Denise Burt’s beautiful design effectively encompasses the scope and meaning of this album in arresting images
Maya Beiser, cellist, Bang on a Can member, listener, composer, innovator, interpreter, and producer. Beiser’s hats are many and each new album traces the musings of a truly interesting artist, ever evolving, revisioning, thinking, growing. She cuts a singular, intelligent, and deeply felt path that is both monolithic and definitive.
Looking back and forward
This latest release on her own Islandia label is another exposition of a powerful musical mind bringing fascinating perspectives, the artist’s singular take on music spanning some 500 years. Beiser is not about “authentic” interpretation (mostly) but rather about lucidly sharing her perspective, her musical visions.
Previous releases gave us her take on living musical icons like Philip Glass and Terry Riley. She also dares to look back upon some of the “sacred cows” of the repertoire like the Bach Cello Suites and Riley’s seminal “In C” among others. Her revisionings are respectful homages and insightful performances that challenge and inform her listeners to maybe hear in a new way. As T.S. Eliot said,
“We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place (or the piece) for the first time”
So it is with the carefully curated selections on this disc. Beginning with a Missy Mazzoli composition featuring vocalist and performance artist Helga Davis (featured most visibly in the most recent iteration of Glass’ “Einstein on the Beach”). Her vocal skills drive these settings of texts by Erin Cressida Wilson. And this piece sets the tone for this album which is both lament and celebration for the experiences of women in history, mythology, and memory.
The first five tracks contain the bittersweet song cycle, Salt, from which the album takes its name. Here the listener is brought into the context of the Biblical story of Lot’s wife, forever imprisoned in a pillar of salt. But, rather than a pedestrian retelling of the tale, this cycle appropriates the context of the story to establish, with painful directness, the tone and direction of what will follow.
Helga Davis (photo from WNYC)
From her mineral prison, a mineral ironically known for its preserving properties, she sings of her crime of looking and remembering. She sings of pain, anger, and sadness, but never with remorse for her “crime”. It is an image that Beiser says lives powerfully in her personal memory. Mazzoli, Davis, and Beiser recontextualize the prisoner as victim, not criminal.
The ghostly images of the women we meet on this album are lamented as well as celebrated for their stories which burn deeply into our collective mythology, into our personal memories. Beiser lovingly dedicates this release first to her daughter, Aurielle Kaminsky, then to the principals whose creativity and energy pervade this album: Missy Mazzoli, Clarice Jensen, Meredith Monk, Erin Cressida Wilson, Helga Davis, Odeya Nani, Beth Morrison, and Christina Jensen.
In Lament to Phaedra, a work by the late British composer John Tavener is heard in an arrangement by Beiser. The 1995 work is sung by Phaedra’s sister Ariadne in response to Phaedra’s suicide by hanging. But here we have a wordless arrangement for cello and electronics that focuses on Tavener’s unique harmonic style and lyrical melodic construction. The result is effectively an affirmation of the lament for her fate.
Then we are treated to yet another transcription of a curiously difficult but very effective use of the early music concept of “hocket”, an interactive counterpoint of two voices. The eponymous Hocket, though vocal in its original form is, like much of Meredith Monk’s work, without a text. Monk’s work is about the voice, or the voices. And her revisioned operatic creations are fed by the mythological streams of women’s stories. This creative arrangement by this artist is an homage to Monk and, by extension, to the women she so beautifully celebrates in her work.
Meredith Monk with Allison Sniffin after a performance of Hocket at the Other Minds Festival in San Francisco (copyright Allan J. Cronin)
Another arrangement follows. It is a Melody from Orfeo ed Euridice, from the late baroque opera by Christopher Willibald Gluck. It is, of course, another ill fated relationship ended by the same infraction of looking and remembering that sealed the fate of Lot’s wife. Here Beiser chooses the gorgeous “Dance of the Blessed Spirits”, another wordless homage that imprints on the listener most effectively.
Next up is yet another wordless work, this one by fellow cellist and composer, Clarice Jensen, whose work has graced these blog pages before in reviews of her singular, drone, minimalist, meditative albums. Whether you call her work “drone” or “minimalism” or whatever you choose, your ears will bask in her meditative sonic ministrations. Jensen’s work, while related by its medium (that of cello and electronics), is a distinctly different style, immersive, meditative, evocative, a sound bath for the listener.
Clarice Jensen (from Jensen Artists page)
From the 21st century we are now transported to 17th century Venice and the work of the early baroque master Claudio Monteverdi. In the only surviving music from his second opera, we hear Ariadne, sister of Phaedra, singing the lament for the sister who had taken her life in shame and sadness.
The penultimate track brings us to this artist’s cultural roots with a song by Yedidya Admon to lyrics by Yitzchak Shenhar.
My Field (Shedemati)
My field, At dawn I sowed it in tears, Let the prayer of the farmer be heard! My field, It is saturated with dew, It is intoxicated by the light of the sun. The grain bends low in front of the reaper. The strides are long, The burnished scythe is raised high.
Odeya Nini provides the voice in this “reimagining“ of this classic song of sadness and lament by the lowly farmer imagined by the poet.
Odeya Nini (unknown copyright)
Fittingly, this last track is about death, endings. It is Beiser’s arrangement of Henry Purcell’s “When I am laid in the earth” from his opera, Dido and Aeneas. The text:
When I am laid, am laid in earth, May my wrongs create No trouble, no trouble in thy breast; Remember me, remember me, but ah! forget my fate. Remember me, but ah! forget my fate.
But forgetting is not allowed here. Beiser begs us to remember. And we cannot avert our ears or eyes.
I am grateful for this music review aggregator Feedspot. They have declared my blog New Music Buff to be among the top 35 new music blogs. I made number 20 this year.
Here is their review:
20. New Music Buff » Experimental Music
Blog https://newmusicbuff.com/category/experimenta.. Indulge perspectives from an informed new music fan. Enjoy nuanced takes and some amusing anecdotes from artists of Experimental Music. New Music Buff envisages the musical interest and preferences of a long-time listener with a fervent interest in all music new and old.
I am grateful to have achieved this ranking but I am also delighted to be able to see the perceived context of my peers in this area. New Music Buff is a solo effort now going into its 14th year of publication. And that description does a fine job of characterizing my work. I’m grateful to get to see my competitors (though competition is hardly the point).
With the relative demise of print magazines that carried reviews of new releases, listeners now tend to rely upon the blogosphere to find new music to suit their interests. The problem is that the meanings of words like “new music”, “experimental”, “avant garde”, etc. can steer the reader to a great deal of music and not necessarily music that satisfies their thirsts. So this blog aggregator attempts to collect sites and provide brief descriptions that help hungry listeners find items to satisfy their tastes.
One of the very useful aspects of this aggregator is also to provide bloggers a context by defining a purported peer group which I can tell you, has enlightened this blogger/listener. This site is designed in part to provide mailing lists and contacts for musicians, promoters, and publishers. There are various useful products but listeners can find low or no cost items here that can really help searchers find their way.
An overflow crowd packed the lovely auditorium at Berkeley’s David Brower Center this past January 19th. Octogenarians (and younger folks as well) populated both stage and audience in a show of appreciation for a man whose work as music director of KPFA (1969- 1992) and subsequently as an arts promoter and curator of new music in California’s Bay Area continues to enhance the artistic reputation of the Bay Area.
A rare and exciting aspect of this evening were the rare opportunities to hear Charles’ music, including representative sound poetry classics and a recent major opus capped off by a world premiere of a new work.
The hands of the artist. Photo by Allan J. Cronin
The genuine affection, appreciation, and respect was palpable as the honored guest demonstrated his skill at hosting when a couple of technical glitches slowed (but did not stop) the amiable birthday celebration. The audience waited calmly and quietly.
Both the guest of honor and the host (Liam Herb) used a well honed, self effacing humor used most skillfully to entertain the sympathetic audience while the technical difficulties were surmounted in real time.
Panel discussion featuring (left to right) Susan Stone, Anthony Gnazzo, Paul Dresher, Charles Amirkhanian, Sarah Cahill, and Liam Herb (Photo by Allan J. Cronin, Creative Commons license)
Herb, a composer and performer, introduced himself in the midst of the technical resolutions, graciously announcing that, as producer, he accepts responsibility for the glitches. Charles maintained his familiar master of ceremonies crowd pleasing good humor as Herb worked goodnauturedly (if that’s a word) with the rest of the crew to resolve the issues and get on with the show.
The formal opening remarks were given by Other Minds’ associate director, Blaine Todd. And the evening began in force.
Blaine Todd (photo by Allan J. Cronin, Creative Commons license)
The program glided past the initial hiccup to present a film about our guest of honor. The bevy of fans and bona fide new music professionals sat with rapt attention as the film, featuring the familiar faces of several “Bang on a Can” artists.
The late great Robert Black interviewed by Amirkhanian in the streaming premiere of Audible Autopsy. (Photo of film appearance by Allan J. Cronin)
Excerpts from the 2015 Other Minds 20 documentary featured Julia Wolfe, David Lang, and Peter Gordon (now, it seems elder statesmen (and women) in their own right.
Production manager Liam Herb then served as moderator for a conversation or live interview (with Amirkhanian) for the next segment. This was followed by some videos with music by the guest of honor:
Real Time/T.V. Time Video with Amirkhanian’s “Muchrooms”
The film, presented in its entirety was accompanied by “Muchrooms”, from the CD recording of that standalone work.
Next was Amirkhanian’s and Carol Law’s classic collaboration: History of Collage (1981). This is a major work and a great collaboration with his partner in life and arts. I’m pleased to add my own shot from the performance at the Other Minds 23 experience, my favorite OM festival(so far).
History of Collage (1981) photo by Allan J. Cronin taken at the Other Minds 23 wonderful live performance of this work (Photo by Allan J. Cronin is Creative Commons license 2015)
We also heard and saw Audience (1978) with photography by Law and music/poetry by Amirkhanian followed by Chairs with photography by James Petrillo and music/poetry by Amirkhanian (excerpts from Seat Belt, Seat Belt (1973).
There followed a panel discussion led by Carol Law with Betsy Davids discussing David’s’ work and her connections via her work as a book artist. These two embody the experimental visual arts that characterize the skills of these fellow artists both onstage and off tonight. In fact, interactive collaboration and both respect and friendship were everywhere to be seen in this warm and pleasantly nostalgic evening.
Carol Law speaking with Betsy Davids (Photo by Allan J. Cronin, Creative Commons license)
This was followed by a recording of a major opus, Ratchet Attach It (2021) recently played at one of the (still ongoing) Other Minds Festival. This work is a major opus by Mr. Amirkhanian, one I’m pleased to say I heard live at the Chinese Theater in San Francisco a few years ago. Scored for a huge percussion ensemble, with audio recordings, and a conductor who moves between the podium and a space among the performers playing with the ensemble. It is perhaps one of his most integrated and evolved compositions. Stunning to hear it live. Glad to hear the (always too short) excerpts.
In fact Mr. Amirkhanian, a fixture in the arts of the Bay Area, continues to influence musical taste and present new and interesting music as he has for well over 50 years. His work as Executive Director of Other Minds includes the fabulous OM Records as well as the annual Other Minds Festival and a continual flow of carefully curated concert events by luminaries (or soon to be luminaries) throughout the Bay Area and beyond. There is also the huge archive of thousands of hours of interviews and concerts that are available in streaming audio and video via the Other Minds website.
Many of the artists featured in the Other Minds concert series continue to work, innovate, and expand musical concepts. An Other Minds commission, Henry Brant’s Organ Concerto, Ice Field, earned him a Pulitzer Prize. Many have gone on to greater achievements in their respective careers. Of course not every composer started their musical careers at Other Minds concerts. Many mid or late career musicians have joyfully been represented over the years. Its one of those festivals that innovative musicians seek to participate.
