981; Ms. Prinz, besides enjoying a successful solo career, has taught at Vienna’s University of Music and Performing Arts since 1987. The high expectations raised by these credentials were not disappointed. Both players proved to be complete masters of their instruments; Mr. Flury played on a golden flute whose radiance was matched by its warm, round, shimmering tone; Ms. Prinz was an exemplary collaborator, leading and supporting with equal sensitivity and, with the piano on the small stick, never too loud. The only flaw in their performance was their penchant for exaggerated phrasing and overuse of dynamic contrast, as if they trusted neither the music nor their own expressive playing to speak directly to the audience.

The first hint of these tendencies came in the program’s opening work: Mozart’s Sonata in B-flat major, K. 378, originally for violin and piano. Every repeated figure turned into an echo, and in the first movement, Mr. Flury fell prey to the problem of dealing with the transition from the first to the second theme, making a huge ritardando where a slight hesitation would be more effective;. The Sonata works well on the flute, especially the bright Finale, and Mr. Flury also captured the expressive intensity of the passages in the darker register.

 The concert included two unfamiliar works by Beethoven: a set of Variations, Op. 107 No. 7, and a Sonata in B–flat major without opus number. The variations bear the unusual title “For piano with the accompaniment of a flute,” but in fact the instruments act as equal partners. The Theme is a melancholy Ukranian folksong that was also used by Hummel in his Trio for flute, cello and piano. Doubts have been raised about the authenticity of the Sonata, and, indeed, while some of its themes and their development could well belong to his early period, others seem to point to less distinguished authorship.

Haydn’s Sonata for flute and piano No. 8 in G major is a transcription of a transcription: its original source is Haydn’s String Quartet Op. 77, No. 1; Haydn himself arranged it for violin and piano, omitting the Minuet and Trio. In the flute version, Mr. Flury simply played the violin part, and, since the piece is sunny and high-spirited, the transformation was very successful.

The program closed with that popular staple of the flute repertoire, Schubert’s Introduction and Variations on his own song, “Trock’ne Blumen” from the cycle “Die schoene Muellerin,” D.802.  Written at a time late in his life when he was experimenting with combining intimate chamber music with technical fireworks, it demands a lot of virtuosity from both performers; it concludes with a jaunty March, but, being based on a slow, mournful song in a minor mode, its lyrical, singing element predominates. The highlight is a variation in major whose beauty and simplicity stop the heart. The two players’ deeply expressive performance left no doubt of their love for the music. Though they displayed plenty of brilliance when appropriate, even the bravura variations never became mere showpieces. In response to the sell-out audience’s enthusiasm, they played an encore: Mozart’s lovely C major Andante, announced by Mr. Flury as “Maria’s favorite.”

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by Edith Eisler  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Festival Chamber Music in Review

 Festival Chamber Music in Review
 Ayako Oshima, clarinet
David Jolley, horn
Yuri Funahashi, piano
Calvin Wiersma, violin
Theodore Arm, violin/viola
Ruth Sommers, cello/director
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
February 2, 2011

 Festival Chamber Music is a rotating group of enterprising top-notch New York musicians. They like to take time out from their busy lives as performers and teachers to present new and unfamiliar works in a variety of instrumental combinations, as well as staples of the standard repertoire. Founded in 1988 by its director, cellist Ruth Sommers, in Dobbs Ferry, the group moved in 1992 to New York City, where it performs an annual series of five concerts to sell-out audiences.

Its most recent program was of particular interest. It featured Beethoven’s popular Piano Quartet, Op. 16 in E-flat major in an excellent performance, and works by two virtually unknown Czech composers: the Quintet for piano, violin, cello , clarinet and horn, Op. 42 by Zdenek Fibich (1850-1900), written in 1893, and the String Trio by Gideon Klein (l9l9-l045), one of the so-called Holocaust composers, written in 1944. Fibich, though born in Prague, did not follow in the footsteps of his compatriots Smetana and Dvorak, the fathers of the Czech nationalist movement; rather, his music–though never openly derivative–is steeped in the Romantic German tradition. In the Quintet, Fibich’s compositional skill shows in his modulations (which use a lot of deceptive cadences), and in his ability to exploit and combine the instruments’ colors and timbres to best effect. The first and last of the Quintet’s four movements are in sonata form; the Scherzo, marked “with wild humor,” foreshadows Shostakovich in its acerbic sarcasm, but this is relieved by two cheerful Trios, a waltz and a polka. A solo piano passage leads back to the da capos. The Quintet’s centerpiece is the slow movement, a truly beautiful, long-breathing melody, stated first by the piano in solid and arpeggiated chords, then repeated with a florid violin obbligato. The work’s most pervasive characteristics are its democratic distribution of the solos, its unabashed romanticism, and its surging, soaring melodies; but the heart-on-sleeve quality of the music is so genuine that sentiment never lapses into sentimentality.

