Tag Archives: Hannah Lash

Nadia Shpachenko’s Poetry of Places


shpachenko

This is another in an ongoing series from various labels which are publishing a selection of repertoire chosen by artists who define themselves by their individual approaches to new and recent music.  Kathleen Supove, Sarah Cahill, R. Andrew Lee, Lisa Moore, Liza Stepanova, and Lara Downes come to mind as recent entries into this field.  In the past similar such focused collections has opened many listeners minds to hitherto unknown repertoire.  One would have to include names like Robert Helps, Natalie Hinderas, and Ursula Oppens, all of whom produced revelatory adventures into the world of new and recent piano music in historical landmark recordings. (A recent such collection by Emanuele Arciuli was reviewed here).

On this Reference Recordings disc Nadia Shpachenko presents a series of works, many commissioned for her, of piano music whose focus is architecture, buildings, facades, etc.  It is a curious and unique angle on choosing new music.  There are 11 pieces here all involving Shpachenko at the piano but sometimes with various combinations of electronics, another piano, and a couple of percussionists.

Strictly speaking this is the third disc by Shpachenko featuring new music.  Last year’s “Quotations and Homages” and 2013’s “Woman at the Piano” are doubtlessly worthy precursors to the present disc.

poetryofplacestracks

These works are neither trite nor easy listening.  They are new works and one can get lost in their complexity worrying about the way in which architecture is incorporated.  Or one can listen simply to hear the gorgeous sounds (this is a Reference Recording) of the introductory interpretations by a master musician of works which may or may not become repertory staples but whose substance deserves more than a passing listen.

I won’t go into any detail about these works except to say that the disc seems to have been well received by virtue of the amount of reviews it received on Amazon (I am frequently the first and only reviewer on Amazon when it comes to new music such as this) and those reviewers seem to have heard this release in a way similar to what this reviewer has experienced.

Shpachenko is an important artist who, along many of the artists mentioned at the beginning of this review, is pointing the way to some of the best music currently being written.

Advertisement

The Jack Quartet Plays Music of Hannah Lash


Hannah Lash‘s name began appearing on my radar about two years ago but this is my first actual encounter with her music.  This recent (2011) Harvard graduate’s star seems to be rising quickly and this is a fine place as any to start to get to know her work.  New Focus Recordings is a label with good instincts regarding new and important music and this one is typical of their collective acumen.

This release features 4 works. One is for harp (Lash’s instrument) with string quartet and the rest are for string quartet alone. I find it difficult to describe Lash’s work concisely. Like many in her generation she seems to have been exposed most comprehensively to a huge range of styles and techniques and she appears to be selecting judiciously among those to apply those techniques by which she can achieve her compositional goals.

The works include the single movement, Frayed followed by Suite: Remembered and Imagined (in 6 short movements), the single movement Pulse-Space, and the three movement Filigree in Textile which features Lash on harp along with the Jack Quartet.  The rather sparse liner notes are by the composer.  They may lack detail as to composition date, commissioner, etc. but they do reflect what the composer’s thought processes were with each piece.  She is clearly more concerned with conveying her metaphorical ideas than the technical aspects of her work.  That is perhaps best left to future musicologists.

Her work is direct, one might even say concise.  Using a basically tonal palette, the composer explores a variety of musical and metamusical ideas.  These are intimate and interesting works that seem very much to the point.  Keep in mind too that this is simply a disc of recent chamber music which gives no idea as to how she handles larger forms.  But from the perspective of this album alone her brevity has an almost Webernian quality (not the thorny harmonies or difficult rhythms, just the brief and direct statements she makes with the music here).

The always wonderful Jack Quartet plays in two different configurations here.  Tracks 1-8 feature Christopher Otto and Ari Streisfeld, violins; John Pickford Richards, viola; and Kevin McFarland, cello.  Tracks 9-11 feature: Austin Wullman and Christopher Otto, violins; John Pickford Richards, viola; Jay Campbell, cello; and Hannah Lash, harp.

As usual with well written new music multiple listens reveal more detail.  The music is both interesting at first listen as well as compelling enough to provoke yet another listen.  Lash is a rising star who deserves the attention of a new music audience who will learn the subtleties of her musical language.  There is great beauty here.