Such achievements reflect on Amirkhanian’s leadership and curatorial acumen, but more importantly his relationships with his fellow artists. Charles has earned a reputation for his support and his collaborative nature. Arguably, everyone in the house (and the overflow in the lobby) all have a degree of connection to Charles and his guests. It is why we’re all here tonight.
Charles Amirkhanian and Joseph Bohigian performing with Liam Herb’s electronics (Photo by Allan J. Cronin, Creative Commons license)
Following a brief intermission we were treated to a world premiere of a new work by our guest of honor, Noose Ratchet (2025) for two percussionists and electronics. Amirkhanian performing and/or promoting his own music is a relatively rare event and this alone was certainly worth the trip.
The work is arguably a trio for two percussionists playing ratchets, a curious instrument whose sound, if not entirely ubiquitous, is familiar. And the two play interactively with the electronics (the third member of the trio). Extended techniques and other duties get assigned (when in doubt it’s responsibility of the percussion section, right)?
There followed a lively and friendly panel discussion amongst frequent and past collaborators Susan Stone, Anthony Gnazzo, Paul Dresher, Sarah Cahill, and Liam Herb. This truly felt like a gathering of friends.
Program Berio:Wasserklavier Schubert: Fantasia in F minor for Four Hands Cage:Experiences No. 1 Nancarrow (arr. Thomas Adès): Study No. 6 John Adams:Hallelujah Junction Arvo Pärt:Hymn to a Great City Rachmaninoff:Symphonic Dances
From the very beginning this concert defied convention in so many ways. The Granada Theater hosted a sold out crowd for these two distinctly different rock stars. The two pianos were arranged so that the artists were sitting next to each other, Wang was seated slightly upstage and stage right while Òlafsson was stage left and a bit downstage (the conventional staging for two piano concerts has the pianists facing each other and equally center stage). Also noted was Wang using the iPad score reader whilst Òlafsson had a page turner for the hard copy paper score.
On the surface these two artists have distinctly different personas. Both are possessed of a high level of technical skill along with interpretive abilities that communicate with their audiences. But the juxtaposition of these two pianists is a pairing that had this listener wonder if they could occupy the same space. Òlafsson the contemplative man in the dapper blue suit and the introspective facade contrasted just a bit with Wang’s more extroverted showmanship. And Wang’s fashionable but characteristically flashy outfit (which was even “flashier” after intermission).
The concert began with a brief and generally lesser known piece by the great Italian composer, Luciano Berio (1925-2003), his Wasserklavier (1965). This short, contemplative work functioned as an appetizer as the duo segued directly to Franz Schubert’s (1797-1828) gorgeous Fantasy in F minor (1828). This work originally written for one piano, four hands, was played here on two pianos. The work, written in the year of Schubert’s death is of symphonic dimension. The duo played rather uptempo but delivered a very convincing performance.
After acknowledging applause they gave us a sort of brief palate cleanser, John Cage’s (1918-1997) Experiences No. 1 (1945-8), a work for two pianos. The soft and sparse texture segued to Thomas Adès arrangement of Conlon Nancarrow’s Player Piano Study No. 6 (ca. 1962). This study, one of about 50 studies, sounds gentle and bluesy but belies the actual rhythmic complexities which characterize all the studies. This team handled the complexities most deftly.
This was followed by another work of symphonic dimension, that of John Adams’ (1960- ) Hallelujah Junction (1996). It was this writer’s first hearing of the work and it was a charming and engaging post minimalist work that challenged the virtuosity of the artists and gave ample evidence of how well they performed together. The rousing ovation then took us to intermission.
(Photo by David Bazemore, all rights reserved)
The second half included Wang in a more revealing outfit more characteristic of much of the publicity photos I’ve lately seen of her. But most important is the artist’s virtuosity and interpretive power. She is a force of nature. Òlafsson is just a gentler expression that managed to link most successfully with his upstage partner on this night.
They began with Arvo Pärt’s (1955- ) Hymn to a Great City (1984-2004). This ca. 3 minute work (the city of greatness is not named) was a soft meditative work, perhaps echoing the Berio work which opened the concert.
It led without pause into Rachmaninoff’s (1873-1943) Symphonic Dances (1940) I had only been familiar with the lovely version for large orchestra (apparently written concurrently with the orchestral version) so it took a bit to grasp the intricacies that suggest that this music was written for two skilled pianists. Òlafsson and Wang traded moments to shine in this truly symphonic work but it worked very successfully with these two artists in their respective driver’s seats.
A standing ovation brought the two back to the stage where they sat next to each other for a rendition of Schubert’s bouncy Marche Militaire. A second encore two dances, by Dvorák and Brahms, eased into a calmer Brahms’ familiar Waltz in A-flat Major capped off a truly fine concert, not a union of opposites but rather a collaboration of genius.
This listener hears the influence, or at least some common elements of Morton Feldman, La Monte Young, and a too little known David Toub. What are those common elements? The long, frequently slow development of Feldman and Toub along with long held tones of La Monte Young.
Emilie Cecilia Lebel (photo from composer’s website)
What we have here are two solo piano pieces by Canadian composer Emilie Cecilia Lebel (1983- ). After reviewing her nicely organized website I came to the conclusion that this composer works in drones, long held tones, and long form works that not infrequently bleed into sound installation and ambient musics categories. She writes for piano and other instruments including works that are suitable for traditional concert stages as well as works that function in a more ambient mode like gallery installations or site specific sound design.
These two works are best heard in an environment that allows the listener to focus on the slow development of ideas that both these works share. That environment can be a recital hall or, as in this listener’s case, a CD player attached to some good headphones, reclining with eyes closed. Despite said slow development, these pieces compelled this listener to stay put and really enjoy the way this music unfolds as the initially perceived sparseness gives way to allow the structure and logic to emerge.
Despite the perceived similarities to the sound world of other composers as mentioned above, these pieces have a unique and developed voice. In a sense they are the next generation containing the musical DNA of their predecessors.
One of the things I had to look up was the “e bow drone”. This little electromagnetic device is more commonly found in jazz and fusion, perhaps rock bands as well. Primarily used with electric guitars and basses, this device excites a targeted string on a given instrument to produce long held tones. Exactly how it is used by the performers is doubtless indicated in the score but, suffice it to say that it works well here. These held tone fades from foreground to background and back again as the music relates always to the anchor of the drone.
Both pieces utilize this drone apparently as both a structural and sonic tool. By that I mean that the music unfolds partly via its relationship to the drone tone. Within that framework the pianist plays a variety of chords, arpeggios and near melodic lines that produce cadences which delineate the structure. And here I’m only relating this listener’s experience. I do not have the knowledge to attempt a more sophisticated analysis but I guess the point is that such analysis, while doubtless interesting, is not essential to the appreciation of this music and I respectfully leave this to those with more sophisticated training than I.
The two works presented are here performed by the artists who commissioned them. Technical concerns aside, these works are satisfying to the listener able to focus on the flow of the music. These are well developed, engaging pieces that conceivably could be successful as a concert performance or an ambient sound installation.
This release is another valuable feather in the cap of the Vancouver based Redshift Records. This label celebrates Canadian Composers new and old (mostly new). Interested listeners would do well also to check out Riparian Acoustics, a marketing organization with some fascinating curatorial radar. (N.B. This reviewer has published at least two other Redshift productions reviews here and here).
This is a composer I’m delighted to have made it onto my personal radar. She deserves to be a person of interest for successful artistic transgressions, so to speak. Enjoy!
Terry Riley with a t-shirt displaying the entire score of “In C” (photo from Facebook, copyright unknown)
November 4th, 2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the premiere of Terry Riley’s seminal masterpiece, “In C”. After having completed a variety of respectable compositional efforts, Terry Riley (1935- ) was jolted by the Muse to write this defining work that charted a path very different from that of the western classical mold of the composer’s formal education. It premiered in the very unconventional venue of a house in San Francisco, not in an auditorium designed for concerts. And it’s one of those pieces that now marks the transition from almost purely experimental writing to a style later dubbed “minimalism” (though many composers whose music is subsumed under this title eschew it in varying degrees). And whether you call it minimalism, trance music, drone, etc., the style would come to dominate a huge portion of concert works and recordings.
The score consists of 53 short musical phrases with no specified instrumentation and with no conductor’s score, just parts with a seemingly simple set of instructions. One page is what one might expect of a sketch of a larger work to be, not a complete score but, that’s it, One page with the instruction for the musician to repeat each cell or phrase ad libitum and then move on to the next. It was ostensibly the suggestion of composer/performer Steve Reich to have a pianist play eighth note repetitions of the top two highest octaves on the keyboard. In addition to this “click track” like strategy, the playing of those high “C”s also serves to anchor the tonality much as continuo does in that quasi improvisational baroque practice.
There is simply no finer account and analysis of this music than that of Robert Carl’s “In C”. Robert Carl (1954- ) is a teacher, composer, performer, and musicologist. I do not presume to have as extensive an analysis as he does but I’m interested here in providing a celebratory perspective from where I sit (and have been seated).
This music (as does all art) stands in a context with concurrent and recent events surrounding its conception and performance. Temporally it stands along with other notable compositions from 1964: Witold Lutoslawski- String Quartet, John Coltrane (admittedly one of Riley’s influences)- the albums, “Bessie’s Blues” and “Lonnie’s Lament”, Igor Stravinsky- Elegy for JFK and Variations in Memoriam Aldous Huxley (both men died on November 23rd, 1963), Roger Sessions- Symphony No. 5 and his opera, “Montezuma”, Milton Babbitt- Philomel, Karlheinz Stockhausen- Mixtur, Ben Johnston- Sonata for Microtonal Piano, Luciano Berio- Folksongs (written and premiered at Mills College, the later home of the Tape Music Center where Berio was teaching then), Olivier Messiaen- Et Expecto Ressurectionem Mortuorum, Iannis Xenakis- Eonta, and La Monte Young- (the first iteration of his masterpiece), The Well Tuned Piano.
My little list here is just a sampling of the western classical and jazz works that graced the natal year of “In C”. Admittedly, it is a cornucopia of some more experimental, some less so music that lie in this historical orbit. But, among the works in this list, it is the work of John Coltrane and La Monte Young that shares musical DNA with Riley’s aesthetic in this music. The other works contemporary mentioned represent a sort of “Garden of Forking Paths“ to a panoply of styles very different from the work at hand.
At a time when the style of American pop music had just recently met The Beatles, this work was a sort of coalescence of experiments done by La Monte Young, Steve Reich, and others. “In C” seems to have come out fully formed in its way. It was seemingly influenced by pop, jazz, and blues (whose use of repetition is endemic). 60 years later it is performed frequently and there exists at least 40 or so recordings of the work.
When I began writing this article I realized that Robert Carl’s book on this work fully covers the history and provides a definitive analysis to which I cannot contribute anything additionally useful. I then considered eliciting commentary from musicians and listeners about this music but found little interest because that has been well covered by several previous anniversary essays. So I decided to share a discography and photos of some the recordings I could find that have given me further insights into this touchstone work.
This discography is not comprehensive but my intent here is to celebrate this anniversary with the cover artwork that adorns the ever increasing documenting of this landmark of western art music. I will present what I believe is a representative selection of some 40+ versions.
Your humble author was 8 at the time of this work’s premiere. And my first hearing of ‘In C’ was in 1976 when my local radio station, the great WFMT in Chicago, aired a program curated by Raymond Wilding-White, a composer and professor of music at De Paul University. His task was to present representative works of American music, one for each day of the nation’s bicentennial year. ‘in C’ was one of them.
Since then I have heard many interpretations of this work. The original performance was at 321 Divisadero Street in San Francisco, California on November 4th, 1964. The original performers were: Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Jon Gibson, Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster, Morton Subotnick, Warner Jepson, Tony Martin, William Maginnis, and Ramon Sender (who celebrated his 90th birthday this past week). This venue was the second and last home of the San Francisco Tape Music Center before it relocated and was renamed The Mills College Center for Contemporary Music in 1966 in Oakland.