Gideon Klein already had several compositions to his credit when he was sent to Terezin in 1941. At 20, he must have been one of the youngest of the composers who perished in the Nazi death-camps, and, if this String Trio is any indication, also one of the most talented. A brilliant pianist, his ability to use the string instruments’ resources was remarkable. Though naturally still under the influence of contemporary stylistic trends, the Trio displays a personal voice and an astoundingly mature emotional range. Its three movements are all based on Moravian folksongs. The first and last are fast, skittish, jumpy, abrasive, and dissonant, often punctuated with Slavic and Hungarian off-beat rhythms; the last one ends in a Bartokian dance and a crash. The Trio’s core is the much longer, slow, middle movement: a set of variations of contrasting tempos, textures and characters that encompass defiance, grief and despair, leaving the listener shaken and heart-broken. Klein became one of Terezin’s heroes, organizing its musical and cultural activities. The Trio was written nine days before Klein’s deportation to Auschwitz; he died there a year later.

Heard at two rehearsals, the playing of this demanding program was excellent. Pianist Funahashi alternated imperceptibly between leading and supporting, always sensitive, never too loud; hornist Jolley and clarinetist Oshima were outstanding in their prominent roles. The Quintet had an almost orchestral sonority at times. The string players negotiated their often stratospheric parts with aplomb; cellist Sommers provided a firm foundation, violinist Wiersma was a strong leader in the Beethoven and Klein; Arm, doubling on violin and viola, had the courage to play the bigger instrument first, but kept his intonation intact – no mean feat.

These fine, adventuresome musicians deserve our admiration and gratitude for bringing these unjustly neglected works to our attention in such committed, persuasive performances.

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by Edith Eisler  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

The Mirror Visions Ensemble in Review

The Mirror Visions Ensemble in Review
Works by Russell Platt and Tom Cipullo
Bargemusic
January 29, 2011

Mirror Visions Ensemble

It is a good idea to arrive at concerts early, not only so that one can have time to read the program notes, but also in order to make the transition from the hectic life of the city, to place a “cordon sanitaire” around the event being attended. This is especially important when attending events at Lincoln Center or at the Carnegie Halls, as one needs to decompress after a ride on the NY Subway. My favorite pre-concert “cordon sanitaire” begins just after exiting the subway at the York Street Station of the F train. One then walks Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass through DUMBO. There are fleeting views of the Manhattan Bridge on the right and soon parts of the Brooklyn Bridge come into view. After a right turn down Old Fulton Street, one soon arrives at the East River. Ahead is the Manhattan skyline, to the right the span of the Brooklyn Bridge, and to the left, moored to the Brooklyn shore, is home of Bargemusic. Floating in the East River, this one of our city’s most unusual and pleasant chamber music venues.

Founded in 1992 The Mirror Visions Ensemble (Tobé Malawitsa, Artistic Director) has commissioned more than seventy vocal chamber music works. Given the magnificent performances we heard tonight from soprano Vira Slywotzky, tenor Scott Murphree, baritone Jesse Blumberg and pianist Alan Darling, contemporary composers are very fortunate to have such skilled and dedicated performers championing their music. Tonight’s concert featured two of The Mirror Visions Ensemble’s commissions.

The first half was devoted to Russell Platt’s “From Noon to Starry Night: A Walt Whitman Cantata.” This setting of ten Whitman poems was written in a spiky but not painfully dissonant harmonic style, often leavened by major triad final chords. It began with two trios which were sung with perfect intonation and rhythmic clarity. The first was fairly tonal, but spiced by added “wrong notes” in some of the chords, while the second was a waltz. Each of the following solo movements was performed with attention to the meaning of the words and with impeccable diction. I found the consonant opening of the fifth movement, “I Saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing,” quite beautiful.

After intermission we heard Tom Cipullo’s “A Visit with Emily,” settings of letters and poetry of Emily Dickenson and letters of T.W. Higginson. As did Mr. Platt, Mr. Cipullo spoke about his work before it was performed. I usually dislike these pre-performance-spoken- program-notes, but Mr. Cipullo’s were most informative, quite funny, and very well delivered. Most interesting was the statement that his settings were not meant to augment or to clarify the meaning of the poems, but to express his reaction to them. Mr. Cipullo’s music has none of the retro-consonant elements employed by Mr. Platt, and it never wavers from an astringent harmonic language. If there was a “retro” aspect to his music, it was his skillful use of use of earlier musical devices, an aspect of this work I enjoyed very much. Movements three (sung by Mr. Blumberg,) four (sung by Mr. Murphree,) and five (sung by Ms. Slywotzky) were based on poems which had to do with fame. Movement six combined the melodies of these three songs, a devise called a quodlibet.  It was brilliantly performed by the three soloists and pianist Alan Darling. In later movements we heard a catch, a chaconne, a passacaglia and another quodlibet.

And after hearing fine performances of skillful settings of great poetry in a unique venue, I could reenter reality by retracing my steps under those two great bridges mentioned in paragraph one. Only in New York!

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by Harry Saltzman  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY