Tag Archives: Manhattan School

Bearthoven: Post Minimal, Post New York School


wollschlegeramdream

Cantaloupe CA 21145

So many associations here.  Jaime Boddorf‘s lovely photography complements the sparse evocations of the music but this writer immediately flashed on the old Pat Metheny album, “American Garage”.

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This is most definitely not a Pat Metheny album but the somewhat spare sound world of Scott Wollschleger is reflected (metaphorically of course) in the cover photo and the others on the inside. In fact the resemblance stops with the visuals. And don’t jump to conclusions about the name, “Bearthoven”. It’s not Beethoven either.

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So what is American Dream and who is “Bearthoven”?

 

 

 

Well, a look at their website suggests we have a classical ensemble spiritually patterned in a way like a prog rock design school dalliance.  Think Talking Heads. For the record, they are (left to right): Matt Evans , percussion; Karl Larson , piano; and Pat Swoboda , bass.  bear1

Well, no, don’t think about Talking Heads or Pat Metheny.  At least for a minute.  And here’s why.

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This is Scott Wollschleger (1980- ), originally from Erie, Pennsylvania, now resides in New York.  The fact that he studied at the Manhattan School with Nils Vigeland suggests an educational provenance which can be traced most directly to Morton Feldman.  But this is not a case of derivation as much as it is of evolution and incorporation of styles inherited from his teachers and his experiences upon which he attempts to improve for better or worse.  Isn’t that the basic way an artist works?

Whether such musings hold any water will wait the test of time while we consider the actual music here.  This reviewer encountered this letter laden composer’s work here.  This previous album, Soft Aberration which was a wider ranging sort of snapshot of the composer’s work made a similar impression.  His use of fragments is seemingly idiosyncratic.  I can’t figure out exactly what he is doing but that is secondary to the fact that I like what he is doing. And a quick look at the track titles on American Garage and then reading Wollshleger’s commentary one sees some philosophical/metaphorical confluences.

His intriguing and evolving compositional style draws the listener in.  Like the Soft Aberration Album (in art design and musical content) this album relies heavily on metaphor.  So it is with the impressions penned by the musicians involved which are included in . And it is oh so consistent with the metaphorical tone of the photos as well.  There is something amazingly integrated here.

Going into details about these pieces is both outside my expertise and certainly above my pay grade but I can tell you these works touched me on an emotional level and, like the best in art, will continue to speak to those who want to hear.  This is highly evocative music which, if you listen patiently, will gently surprise you.

 

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American Romantics from the Manhattan School



Robert Sirota (1949- ) is an American composer.  A native New Yorker, his earliest compositional training began at the Juilliard School; he received his bachelor’s degree in piano and composition from the Oberlin Conservatory, where he studied with Joseph Wood and Richard Hoffman. A Thomas J. Watson Fellowship allowed him to study and concertize in Paris, where his principal teacher was Nadia Boulanger. Returning to America, Sirota earned a Ph.D. from Harvard University, studying with Earl Kim and Leon Kirchner.

Before becoming Director of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in 1995, Sirota served as Chairman of the Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions at New York University and Director of Boston University’s School of Music. From 2005-2012, he was the President of Manhattan School of Music, where he was also a member of the School’s composition faculty.

Robert Sirota (from website)

Prior to encountering this disc this reviewer had not encountered Sirota’s work and, frankly, didn’t expect American Romanticism to flow from the Manhattan School.  That’s not intended as a critique of the Manhattan School which seems to be more interested in the compositional direction of composers like Morton Feldman and faculty member Nils Vigeland is a huge Feldman supporter.

But no matter.  We have a disc of purportedly “romantic” music with an American theme.  The disc begins with Dvorak’s String Quartet No. 12 Op. 96.  It dates from 1893, the same year as his 9th Symphony.  It is debatable as to how “American” these works are.  Dvorak was enamored of negro spirituals and his melodies, while not directly quoting, do seem to capture some of the spirit of these musics.  

Not having heard the piece in some years I was grateful to find it still as interesting as ever.  It’s not up there with Beethoven’s or Brahms maybe but there is much to enjoy in this particular piece and it is given her a loving  performance.  This piece has earned a deserved place in the repertoire.

Next up is the main point of this album, Robert Sirota’s Second String Quartet subtitled, “American Romantic”.  It is an episodic piece which takes the listener to various places and, like the Dvorak, uses no direct quotes but manages to capture a certain spirit or Zeitgeist with each of its four movements.  His harmonic language seems to be that of some slightly extended tonality but unquestionably romantic.  His use of motives seem to trigger memories of familiar tunes.  Each movement is focused on a different physical place and time of day.

Sirota’s American Pilgrimage begins in the first movement, Morning: Waldo County, Maine with broad strokes using motives that suggest or are fragments of familiar tunes.  He moves in the second movement to Midday: Mother Emmanuel Church, Charleston, South Carolina, the site of the awful church shooting from a few years ago.  This pizzicato dominant movement continues the suggestive use of motives and has moments of searing sadness and pain.  His program is not explicit but this is protest music as well as music of sadness.

The third movement, Sunset: High Desert, Santa Fe, New Mexico sort of takes the place of a scherzo.  Despite his basically tonal palette the composer makes strategic use of dissonances for color and effect.  This movement is actually more contemplative with a few moments of more kinetic writing.  He ends with the fourth movement Evening: Manhattan, the most extensive movement.  It opens with a whirlwind like theme and moves quickly (given that it is evening).  As with most classical quartets he uses fourth movement to do a bit of summing up, echoes of what has gone before mix with new material.

Finally we get to hear the string quartet version of probably the most famous piece of American Romanticism, the lovely (if overplayed) Adagio for strings from Samuel Barber’s sole string quartet.  It’s not clear why the entire quartet was not included but this piece does a nice job of putting a programmatic cap on this satisfying little chamber music program.

Sirota’s idiosyncratic use of melodic fragments and basically tonal idiom are intriguing enough that alert listeners are likely to seek out more of his music.  The Sirota is clearly the reason to buy this album but, as a program, the other pieces frame it well and this CD is a very satisfying experience.