Here, with brief commentaries, are my favorites. There are at least 38 versions according to the Wikipedia article. Here are my personal favorites in chronological order of release date:
The original Columbia Records release (1968)
If you only have one recording this is probably the one you want. Recorded in 1968, this brought the work effectively to a wide audience via international distribution. The instrumentation (some overdubbed) includes: saxophone, oboe, bassoon, trumpet, clarinet, flute, viola, trombone, vibraphone, marimbaphone.
Riley with the Chinese Film Orchestra (1989)
This important recording was made in China around the time of the Tiananmen Square uprising and the tapes were in effect smuggled out of the country in the aftermath of that incident. It stands as a fascinating document of eastern musicians encountering and interpreting this masterpiece.
The 25th anniversary release on New Albion (1990)
Don’t you just love anniversaries? By the time of this release (1989), this work had been disseminated into wide geographic regions and cultures. This version includes many of the musicians who premiered the work and this “traditional” reading is a loving homage to Riley’s work.
The Bang on a Can release (1998)
The Bang on a Can All Stars are among the finest ambassadors of new music. They have earned the right to put their stamp on any new work they choose and subsequently bring it anew to another generation of listeners.
Prog Rock does homage to Terry Riley (2001)
If you want to hear the wide range of musicians who have chosen to pay homage to this work this is a fine place to start.
The Africa Express release (2015)
Another fine example of the way this work can sound from a Central African perspective. This performance from Mali is absolutely electrifying.
Another fine culturally tinged version (2017)
This album is a personal favorite from the Brooklyn based collective featuring instruments from Hindustani traditions and others alongside western instruments. You can read my enthusiastic review here.
There are probably at least 50 recordings of this work. Some are private, maybe even bootleg versions. Clearly this work continues to become more and more essential and influential piece of music. It is not unlike a musical version of the Iconic monolith from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. The anomalous structure was of alien origin and was purported to accelerate the evolution of species who encounter it.
Riley’s work is most .definitely of terrestrial origin (well, San Francisco anyway) but, clearly this work continues to intrigue musicians worldwide and has arguably influenced the development of music itself.
After agonizing about writing a “best of” blog and publishing it before January 1, I decided to take a pause and enjoy the holidays. So here I look back on my 2023 in the rear view mirror but with memories still pretty fresh.
Regular readers of this blog likely already know of my oft shared opinion of the superfluous nature of “best of” lists and of my acquiescence in producing such on an annual basis. I certainly don’t think of this as a meaningless exercise and I think the process has grown on me. It is a chance to achieve a perspective which would be missed by simply plowing on ahead with the usual flow of reviews and articles. But drawing down that 12 month perspective is an opportunity to evaluate those months, to see where we’ve been and to hopefully get a smidgen of insight into where I/we are likely headed.
My Facebook friends will recognize the representative meme at the head of this article which is one of the more cloying aspects of “AI”, whatever that is. So indulge me for a moment to look at this seemingly new intrusion into the reality we thought we knew. So, what is “AI” and what will it do to us? Ultimately I’m not the one to answer that question but I’d like to throw some ideas to add to the speculation.
First, the choices a composer makes, like the choices of a painter, a writer, etc. are the stuff of the mystery of creation itself. Why “A major”, or why that tuning, or scale, or rhythm, or orchestration, etc? So along comes the notion of removing, or at least distancing, the artist from their creative product. That notion started not with famed proponent John Cage but rather with Johannes Chrysostymous Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in his K. 516f musical dice game. Voila! Algorithmic composition (actually fairly common practice in the classical era). An early manifestation of “AI”? Perhaps.
Lejaren Hiller (1924-1994) was the first composer to employ electronic data processing in a musical work in his Fourth String Quartet subtitled “Iliac Suite” in 1957. There followed similar experiments with various iterations of electronic creations at music centers worldwide including The University of Illinois at Champaign, Columbia-Princeton, Stanford, The University of California Berkeley and San Diego, The San Francisco Tape Music Center (later subsumed into the Mills College Center for Contemporary Music, IRCAM in Paris, Israel Electronic Music Studio, and counterparts in the Nordic countries, Germany, Belgium, etc. Proto “AI”?
While historically interesting I raise this issue to say that, as far as I can tell, “AI” has not made this writer’s greatest hits list but it is interesting and maybe even useful. With that, my concern for the subject officially goes to the back burner for a later time.
2023 has been a year of great personal changes for the writer of this blog. A job change, a geographical relocation, and many things unrelated to this blog characterized a busy year for New Music Buff. So here in a sort of holiday tradition I present my “Best of 2023” from my little listener’s corner of the world. For the sake of simplicity I present a more or less chronological exposition of my sonic adventures. (N.B. Not one portion of this article made use of “AI”).
I begin with not with my 20 most read posts, a practice that characterized previous iterations of this annual exercise. Instead I am providing my top 20 favorite releases that were reviewed in 2023. Please note a couple of caveats. First, I receive a lot of review requests, more than I can even listen to, much less give a reasonably intelligent review. Albums that I’ve not reviewed should not be assumed to be bad or insignificant and my reviews are personal observations. I really only review albums that interest me anyway. Second, this article is only one reviewer’s opinion and not intended to be definitive or to supersede anyone else’s opinions. Third, this is not the end of my attention to music that was released in 2023. Some releases require more time to give a fair listen and a respectful review. There are more to come in 2024.
First a few stats: 2023 saw the publication of some 45 blog posts on New Music Buff, earning me 9693 views for the year. I rarely get comments on my posts (though I welcome and invite comments both positive and negative). Not bad, I think, for the overall less appreciated musical styles that fuel my desire to write about.
Now, in chronological order (of publication) are my personal favorites as a listener:
Neuma 158
Binaural Beats in the Tudor Rainforeststarted my new year with a bang. Reviewing this disc required me to take a closer look at the astounding work of David Tudor and his unique contributions to new music. This important release is a recording of a work which, by its own concept cannot receive a “definitive” performance. But this recording comes mighty close, involving “binaural” recording utilizing a mobile set of binaural microphones which are worn by the recordist. In addition this recording involved a collaboration with Pauline Oliveros and a group called, “Composers Inside Electronics”. The recording was done during Oliveros’ tenure at UCSD. Rainforest IV is so called because it is the fourth iteration of the instructions that form the original concepts of Tudor’s composition, “Rainforest”. It is an immersive sonic experience heard on headphones but actually not bad even heard on stereo speakers. A rich and wonderful release.
Starkland S-236
From a 1960s electroacoustic to a budding 21st Century composer Kotoka Suzuki released on the reliably interesting and even visionary Starkland label. Next Gen Electroacoustic: Kotoka Suzukiwill introduce the listener to this rising star who doubtless will produce more of her compelling compositions.
Sony 194399434826
Igor Levit is a fine concert pianist whose albums are effectively redefining the way we, as listeners, perceive the western classical oeuvre. Igor Levit: Defining Tristandoes for the various musical pieces inspired by the Tristan legend what Levit did for the concept of the great keyboard variations in which he selected Beethoven’s “Diabelli Variations” and Frederic Rzewski’s “El Pueblo Unido Variations” to join his recording of the Bach “Goldberg Variations” in a 3 disc package placing these three large sets of variations as emblematic of the genre in three different centuries (18th, 19th, and 20th). Levit, by his recorded output, is providing a valuable perspective which may influence repertory choices for years to come.
Levit’s traversal of the Tristan legend here ranges from the second recording of Hans Werner Henze’s too seldom heard “Tristan Preludes” back to works by Wagner (of course) and Liszt. He even slips in his wonderful solo piano transcription of the Adagio of Mahler’s unfinished 10th Symphony into the mix. This is a very compelling Tristan anthology by a deservedly still rising star.
Cantaloupe
This Cantaloupe release by Bang on a Can composer and master clarinetist Evan Ziporyn is both masterful and great fun. Evan Ziporyn: Bang on a Popconsists of transcriptions of “pop” songs for multiple clarinets all played by Ziporyn via his very effective multi-track recordings. The album is very personal and pretty much cliche free with these engaging and insightful transcriptions. It is an homage to the songwriters as well as a showcase for Ziporyn both as composer and as performer.
Microfest MF 23
The Young Person’s Guide to Ben Johnston is an ideal way to introduce listeners to the wonderful world of the late Ben Johnston’s music. Johnston, a student and colleague of Harry Partch shows his compositional skills utilizing non-traditional western tunings in these representative works. Johnston here does for some quasi pop tunes what Evan Ziporyn did with his clarinetist perspective for the tunes on Pop Matters. But Johnston’s pretty, accessible work belies fascinating complexities that don’t actually sound complex to the listener. This disc contains Johnston’s last completed work, “Ashokan Farewell” (which Johnston took to be a public domain folk tune but is in fact a piece written by Jay Ungar). It is paired with the 4th String Quartet (a set of ingenious variations on “Amazing Grace”) from 1982 and the 9th String Quartet of 1997. Profound, lovely to listen to, and a great homage.
DVD OM 4001
This DVD is a major addition to the discography of Charles Amirkhanian’s sound poetry as fine sampling of one aspect of Carol Law’s (Amirkhanian’s life partner) complementary visual art. These collaborations are also important contributions to the visual and performative aspect of these collaborative works. Amirkhanian has been a fine curator and promoter of the work of others but he has rather seldom stepped into the spotlight himself. This quirky genre got some fabulous exposure at the 7 day Other Minds 23 festival in 2018 in which Amirkhanian’s work was presented in the (surprisingly varied) context of sound poetry of the amazing international collection of artists who were hosted at those events. This DVD should be in the collection of anyone interested in new music sound poetry and performance art. It is both entertaining and mind bending featuring a juxtaposition of images and sound reviewed in greater detail in the post “Dyadic Dreams”. But words cannot do justice to these works. You really have to see them.
Cedille CDR 90000 210
Readers of this blog know my fondness for the Chicago based label Cedille and their promotion of Chicago based musicians. This disc stands out in this group’s embrace of non-traditional composers alongside more traditional works. The inclusion of works by DJ composer Jlin and the academy based genre defying duo Flutronics alongside composers like Danny Elfman and Philip Glass demonstrate the wide ranging repertoire of Third Coast Percussion. Much more information can be found in Perspectives: Spectacular World Premiere Recordings from Third Coast Percussionon my blog. This one reimagines the percussion ensemble.
Neuma 176
This disc is a good example of why listeners and collectors should pay attention to the Neuma record label. Philip Blackburn, who had been the very successful curator of Innova records, took over the defunct Neuma label which was founded with the intention of promoting largely electroacoustic music though not exclusively.
Agnese Toniutti‘s New Music Visionis actually a review of two discs by this rising star, a dedicated new music pianist that needs to be on your radar. The other Neuma disc contains Toniutti’s traversal of John Cage’s reluctant masterpiece, “Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano”.
The disc pictured here is Toniutti’s vision beyond the Cage work. This one focuses on mostly living composers Lucia Dlugoszewski, Tan Dun, Philip Corner, and Toniutti’s herself. Basically, if Toniutti plays it, you should probably at least give a listen.
2023 saw the completion of Bay Area pianist Sarah Cahill’s epic survey of piano music by female composers. Cahill is another (predominantly) new music focused pianist about whom I would also assert that, if she plays it, you should probably give at least one listen.
The End of the Beginning: Sarah Cahill’s “The Future is Female” Trilogy Completedwill tell you all you need to know about this trilogy which encompasses about 300 years of music history and sheds light on some fascinating and substantial music written by women. Most of the works on this trilogy of albums are, in fact, world premieres but, fear not, even the pieces which are not premieres are likely not in your collection. This is a brilliant selection of music that effectively throws down the gauntlet to challenge other artists to explore this repertory. This trilogy is a true landmark and a joy to the ears.
This third volume in the wonderful Catalyst Quartet’s survey of another unjustly neglected group of composers focuses on the music of three black Americans of the twentieth century. Catalyzing Blackness, Volume Three: The Catalyst Quartet plays 20th Century music by Black Americans was nominated (but didn’t win) for a Grammy Award and, happily, I’m told that more volumes are in preparation. Again, this music is a pleasant revelation that does for black composers what Sarah Cahill has done for women composers (N.B. The first volume by the Catalyst Quartet focused on the black female composer Florence Price). And here’s hoping that Coleridge Taylor Perkinson, George Walker and William Grant Still will become household names in the concert hall.
Microfest MF 21
Son of Partch, Carrying on a Traditionis a really wonderful disc which, though I reviewed it in exceedingly positive terms, provoked a strongly negative reaction from the artist. The reaction apparently also provoked enough interest to have made this review one of my most read of 2023.
But, aside from the unfortunate negative reaction, I still maintain that this is a fine release worthy of attention from anyone who likes new music, microtonality, and the music of Harry Partch. Cris Forster is a composer, theoretician, and instrument builder clearly descended from the Partch tradition. His work deserves attention and this disc is a very satisfying experience.
Islandia IMR 011
Steven Schick is a master percussionist and conductor. This release is the first volume of his personal choices of solo percussion repertoire. Solo Percussion Manifesto Volume I: Steven Schick’s “A Hard Rain” is a manifesto of sorts and does for solo percussion music what Sarah Cahill has done for women composers and the Catalyst Quartet is doing for black composers. There are not many recordings of solo percussion music and Maestro Schick essentially presents his favorite works in definitive performances on a label produced by Bang on a Can cellist Maya Beiser. The second volume is in my review queue and, if this first volume is any indication, it will be a landmark survey.
Cedille
Rising Star Seth Parker Woods’ “Difficult Grace” is a Classic in the Making. Here’sanother Grammy nominee that did not win but, this second album by this fine American new music cellist is a winner in my book (er, blog). This is actually the audio of what was developed as a staged performance but the music speaks for itself. Keep an eye/ear out for this rising star who, even now, is storming the new music cello scene in invigorating ways.
Neuma 128
A Reason to Listen: Roger Reynolds’ Latest, “For a Reason”,new recordings on Neuma Records. Here we see Neuma following its original electroacoustic mission with this remarkable set in celebration of Roger Reynolds’s 90th year. This is a lavish 2 CD box set with a beautiful booklet and lucid liner notes. It is a worthy production which showcases recent works by this prolific and important American composer.
Readers of this blog likely are aware of my interest in music that is suppressed and/or neglected so this disc grabbed my attention immediately. Israel does a great job of funding the arts and this can be seen in the proliferation of truly fine performers nurtured by that funding. Less well known are the composers who have flourished in the art healthy politics of this country. Some 50 years of history are represented here. This is but a sampling, albeit finely curated, of several generations of composers displaying a plurality of styles with substantial results. This entertaining disc will whet the appetites of intelligent and curious listeners and, hopefully, bring about more recognition of the world class composers who deserve an audience.
It is the duty of performers to infuse their performance with their nuances of interpretive skills until they (and, hopefully, composer and audience) are satisfied that they are doing justice to the music. When the music at hand challenges established norms and expectations that task becomes quite large. One need only look at the plethora of performances of Terry Riley’s seminal “In C” to realize that the nature and structure of this piece invites, by design as it were, experimentation with instrumentation and experimentation with the music itself which consists of 51 short notated cells.
This is the whole score
The original release in 1968 has been followed by at least 40 recordings reflecting choices made related to tempo, instrumentation, etc. In an earlier review of the “In C” version by Brooklyn Raga Massive, I addressed the inherently heretical nature of this music in light of the etymology of the term “heresy” (derived from “hairesis”, the Greek word for decision or choice). And this music demands intelligent choices.
This 1964 composition has been definitively analyzed in Robert Carl’s fine volume, “Terry Riley’s in C” so interested readers should seek out this book for definitive analytical detail. My main point here is that the musics elicits the making of choices much more so than the traditional western classical notated score. And the present release says nearly as much about the performer/producer, as it does about the composer. It is Maya Beiser’s expertise on her instrument, certainly. It is her experience performing at the center of the new music performance scene to have a definitive grasp of the pluralities that are the nature of new music. And, finally, it is her daring to make choices that threaten to make her not merely a performer but virtually a co-composer. All that with managing to flatter the composer and engage adventurous listeners. She did something similar in her Philip Glass album. She even did it with her recording of the Bach cello suites. Now that’s heresy at its best.
There can never be a definitive recording of this work. That is a huge part of this music’s charms as well as its importance as a challenge to the very nature of western classical music. The music itself is heretical.
Not all listeners may appreciate this significantly new, innovative, and very personal performance but the composer shared an appreciative blurb on the album’s back cover and the reviews this writer has seen have been unanimously positive.
Beiser’s use of harmonics and, indeed, quite a few of her instrument’s extended capabilities (pizzicati, harmonics, etc) all conspire to her revisioning of this music. On top of that she even uses her own voice and employs two percussionists to round out her orchestration of the work.
The percussion accentuates the ritual nature of the music. The harmonics and multiphonics place this version in the spectral realm of new music and even suggested to this listener the Phil Spector “wall of sound”, another hallmark of some ritual musics.
It is an album that invites repeated hearings to grasp the subtleties and insights of this interpretation. Beiser here, even at her most transgressive, is not seeking to supplant other interpretations, rather she simply shows the power of this landmark work to inspire another generation of talented performers (and enlightened listeners, for that matter) to experience the enduring cultural significance of this masterpiece. Brava, Maya! And sincere thanks, Terry.
When Bassist Robert Black (1956-2023) succumbed to colon cancer this past June, the music world lost one of its finest advocates, performers, and teachers. This posthumous release of composer John Luther Adams’ (1953- ) works for solo and multiple bassists receive definitively beautiful renditions here in this satisfying release in which Maestro Black plays all parts (two works are for solo double bass and one work is for 5 double basses). It strikes this listener as a fitting eulogy for Robert Black and his fine performance legacy.
Robert Alan Black (1956-2023)
First, let me say that the Cold Blue label has defined its own take on post minimalist experimentation, it’s one of those labels that I recommend you just buy anything they choose to release. So this chamber music by John Luther Adams fits most comfortably within the little niche that Cold Blue defines (sort of). In fact this is Adams’ 9th CD on this label. And Robert Black is perhaps the ideal musician to plumb the sonic depths of this “other John Adams”. This listener can’t imagine these works having been done better. These performances are definitive, an example of interpretation with which all subsequent performers will have to contend.
The opening work, “Those High Places” (2007) is a work in three movements, originally for solo violin, played here for the first time on a double bass. Black pretty much reimagines Adams’ piece for his instrument. This is not mere transcription. This version is virtually a new work in the soloist’s sensitive and insightful hands.
Those three movements serve, as do the last three tracks on this album, as bookends, nicely framing the centerpiece, “Darkness and Scattered Light” (2023). Unlike those bookends, this work is in one large movement and is scored for 5 double basses. This multitrack recording is an essential and very effectively produced effort that does as much justice to the composer’s intent as does the effort of the performer.
The last three tracks are, in their compositional processes, intimately linked to that first three tracks. Both rely on special tunings to produce the intended effects.
This release is also a fine example of the artistic style that characterizes the look that accompanies the sounds within. The photography, the overall design, visually pleasing, creating a metaphor for the sound of the recording, and paying respectful homage to composer and performer. This just fires on all cylinders for me. This is Cold Blue at their best.
There are, by my count, at least 8 discs on this fine audiophile label dedicated to music by composers from Iceland. That country’s musical prowess deserves to be better known as does their world class orchestra. I’m reviewing these back to back releases together because they are both Iceland Symphony recordings presenting new music by (mostly) Icelandic composers. And they have a secret connection.
This first disc is a nice mix of music by five different composers in works that really give the orchestra an opportunity to shine. Under the direction of composer/conductor Daniel Bjarnason we are availed of the sound of now, or at least Bjarnason’s “now”.
Track list
This disc, which seems to have a “outer space”theme in large part, opens with a large orchestral work from the most deservedly best known Icelandic classical composer, Anna Thorvaldsdottir. “Catamorphosis” is a 20+ minute work for full orchestra and then some. Her style initially reminded this listener of the sound mass of music like Ligeti and Penderecki. But her harmonic language is more lush and romantic. She has an astounding skill in writing for large orchestra, producing at times the modern equivalent of Impressionism. Her use of motives suggest she has digested ideas from minimalist/pattern composers. And at the end of the day (or the review), one realizes that she has developed her own voice.
The subtle colors of this work are well defined by the orchestra under Bjarnason’s truly expert guidance but also via the sonics that the Sono Luminus engineers are able to capture. This sounds like a difficult work to perform but Bjarnason manages to create a definitive performance and Sono Luminus’ sonics are, as always first rate.
Catamorphosis (2022) is typical of Thorvaldsdottir’s writing for large orchestra reflecting her skills as an orchestrator as well as her imagination, her ability to create a wide palette of subtle sound forms that suggest a sort of post impressionist style. The poetic and metaphorical titles tell little about the musical content (or structure for that matter). But her ability to create cohesive and compelling compositions such as this provide an experience that will likely evoke images for the listener, a sort of movie for the mind. So feel free to conjure your own images in this 7 part (played without pause) work and/or listen and watch a recent Elephilharmonie performance on YouTube here.
Missy Mazzoli’s comparatively brief “Symphony for Orbiting Spheres” (2014 rev 2016) taps into a vein of inspiration seemingly related to the cosmic images of Thorvaldsdottir. Mazzoli incorporates an electronic keyboard and harmonicas, among several less common instruments used in symphony orchestras, to create her own sonic cosmic fantasy. Please click the link on her name above to learn more about this rising star from her nicely designed website.
Daniel Bjarnason demonstrates his own formidable compositional chops with “From Space I Saw Earth” (2019). And this track also provides a link of sorts to the other album reviewed in this blog entry. This work, written on commission for the 100th anniversary of the LA Philarmonic, is a work that requires three conductors. The premiere was led by Zubin Mehta, Gustavo Dudamel, and Esa-Pekka Salonen, all of whom have significant connections to the orchestra (Mehta as conductor Emeritus, Dudamel as present chief conductor, and Salonen as conductor laureate). That was the premiere but this recording is conducted by Bjarnason along with Kornilios Michalaidis, and the then incoming chief conductor of the Iceland Symphony, Eva Ollikainen. Therein lies the “secret connection” to which I referred earlier.
María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir (1980- ) is a violinist and composer. Her orchestral work, “Clockworking” is a sort of post minimalist work with a gently driving Ostinato in the percussion. It reminds this reviewer variously of Birtwistle’s “Chronometer”, Ligeti’s “Poeme Symphonique”, to name a few but it is not derivative of these in any way. It is a very listenable and enjoyable orchestral work.
Bára Gísladóttir (1989- ) is a composer, vocalist, and double bass player based in Copenhagen.This, the briefest work on the album is at times the quietest and at others the loudest work here. I would add that it is also the most avant garde. Relying on a battery of percussion and what appears to be some extended instrumental techniques the composer creates a world that to this reviewer’s ears sound a bit like Gyorgy Ligeti’s work “Atmospheres” (1968). That’s not meant to say it’s derivative, just that it could conceivably be used for that famous psychedelic sequence from Stanley Kubrick’s masterful “2001, A Space Odyssey” where my own young ears first heard the Ligeti work.
DSL- 92268
As fabulous as that first disc is, this release, dedicated entirely to the work of Anna Thorvaldsdottir, is a worthy endeavor. In addition to that we are treated to the sublime and insightful artistry of the first female principal conductor of the Iceland Symphony, Eva Ollikainen who leads the Iceland Symphony on this disc.
Like the above release, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra demonstrates their world class artistry. This is not easy music to play but, under Ollikainen, as they have under her predecessor, they are able to articulate the intricately orchestrated sounds by this really astounding composer.
Just two works here. “Archora” (2022) and “Aion” (2018). Both are works of grand concept and could easily be called symphonies but the composer seems fond of metaphoric poetic titles. Regardless of the names given these works they demonstrate the composer’s grand sonic visions and her mastery of the orchestra, a mastery grasped very clearly by the Iceland Symphony’s new artistic director and conductor, Eva Ollikainen (1982- ). She holds the distinction of being the first woman to hold the post to which she was appointed in 2019.
Track list
There are only two works presented but both are stunning examples of some of the finest new music being produced today. Yes, it’s great to see women having a greater presence (both as composers and conductors) but, truly, Thorvaldsdottir is “the bomb”, so to speak. Her creativity, her mastery of the orchestra are simply a revelatory as well as entertaining listening experience.
Eva Ollikainen
This release is also a landmark which showcases the formidable talent of the Icelandic Symphony’s new conductor. In addition to breaking gender barriers she is quite simply a rising star and one of the finest interpreters of new music today.
“Archora” (2022) is the most recent work here and it’s another of Thorvaldsdottir’s sprawling cinematic tone poems. No specific story here but the composer’s mastery of orchestral color will doubtless evoke images and feelings in the listener. Thorvaldsdottir is creating a sort of sonic (as opposed to literal) mythology. Her reference points seem to be largely in Greek and Roman mythology but also in Nordic and Northern European myths. Eva Ollikainen conducted the world premiere at the 2022 BBC Proms. You can hear that performance on YouTube here. But the Sono Luminus recording captures more of the subtle sound colors of this engaging work.
The composer’s three movement, “Aion” (2018) concludes this recording. Aion is a Greek God of time. The composer is concerned with various aspects of time in her work. This large three movement work is virtually a symphony with an augmented orchestra, extended instrumental techniques, and an optional choreographic accompaniment. (Tell me that’s not cinematic). There is an example of the optional choreography here.
This recording is also a fine introduction to conductor Eva Ollikainen who clearly has a grasp of this music. Various examples of her interpretive genius can be found on YouTube ranging from Beethoven to new contemporary masters.
These are two truly fine discs both musically and for sheer sonic detail. They’re available in streaming and hard copy CD as well as Blue Ray Audio. These are a fabulous listening experience. Enjoy!
Just had to post this for all my readers and friends but especially those living near or able to get to Rome. Curran’s wife, Dr. Susan Levenstein, graciously sent this announcement to me. She is an American physician (and webmaster).Her very entertaining memoir, “Dottoresa” is her accounting of moving her practice to Italy.
Alvin Curran, (1938- ) is the co-founder of the seminal live electric music performance group, “Musica Elletronica Viva” along with his late colleagues Frederic Rzewski (1938-2021) and Richard Teitelbaum (1939-2020). The group formed in 1966 and later included kindred spirits including George Lewis and Garrett List among others. The group did its final tour in 2016.
Click on Curran’s name to look at his fascinating and well organized website which gives a fairly comprehensive accounting of the incredible range of musical styles and a very large bevy of collaborators.
Curran discussing some of his work with interviewer Charles Amirkhanian in Berkeley in 2016 (photo by Allan J. Cronin)
Curran, who taught at the venerable Mills College in Oakland, California is an always welcome visitor in the Bay Area. While he has made his home in Italy for many years now, he is truly an artistic citizen of the world. The warm and affable composer exudes an infectious enthusiasm which doubtless is why he has so many collaborators. His aesthetic which he documented in an article called, “The New Common Practice” in 1994 documents his all inclusive style, one that is very difficult to convey. His works include music for piano, chamber ensembles, orchestra, and even things most folk never thought of as musical.
He is a giant in late twentieth and early twenty first century music and this retrospective is most welcome.
“HEAR ALVIN HERE”
ALVIN CURRAN
…a retrospective
part of the #CHAMBERMUSIC series
The show consists in a listening room where a new sound work plays continuously—a mixtape comprising fragments from many different compositions, improvisations, and installations. It leads the audience on an autobiographical listening journey, freely mixing styles, periods, and languages, from free improvisation to Fluxus to Artificial Intelligence, from compositions for shiphorns to works for hundreds of musicians, from Sargentini’s L’Attico and the Beat 72 to MAXXI and the Tate, from Angelo Mai and The American Pavilion of Expo 58 to No Mans Land and the Théâtre de Chaillot.
The Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome (MACRO), Via Nizza, 138
inauguration September 20, 2023, from 6 pm to 9 pm
running until March 17, 2024
***************
Curran in performance at the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley in 2014.
Every solo artist, regardless of what instrument they play seeks to define themselves. Generally that means setting limits. Some set limits by specializing in an era (baroque, classical, etc.). Some specialize in working with electronics, some with jazz, some with experimental music, some with standard recital repertoire, etc. Seth Parker Woods (1984- ) seems almost unaware of such limits. He plays what he chooses. And, oh, what choices. From standard classics to the leading edge of musical creativity woods is poised at the beginning of a very promising career.
Seth Parker Woods (photo from his faculty page at USC Thornton School of Music)
This album is in fact the musical portions of what was produced as a staged presentation with Woods playing, singing, talking. No doubt something is lost without the staging but Woods’ asserts himself with great clarity on the sonic aspect alone. Think of this as a sort of cast album, though it is more than just a souvenir. It is Woods’ second album and it has this writer enthralled at where he may go next. You will be too.
Parker’s first solo release “asinglewordisnotenough” available on bandcamp reveals his dedication to new and recent music.
I feel privileged to have known this artist via digital media and to have watched with increasing interest his development as a true rising star in the new music world. I only recently acquired his first album via bandcamp. It was released “across the pond” when he was completing his Ph.D. at the University of Huddersfield.
Born in Houston, his father, a jazz and gospel singer, Woods was exposed to a great deal of music. He rehearsed in a home studio and somehow came to a fascination and deep appreciation for a wide variety of repertory.
His affiliations continue to be wide ranging from Peter Gabriel to George Lewis. He has appeared on many recordings but this is only the second disc dedicated entirely to Woods as performer and the first such solo efforts on a US label. Woods is apparently able and willing to tackle music of all eras and genres including the wildly experimental, like his “Ice Cello” homage to Charlotte Moorman and the theatrical, which brings to the the album at hand.
Track listing.
Four of the seven works presented are world premieres. And, despite this being a sort of “cast album” which lacks the visuals, this is a major release that presents a characteristic variety of musical choices and is a fine calling card for the artist. This is one classy production.
Frederic Gifford (photo from composer’s website)
He begins with the title track, “Difficult Grace” by Chicago based composer Frederic Gifford (1972- ). It is a setting of poetry by Dudley Randall subjected to some Cageian mesostic like manipulation. This first track tells us we are dealing with modern music and sort of sets the tone of this project. This is a complex work in concept (lucidly described in the composer’s notes) and involves projections of the texts onto the performer as well as electronics which, by careful use of both the sounds and the spoken text (spoken by the cellist) which then contributes to the musical structure. Photographs in the booklet show some of the striking visual design for this project.
Coleridge Taylor Perkinson (photo from Wikipedia)
Woods follows with what is to this listener a stunningly beautiful piece, “Calvary Ostinato” (1973) by the late, sadly neglected Coleridge Taylor Perkinson (1932-2004), a black American composer (actually represented admirably in a fine earlier Cedille release CDR 90000 087). The Ostinato is one movement from Perkinson’s “Lamentations: Black/Folk Song Suite For Solo Cello” (1973). Woods’ performance is available on YouTube. It’s truly enthralling. One gets the feeling that Woods really gets inside the music he performs and that deep feel for the music is delightfully obvious in this track, the second oldest work on the disc and one that is for the solo cello sans electronics or vocals but using a dazzling variety of extended instrumental techniques, none involving a bow.
Monty Adkins (photo from electro cd website)
Then we hear Monty Adkins’ (y. 1972- ) “Winter Tendrils” (2019) written for cellist who, in addition to playing his instrument, is asked to use his voice and work with electronics, albeit in a different manner than the title track. Adkins worked closely with Woods on the creation of this work. The work essentially an impressionistic piece with clever use of counterpoint to depict fresh fallen snow on the branches of a tree.
Nathalie Joachim (1983- ), a Haitian-American vocalist, flautist, and composer, is represented by two works. The first, “The Race 1915” (2019), a work that contributes to the Chicago centered Cedille label by its use of historical quotations from The Defender, a major and influential black newspaper in Chicago. Woods is again asked to use his vocal skills in this work which celebrates efforts to undo social inequalities.
The multitalented Joachim lends her vocal skills to Woods’ performance in Joachim’s second piece on the album, “Dam Men Yo” (2017). The title is Haitian Creole for “they are my ladies”. It is a sort of black feminist peaen celebrating the strength of the women with whom the composer was raised in her native Haiti. (NB: Haiti is the site of the only successful slave revolt in history, a fact that continues to be reflected in their turbulent politics).
Alvin Singleton (photo from Schott website)
In between those two pieces we get to hear perhaps the best known composer in this mix, Alvin Singleton (1940- ). Singleton is represented by “Argoru II” (1970) for solo cello (the Argoru series is a set of pieces for solo instruments akin to Luciano Berio’s “Sequenza” series). The title is from the Twi language (spoken in Ghana) and translates as “to play”. It is a virtuosic piece employing extended instrumental techniques which Woods accomplishes with almost supernatural ease. He does honor to this living elder statesman of American music.
Ted Hearne (photo by Jen Rosenstein from composer’s website)
And here we are back in Chicago now with Maestro Woods’ performance of a work by Chicago born composer Ted Hearne (1982- ), a name which did make it to this writer’s musical radar but one whose work I have just begun to explore. But this is a fine example of one of the reasons for my admiration for Woods’ scope of musical interest. I think he is one of those artists to whom I will turn to look for good new music. His instincts for repertory choices are amazing.
This is perhaps the most unusual entry on this disc as well as one that, if any controversy is forthcoming, it will likely originate with this set of songs to poetry by Keri Alabi. A casual listen to some of Hearne’s music on YouTube suggests a sort of post minimalist ethic but this last work is not discernibly minimal. Like the music that preceded it, this cycle is overtly about politics and equality.
Hearne’s little 6 movement song cycle is a combination of poetry, electronics, cello (of course), and the voice of said cellist. Hearne’s expletive title, “free fucked”, is apparently very much in line with the composer’s assertive and playfully humorous style.
We return in these tracks to the avant garde and complex with which the album opened. Again we have a multitasking role for the cellist demanding his vocal participation and working in a distinctly electroacoustic genre. Hearne lends his voice to the final track of this unusual work.
While political themes and references abound in this release it is as much about black politics and civil rights as well as feminist, gender, and global equality issues. But ultimately this recording is a landmark in the career of this fine young musician who works fearlessly with a variety of composers, poets, designers, political activists, progressive ideas, and new music in general.
Cedille is one of my top favorite new music record labels and has been since they first started in 1987. Their releases (not limited to new music) are consistently well recorded and produced but producer James Ginsburg really pulls out all the stops on this one. From concept to recording, from lucid liner notes to gorgeous package design this has all the marks of a classic and collectible release. I mean, the music is great, but the whole package is something you’ll want to own. That’s right, I’m calling for “collector’s item” status here. Now is the time to get your copy.
Being asked to review this retrospective of the work of this virtually uncategorizable dancer, singer, composer, dramatist is the telling of my personal experience of growing up nurtured by this artist. Monk is not, of course the only artist whose presence has nurtured me and so many friends but her work is a case where I learned how to tune my curious radar to find more of the music that touched me deeply.
I first discovered her work when I purchased her album, “Key” (1971), self released and marketed via the late lamented New Music Distribution Center in New York. That album, later released on the Lovely Music label along with two releases on the great German avant garde label Wergo (Our Lady of Late, 1973 and Songs from the Hill/Tablet, 1979), constitute the minimalist, SOHO loft music which characterizes her style even now. But with her first ECM release she clearly hit her stride. Those early albums are definitely worth hearing but her mature style blossomed on ECM. It was, in retrospect, a sort of quantum leap, if you will.
LP album cover of “Key”“Our Lady of Late”“Songs from The Hill”
In that first album one can find Dick Higgins among the singers and Colin Walcott producing and playing percussion (as well as singing). Walcott, along with the yet to be known Julius Eastman would later participate in the Dolmen Music release. Monk, who studied dance at Sarah Lawrence College along with fellow student Alwyn Nikolais established “The House”, her flexible performing group in 1968 at a time which saw a great deal of artistic energy in and around Manhattan’s SOHO district where she encountered musicians like Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and performers sympathetic to new innovations and ideas. She also taught and continues to teach her characteristic extended vocal techniques. Monk, along with John Cage, Philip Glass, and Robert Ashley was featured in Peter Greenaway’s “Four American Composers (1983).
The release of her first ECM disc, “Dolmen Music” (1981) can now be seen as a sort of watershed event. It was followed by “Turtle Dreams” (1983) a work which was prominently featured at New Music America 1982 in Chicago along with Robert Ashley’s “Perfect Lives”. Monk’s appearance on ECM occurred at about the same time as Steve Reich’s masterful “Music for 18 Musicians”. Monk found her mature voice more or less at the same time that Steve Reich and Philip Glass had found theirs. And anyone following new music in those years will recall the flow of new musical ideas that established many now acknowledged masters as legitimate artists.
While the major masterpiece, “Dolmen Music” dominates the album, Monk’s quirky mix of humor and pathos in pieces like “Gotham Lullaby” and “Biography” remain signature pieces in her oeuvre. And Turtle Dreams was made into a performance film for public television by visual artist Ping Chong in 1983, now available on YouTube.
She followed with “Do You Be” (1987) and “Book of Days” (1990) which also exists in at least two film versions and the CD itself which has been described as a “film for the ears”.
Following “Facing North” (1992) Monk released her only opera (though she refers to much of her works as “operas” this is the only one that comes close to the more generic concept of western music operas) to date, “Atlas” (1993) which was commissioned and subsequently performed at the Houston Opera. This represented another phase in her artistic development as she utilized her structured improvisation techniques along with her now familiar extended vocal techniques with an expanded set of performers both vocal and instrumental. Atlas is arguably similarly creative (and transgressive) as Philip Glass’ 1976 “Einstein on the Beach”. Both were developed in an unconventional manner and uses a similar harmonic language with really none of the standard conventions of western music in opera. Would that we can some day see a filming of this work.
I was privileged to see Monk in person for the first time when she performed excerpts from “Volcano Songs” (1997) in Chicago. Those images involving, among other things, light sensitive areas where Monk lay down and left a ghostly shadow upon arising. In addition to her engaging minimalist inflected music, Monk is a master at creating compelling images.
“Mercy” (2002) was followed by “Impermanence” (2008) which I was thrilled to see at Stanford. “Songs of Ascension” (2011) was another landmark in this piece conceived and performed in conjunction with installation artist Ann Hamilton in her tower in Northern California. Attendees to this event were brought in by bus due to the lack of actual parking facilities in that tower. I wish I could have experienced this but hopefully a cohesive video release will be forthcoming. Excerpts are available for viewing on YouTube and on Monk’s website.
“Piano Songs” (2014) by the wonderful new music championing pianists Bruce Brubaker and Ursula Oppens filled an inexcusable gap in the documentation of Monk’s piano music. And following her receiving the National Medal for the Arts in 2015 she released “On Behalf of Nature”(2016).
Monk is a well documented artist largely due to her productive affiliation with Manfred Eicher and ECM and, while gaps remain these recordings represent a major artistic accomplishment and an enduring legacy for new music, for women composers, for western art music. This lovely box set is truly a joy to behold.
Meredith Monk performing an encore at the final concert of OM 21 (2016) in San Francisco
This release completes Sarah Cahill’s monumental survey of piano music written by women which saw its first two CD volumes last year.last year. This, the third volume titled “At Play”, follows the first two as seen below. This trilogy is not, of course, the last word, the end on the subject of piano works by women. There can be no last word but these selections are a reflection of Cahill’s perspective as a performer but also a producer/programmer whose scholarship and advocacy are well known and respected worldwide. These releases speak to women, certainly. But they also speak to audiences in general, producers, and fellow musicians. They comprise a careful sampling of some three hundred years of music which effectively demonstrates that “there’s gold in them thar hills” (after all Cahill is a Californian). Here’s hoping that this survey will help start a metaphorical gold rush to unearth the gold that can be found in this neglected music.
The first two volumes (both previously reviewed in this blog).
Other Minds OM 1022-2
I recall my fascination with Cahill’s earlier commissioning project which resulted in her CD “A Sweeter Music” (2013). I recall attending a very preliminary recital at Mills College where she did brief run through of some of the compositions and spoke about the project. She later toured the music (sometimes with John Sanborn’s wonderful accompanying visuals, sometimes without). Little did Cahill know that she hit upon a genre of classical music dear to this listener’s heart, that of politically inflected classical music. As a result, my interest in her artistry and choices of repertoire escalated tremendously (I heard two of her Bay Area recitals of this music and reviewed the recording in the early incarnation of this very blog). So another project, this time supporting female composers, with even greater dimension than that earlier project has similarly grabbed my attention in this landmark collection of music by women composers which has largely been neglected by mainstream artists, producers, and programmers.
This trilogy of recordings hardly solves the egregious neglect of this music but it does contribute rather authoritatively to the canon (there is one now) of music by non-male composers. Cahill is not the first artist to do this, and there are multiple ongoing projects exploring the work of female composers, but this project deserves top billing as it casts a mighty wide net with its three volumes covering about 300 years (of neglect). These recordings of some 30 pieces are but a fraction of music by women composers in this pianist’s repertoire. But, more than simply righting wrongs, this is about celebrating a legacy of artists getting their due recognition. (The “bad idea” Biblical metaphor of hiding a lamp beneath a basket comes to mind). Just look, er, listen at/to what’s been under that basket!
Cahill playing at the Chapel of the Chimes Solstice Concerts in 2013, a major annual Bay Area event created and managed by her. (Photo by Allan Cronin Creative Commons License)
This now completed trilogy doubtless will not mark the end of Cahill’s advocacy but it will stand as a major manifesto of sorts and will hopefully bring more performers and producers to be open to performing and recording them. Simply hearing these recordings exposes the listener to music of stunning substance selected by an artist whose curatorial radar is finely tuned and whose choices will speak definitively to listeners (and likely fellow performing artists) for years to come. (N.B. Listeners would do well to check out Cahill’s YouTube channel where one can find a gold mine of music which reflects the scope of her performances and advocacy, not just for women composers, but for an amazing range of artists.)
This third volume is entitled, “At Play”. Like the previously released volumes, this collection gets a collective title that vaguely hints at the character of the music herein. The sequencing of the music is, like the previous two volumes, pretty much chronological. The essential program notes by Ms. Cahill (in all three volumes) provide just enough background to provide useful contexts for the listener. And you have to love the “Cahill and friends” photo galleries (on each volume) reflecting the deeply personal nature of this undertaking. That may sound hyperbolic but just listen to this music and feel the love, the passion, the connections, the sincerity, and the incisive playing. (Should I throw in a “Pied Piper” metaphor?) Listen and you’ll likely get hooked.
Track listings
There are 16 tracks comprising nine works by nine female composers over nearly three centuries. Four of the nine works receive here receive their first (or first commercial) recordings. As noted earlier, the track sequence is chronological. (N.B. That makes 30 + works over the 3 CDs), a little less than half of the total commissions.
We begin with the last of 9 sonatas by Hélène de Montgeroult (1764-1836). Her lifespan covers the classical to the early romantic eras in western musical history but recordings of her music didn’t begin to appear until about 2006 when Jérôme Dorival published a biography of her. Listeners will likely find this music similar to that of Mozart, Haydn, and early Beethoven but with a level of virtuosic writing that anticipates Chopin and Liszt. This three movement sonata was published in 1811. This is apparently the second recording of this work as another new music champion, Nicolas Horvath, released a recording of all nine of these in 2021, further testament that time has come for this composer (and perhaps women composers in general).
Next is the Thème varié, Op. 98 (1895) by Cécile CHAMINADE (1857–1944). This late romantic composer is probably the only name with which most listeners may be acquainted. A recording of her Concertino for flute and orchestra (1902) continues to receive attention by classical broadcasters but most of her work remains very little known. Cahill makes a strong case for this music with her interpretation of this virtuosic early romantic styled work. She is far better known in her native France. It is time we see what the French have been hiding.
Grażyna BACEWICZ (1909–1969), represented here by her Scherzo (1934), has gotten recognition in her native Poland but has only fairly recently become known internationally. This early work, less modernist than her later work, has apparently been recorded before but is new to this reviewer’s ears. Bacewicz was a prolific composer and this fine piece, a virtuosic showpiece, is likely to encourage listeners to further explore her extensive catalog which includes Symphonies, Concertos for violin, viola, cello, and for piano, 7 string quartets, symphonies, operas, songs, and much more.
Now Cahill brings us into present time, featuring living composers, beginning with the music of Chinese-American composer Chen YI (b. 1953). Guessing (1989) is a small piano piece which incorporates a Chinese folk song in a set of variations.
This is the first commercial recording of this music. To be honest, I am not familiar with much of this composer’s work (nor most of them here) save for Oliveros and Wong) but this piece as with all the selections here are sufficiently intriguing to prompt listeners to explore further. That is the point of an anthology such as this, to spark curiosity, suggest another path for the journey. Mission accomplished.
Franghiz ALI-ZADEH (b. 1947), born in Azerbaijan, incorporates elements from her ethnic heritage into modern classical idioms. Music for Piano (1989/1997) utilizes Cagean-like preparations, in this case a glass beaded necklace laid across the strings. The resulting sound, evoking Alan Hovhaness and/or Henry Cowell at times, is intended to evoke that of the traditional Azerbaijani string instrument called “tar” (not a reference to the recent film). The composers use of different scales also seems to derive from folk models. The piece is in several sections delineated by dynamics and by register in which is, I believe, an ingenious use of register used to control when to allow for those prepared strings to sound. The piece is by a composer with a wide expressive pallete and the ability to use those methods judiciously toward her unique creative ends.
Next, in the briefest entry at just over 4 minutes, we get one piece from a set of commissions (all by women composers) Cahill made to honor the 100th birthday of American composer Ruth Crawford (1901-1953). Pauline OLIVEROS (1932–2016) submitted this work (her first notated composition since the 60s) which uses her own unique approach to indeterminate composition in Quintuplets Play Pen: Homage to Ruth Crawford (2001), here in its world premiere recording. Oliveros, who exerted a profound influence on a generation of composers, performers, and listeners via her work in electronic music and improvisation, but most powerfully via her “Deep Listening” concepts which effectively define the role of the listener as being a part of the compositional process.
A clearly happy Pauline Oliveros acknowledges the warm applause of the Other Minds 20 audience after her performance at the SF Jazz Center in 2015. Her gentle spirit and powerful intellect preside over this trilogy and continue to influence all who knew her and her work. She would have loved these recordings. (Photo by Allan Cronin Creative Commons license)
I’m claiming fair use in publishing this lovely photo ad for an expensive perfume inspired by the same poem. Kinda Freudian, no?
Hannah KENDALL (b. 1984) is a black British composer whose three movement “On the Chequer’d Field Array’d” (2013) is based on the 1763 poem Caissa by Sir William Jones and depicts the three sections of a game of chess. The lengthy Elizabethan styled poem can easily be read as protofeminist given that the female chess piece heroically wins. Read it if you don’t believe me. And there are musical metaphors as well. It is these: mindplay, middlegame, and coda into which the work is divided. The music, like the poem is an intimate perspective which invites the reader (or hearer of the music) to create their own meanings here.
Aida SHIRAZI (b. 1987), an Iranian born composer, takes the performer inside the piano. Her blandly titled, “Albumblatt” (2017) belies her deep understanding of the piano and its possibilities. This is arguably the most avant garde (or modernist if you prefer) composition of the trilogy. Cahill’s choices reflect her eclectic approach to music programming.
In addition to a chronological approach, this trilogy is stylistically diverse. This music borrows from forbears such as John Cage and Morton Feldman as well as Henry Cowell. This meditative music only reveals itself fully to the focused listener. This is like an etude comprised of sounds you rarely hear (intentionally) from a piano. Played much of the time inside the piano but also at the keyboard more conventionally, the piece also demands close attention to dynamics (down to silence). Here is where the recordist’s art shines through. The subtleties of dynamics and the ability to capture the variety of harmonics evoked. Of course said performer had to accomplish rather large postural changes and do so silently if the performance adheres to the score, lol. And both are accomplished here in what sounds like a single take. This is a pretty great listen.
Regina HARRIS BAIOCCHI (b. 1956), a native Chicagoan poet and composer is given the last word with her, “Piano Poems” (2020). Last but not least by any means is a testament to Cahill’s singular but relevant choices as well as her advocacy of young composers as their stars begin to rise. This artist is new on my radar but one that will remain there. As both poet and composer, this young artist, commissioned by Cahill with a request that the music be about poetry, specifically by fellow (adopted) Chicagoans Gwendoline Brooks (one of this formerly Chicagoan reviewer’s personal faves) and Richard Wright.
The response was these 4 meditations on Brooks, Wright, and on the composer’s own poetical musings. The language here seemingly derives, appropriately, from 30s to 40s jazz of Ellington and Basie and a seemingly latter day version of that in the last two pieces describing the composer’s own literary utterances. Both virtuosic and apparently written by a composer very familiar with the instrument, a fitting and hopeful glimpse to the future.
Each of these discs contains at least one piece that reflects a deeper than average commitment by the performer. Cahill’s collaborative wok (with Dr. John DesMarteau) in the Agi Jambor sonata in volume I, her advocacy of Teresa Wong premiering the first performance of (She dances Naked…),the justly celebrated bay area artist’s selection on volume II. And her reaching out to Regina HARRIS BAIOCCHI for a commission (in volume III) all reflect another valued aspect of this performer.
The recording by Matt Carr is very listener friendly demonstrating serious skills at times in dealing with the many sonic challenges. This album and its two predecessors belong in any serious collector’s library. If the future is indeed female, then this is a fine soundtrack. Listeners, performers, Brava!!
There were no percussion ensembles in Western music until the early twentieth century, at least not anything close to the size and instrumental diversity we see now, but since then there have been a variety of percussion ensembles which have popped up. some touring, some recording, but all investigating the possibilities of this collection of pitched and unpitched instruments. Notable examples from this writer’s memory include the Paul Price Percussion Ensemble, the Donald Knaack Percussion Ensemble, Amadinda, and the Canadian group, “Nexus”. Each of these ensembles (the list is not comprehensive) has put their own stamp on the flexibly nebulous group subsumed under the title, “Percussion Ensemble”.
All of these groups have chosen which instruments to include in their group, which to exclude, and they have done their own curation of music to expand their respective repertoires and the percussion group repertoire as a whole. And the present recording presents yet another Third Coast Percussion CD on Cedille Records for this busy Chicago based group. The relationship between this energetic ensemble and the equally energetic Cedille Records has been a mutually beneficial one artistically. this release is the fifth release for that label. They have at least nine other albums as a group and have collaborated on many more recordings.
As noted on the album this disc contains all world premiere recordings that reflect varying degrees of collaboration. One of the unifying threads of this CD is the variety of compositional approaches. The Elfman piece being perhaps the most traditionally notated and structured. The others involve different compositional methods which are not exactly traditional in classical music. It is the exploration of such non-traditional methods and the expansion of the definition of composition that is a characteristic of this always interesting classically trained group of musicians.
Let me just start by saying WOW!!!
The first work on the album is by Danny Elfman (1953- ) is best known for his work in movies and television as the composer of “The Simpsons” theme and similarly energetic scores for Tim Burton’s films among others. His roots were in his work with the unusual pop band “Oingo Boingo” whose manic style is still present in much of Elfman’s work. And this is not his first appearance in this new music blog either. His Violin Concerto was reviewed here. He manages to succeed in pop, film, and the concert hall, a feat that few can match.
Elfman’s rather blandly named, Percussion Quartet (2019) is appropriately described in the liner notes as the most conventional work here in terms of how it was written. It is fully notated in in traditional notation and consists of four movements ranging in length from about 4 minutes to about 6 and a half. The work resembles traditional sonata forms with Elfman’s energetic and sometimes quirky melodies that successfully draw the listener through the composer’s journey. That bland title is almost ironic as it belies the really entertaining qualities of this piece. Third Coast’s realization is definitive as one would hope for a world premiere recording.
The second composition is a transcription by Third Coast of a popular Philip Glass piano work, “Metamorphosis No. 1.” But this is a transcription influenced by another transcription, that of the Brazilian group, “Uakti”. So this can be said to be tantamount to a collaboration with another performing ensemble. Clocking in at nearly ten minutes this track is a familiar interlude that cleanses the aural pallet for what is to come.
Photo by Cary Huws
And what does come next is a collaboratively composed seven movement work entitled, “Perspective”. This more poetic title is the source of the album’s title. This work by Jlin (Jerrilynn Patton 1987- ) was originally written by first recording multiple tracks or layers and then working with the musicians of Third Coast to transcribe these ideas into traditional notation and into a form playable by the quartet of percussionists. This, of course, resembles the methodology that brought forth the wonderful Devonte Hynes album (also on Cedille) reviewed here.
The music is arguably entirely composed by Jlin with the orchestration creatively realized by Third Coast Percussion (doubtless in direct discussion with Jlin). What results is a dizzying and energetic set of movements whose styles derive in part from minimalism and from the rhythmic complexities of African drumming and contemporary dance music. Jlin, who hails from Gary, Indiana, works from a perspective of a DJ spinning dance music. But this is hardly your typical DJ. This is a fascinating musical mind who just happened to have started with DJ equipment.
Flutronix (photo from their website)
Another example of Third Coast Percussion’s creative collaborations has resulted in “Rubix”, a three movement work written (mostly) by Flutronix, a genre busting duo. Flutronix is Nathalie Joachim and Allison Loggins-Hull, both classically trained flautists who aren’t afraid to cross dated boundaries to create music that speaks their minds.
This is some high energy music which reflects a variety of styles but always demands much from all players involved. The duo, whose rendition of Steve Reich’s “Vermont Counterpoint” demonstrates their virtuosity and interpretive rigor. Rubix is essentially a chamber work for flutes and percussion but their defiance of categories seems to be as much a critical element of their music as is their virtuosity. Bottom line is that this is engaging, creative work that leaves the listener wanting more even as they may be unsure what they just heard. Kudos, all!
This album is satisfying on several levels. It is a return to the label that contained the composer’s his first big release, the three disc set on DG which contained “Drumming” (1971), “Six Pianos”, and “Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices, and Organ” (both from 1973). Of course it was the ECM release of “Music for 18 Musicians” (1974-6) that became his signature work incorporating the experimentation heard in the music in that DG box set into the composer’s now familiar mature compositional language. The present release, also available on vinyl, seemingly reflects the post experimental composer’s grappling with the oh, so classical form of the string quartet. It’s a truly fine release and an homage to the composer.
DG 2740 106
Like many of his peers, Reich eschewed many of the conventions of western art music. His work at the San Francisco Tape Music Center helped him discover “phasing” and use of the speaking voice as a compositional element. His study with master drummers in Ghana taught him about quasi improvisational large ensembles and his subsequent study of Hebrew cantillation further refined his understanding of speech and song in his compositional contexts.
As he is quoted in the accompanying booklet, Reich never thought of attempting to use the string quartet form in his work. But along came the delightfully forward looking and genre breaking Kronos Quartet. That collaboration brought forth his landmark, “Different Trains” (1988). And the rest is, as they say, history. “Triple Quartet” for string quartet and tape (but no voices) came in 1998 and his WTC 9/11 (2010) which used sampled voices much as he did in Different Trains.
To be fair, Reich never appears to have intended to engage with the classical form of the string quartet (or any other classical forms for that matter). He uses the convenient availability of musicians sympathetic and sufficiently skilled to perform his compositions. The fact that they happen to be in string quartets is incidental. Much as the inclusion of a singer (as Schoenberg did) bent the quartet to fit his compositional goals, many have subsequently done similar alterations and additions to that classical ensemble. The difference is that Schoenberg adding a soprano, Kirchner (among others) adding electronics, etc. did so but clearly defined their works as “string quartets”. Reich did not do this but this disengagement with classical forms (string quartet, concerto, symphony, etc.) does not detract from the absolute quality of his music.
It would be unfair and would miss the point to try to judge these works via comparison and contrast with Haydn, Beethoven, Bartok, etc. In fact these works are not a part of that canon. Ultimately they stand on their own as part of Reich’s unique vision as a composer and, as such, they succeed very well.
WTC 9/11 and Different Trains are political statements with specific spoken word samples entered into a musical counterpoint. They succeed very well as protest and memorial for the respective events they frame. Triple Quartet, however, is absolute music concerned solely with Reich’s largely contrapuntal techniques of shifting repeated patterns. All three works succeed very well in their ability to engage audiences. All three are finely wrought compositions by by a major composer true to his maverick, experimental beginnings, true to the artist’s personal vision.
The Mivos Quartet does a fine job of navigating these technically difficult works and produce a fitting homage to a wonderful composer and make a strong case for the deeply substantial nature of this music. This is a great release. Highly recommended.
I had previously reviewed an Innova release by this fine Italian pianist whose compelling musical choices and interpretive skills make him one of the bright lights on the current musical scene. And his European perspective (and affinity for) American composers provide an extremely valuable perspective for both listeners and performers.
It comes as no surprise that that Innova album was produced during Philip Blackburn’s tenure and this release is another illuminating journey guided by Arciuli’s finely tuned curatorial and interpretive skills. The journey here focuses on the late post-minimalist William Duckworth (1943-2012).
The first 12 tracks comprise book I (of two) of Duckworth’s genre defining work, “The Time Curve Preludes” (1977-8). These have been recorded three times, first in 1983 by Neely Bruce (who premiered them in 1979 at Wesleyan). Bruce Brubaker recorded Book I in 2009 and R. Andrew Lee recorded the entire set in 2011.
In addition to Arciuli’s take on this composition (I expect a future release will contain Arciuli’s interpretation of Book II) we get a previously unrecorded set of songs for voice and piano, “Simple Songs About Sex and War” (1983-4) to texts by Hayden Carruth. Here Arciuli is joined by Costanza Savarese, a classical guitarist and vocalist, an artist new to this writer. Here she displays her vocal prowess in these pithy little songs reminiscent in some ways of Barber’s “Hermit Songs”.
Track list
Duckworth deserves more exposure and Arciuli’s work is always revelatory. So what Duckworth will be paired with the Book II recording? Delighted listeners want to know.
Let me start with a positive image from a brief photography trip which I managed this year. It was one of the highlights of what has been a difficult year for many of us. Weather, politics, COVID, itinerant employment issues, financial, and personal difficulties were an encumbrance but now stand in relief to the many positive aspects of 2022.
First, let me say that nothing musical fell into the category of “worst of” so fear not, what follows is essentially my “best of” from 2022. In my head I blame the aforementioned encumbrances for delays and sheer lack of production on my part. Whether that is the ultimate truth does not matter really so here, for better or worse, is my celebration of the positive experiences enumerated in this music blog in 2022.
This is one of the albums that stoked my interest.
My first post for the year struck a sad note. It was my personal tribute to a composer, A Belated Fan Letter: Homage to George Crumb described George Crumb, who had been one of my “gateway drugs”, so to speak, which helped put me on the exciting roads of new music upon with I continue to travel with great joy. Recordings of his complete works are still being released on the visionary Bridge Records.
Hannah Collins debut on Sono Luminus was a compelling offering from this rising star.
Carolyn Shaw’s striking and much performed “In Manus Tuas” (on solo viola as well as solo cello) was originally written for Collins. Her selections on this album, including that Shaw work, suggest to this writer/listener that she has both vision and an encyclopedic knowledge of music, especially that written for her instrument. She will be among the major shapers of this repertoire via her vision as well as her interpretive talents. And Sono Luminus’ superb sonics certainly helps make this a great release.
The first volume of Sarah Cahill’s landmark trilogy of piano music by women composers.
I have followed the work of Sarah Cahill since her first solo CD (music of Ravel). Like Collins, she has been an artist who, by her intelligent selection of repertoire, serves as a guide to listeners (and musicians) as well. She has championed many composers as a pianist and as a broadcaster on her weekly KALW broadcasts. Her curation of concerts throughout the Bay Area, such as her solstice concerts at Oakland’s Chapel of the Chimes, have showcased a large variety of creative performers.
As she focuses her lens on women composers (neglected is implied) she embraces a stunning range of styles from the baroque era to the present and it seems as though she can play anything she chooses well. She is also collaborative with an amazing ability to discern the substance in the works she chooses to play. And she has discovered (or rescued?) much music from obscurity via scholarship and intelligent collaboration. Can’t wait for the next release. She is consistently interesting and relevant.
This release on Lars Hannibal’s OUR records was a brilliant new recording of some of Ligeti’s music and introduced me to Kodaly’s solo choral works.
This album was sent to me by a friend. I knew the Ligeti pieces but heard them with new ears in this release and I was amazed by the Kodaly works too. Marcus Creed may not be as well known in the U.S. as he is across the pond but he should be.
Another debut album by a cellist.
This album was kindly sent to me for review by John Schneider of Microfest records. Read the review. Listen to this album. And watch for more from Chris Votek, another rising star in 2022.
Dan Lippel’s virtual manifesto displaying his vision and skill as he furthers the mission of the guitarist in all their guises.
Dan Lippel is one of the founders of the fabulous new music label, New Focus Recordings. Here he is acoustic, electric, conventional, and experimental but always interesting. Keep his name on your radar.
Languishing no longer.
This is a gorgeously designed, very collectible art object. It is a beautiful hard cover, full color book which also contains a CD of a recording (from acetate masters) which had languished in the archives of the Eastman/Rochester Music School where Harry Partch gave this lucid lecture/performance in 1942. Mr. Schneider, who sent me the Votek release as well, fronts an ensemble called PARTCH which, in addition to performing Harry Partch ‘s work, is recording Partch’s complete works for David and Becky Starobin’s Bridge label. This one is both eye and ear candy to my ears.
Rescuing those acetate masters from obscurity is a major find that rises in significance (in the musical sense) almost to the level of the archeological discovery of Tut’s Tomb. Schneider is a musician, a composer, a radio broadcaster, and an archivist and now a sonic archeologist I suppose. He also sports a collection of authentic copies of Partch’s curious instruments which were built to play the microtonal scales required. Partch is a major American composer whose work is now gaining its rightful place among the best of American classical music.
Seminal work by an American post minimalist composer.
I first discovered Mr. Susman’s work when I was asked to review a performance of another composer’s work. I heard one of his works played by the remarkable San Jose Chamber Orchestra on that same concert. Here we have another multi volume release of these lovely and significant piano works. The remarkable pianist (mentioned often in these pages) has contracted to record all 4 books of this sort of “Well Tempered Clavier” type gesture which effectively provides much insight to this composer. Nicolas Horvath, known for marathon concerts performing (and subsequently recording) all of Philip Glass’ piano music, among others. (We’re talking 15 hours or so. There is also a 35 hour live rendition of Erik Satie’s “Vexations” on you tube.) Who better to record these? The remaining three volumes are due some time this year. Who better to take on this post minimalist set of pieces? Can’t wait for the next volume.
Kondonassis’ new music manifesto for the Harp (and the earth).
Yolanda Kondonassis is about as household a name that you can find among harpists. These five minute (more or less) pieces are a significant addition to the solo harp repertoire. They are forward looking works for her instrument. Very interesting work, excellently performed.
New piano music written for Jacob Greenberg
I remain in awe at the curatorial and historically aware work of this truly fine pianist. Greenberg helped me grasp the historical context of the Second Viennese School in a new way with his earlier release “Book of the Hanging Gardens”. In that release he played all the Debussy Preludes along with Schoenberg’s pre twelve tone song cycle, Webern’s Variations, and the Berg Sonata which helped this listener to better grasp the historical context of this music. This small collection of works written for him reflects a collaborative and visionary ethic akin to that of Sarah Cahill’s. Keep an ear out for this guy.
Lou Harrison’s brief Solo Violin Sonata
I have received some good natured teasing about the fact that this, one of my longer reviews, is of a 15 minute piece of music. But this act of musical archeology by the bay area’s Kate Stenberg (who is a regular collaborator with Sarah Cahill BTW) has made the first recording of this little work. It’s Webernian duration belies a style very much in character with this beloved composer’s other work. My review was as much about the music and the recording as it was about the dedication of Stenberg to new music. This release is from Other Minds, another shining example of advocacy of new music and collaboration among composers and performers. Get it. Listen to it. And don’t miss a chance to hear Stenberg live performances or to hear anything Harrison has written.
Music between the wars
The Chicago based Cedille label is one of my favorite classical music labels. Producer James Ginsburg has a golden ear and Cedille is the finest Chicago based classical label since the justly fabled Mercury records. All their releases deserve attention but this two disc set of little known works for String Trio written between the world wars is a feast of substantive, if slightly conservative, voices. This one is a great listen and, trust me, none of this music is in your collection.
Other Minds Executive and Artistic Director of Other Minds Charles Amirkhanian applauds a rare performance of his own music at OM 26.
While circumstances conspired to limit my attendance to only one of the three days of OM 26, I would be loathe to leave this world class music festival off my “best of” list. My first published blog of 2023 was of the 30th anniversary celebration which showcased Marc-Andre Hamelin’s stunning reading of Charles Ives’ massive Concord Sonata. Anything OM does deserves your attention but the roughly annual festival continues to present composers and performers from around the world. Not to be missed.
Volume two of three
Another exciting release of Cahill’s visionary series. Like the previous volume (and the aforementioned Cedille release) the consumer will suffer no unnecessary duplications if the music herein. Fascinating and expertly done. This set (the third volume due this year) is a testament to Cahill’s encyclopedic knowledge of piano music as well as her collaborative nature and, of course, her skills as a pianist.
A new voice in electroacoustic composition Kataro Suzuki.
I’m cheating a bit here since I wasn’t able to complete my review until 2023 but this Starkland disc was released in 2022 and definitely earns its place in my “best of” list. This rising star is another one to watch. Starkland, run by the dynamic Tom Steenland is one of those labels that reliably finds interesting and substantive new music. This one is no exception. It goes a long way to alleviating my skepticism of the electroacoustic genre.
DVD OM 4001
And, in order to be fair I must cheat equitably. Charles Amirkhanian kindly sent me this exciting and excellent DVD of his collaboration with his partner in life and in artistic crimes, Carol Law. My more extensive review will appear shortly but this was a major release in 2022. Amirkhanian spends far less time promoting and performing his own unique compositions so this is an especially welcome release.
Neuma
Last but not least of my best of 2022 is this wonderful Neuma release which, when I began my research to write a cogent and informed review, left me stunned at how little I actually knew about composer David Tudor and the astounding dimensions of this unusual piece that evolves with every performance. After gathering a whole ton of data I finally decided that I could not write a comprehensive review without more research so I settled on a tasteful (I hope) summary with the expectation that I will write a larger piece on Tudor and his work. The review will be out very shortly. This is an amazing and significant release.
Happy 2023 to all my readers and thanks to those who kept reading my blog during more fallow times. I have many blogs currently in preparation that I look forward to sharing in the months to come. Peace, health, and music to all.
William Susman (1960- ) may not be a household name but, since my first encounter (purely by chance) with this man’s work I have heard, enjoyed, and reviewed several fascinating CDs of chamber music and film music which demonstrate a significant musical voice with some mighty substantial compositions. I don’t know how Mr. Susman feels about being called a “minimalist” but that is the most useful way I can convey with words his musical style. That much used word is a sort of catch all for what is in fact a plethora of compositional styles based in some basic, though hardly rigid, set of practices like static harmonies and repetition.
There are, as of this writing, four books of Quiet Rhythms (2010, 2010, 2012, 2013), each book contains 22 pieces further divided into 11 “Prologues” followed by 11 “Actions”. While I have only the vaguest idea of what processes the composer uses in these works (Book I at least) sounds to these ears like music which should share company with the likes of Terry Riley’s “Two Keyboard Studies” (1965), William Duckworth’s “Time Curve Preludes” (1977-78), Jeroen van Veen’s “Minimal Preludes” (four books1999-2013), Philip Glass’ “Etudes” (two volumes1994-2012). Spiritually they share a kinship with antecedents such as Bartok’s “Mikrokosmos” (six volumes1926-1939), and, ultimately I suppose, Bach’s “Well Tempered Clavier” (1722-1742). Yes, these are a diverse set of works for comparison, but to my ears they seem to share attempts to codify and/or experiment with their respective materials. They are the composers’ working out of their ideas.
And, in a delightful coincidence the pianist chosen to interpret these works is none other than Nicolas Horvath, a name that has graced these pages numerous times since our first online meeting in about 2014. Horvath has become a sort of pied piper for minimalist composers. He has performed solo recitals lasting up to 35 hours including Philip Glass’ complete piano music, a solo rendition of Erik Satie’s “Vexations” (1893-94), whose 840 repetitions were first performed by a tag team of pianists helmed by John Cage (of course) in 1963. He has also recently recorded all the piano music of little known French minimalist composer Jean Catoire (1923-2005) and numerous other projects including his own original compositions and sound/art installations.
Horvath was born to play this music and Mr. Susman kindly informed me that he will indeed record the remaining three books. This musician’s curatorial radar is as unique as it is accurate. That is, he knows good music when he sees/hears it and he searches far and wide. He delivers loving and authoritative performances here. It is, after all, his métier.
Susman’s etudes are experimental only in the sense of a composer exploring his inspiration, transcribing the dictation of his muses. The title “Quiet Rhythms” is quite apt as these are really kind of soothing in their harmony and meandering developments. And, more importantly, they have the weight of substance.
Three of these have been recorded before and I’m pleased to say that the remaining 8 compositions are equal in quality to the ones I’d already heard. Each numbered piece is actually two pieces, a prologue of 90-120 seconds followed by a more complex sounding work using similar methods. At first I had wanted to write about each of the pieces but I found myself enraptured by the music and insufficiently skilled in musicology to do a respectable analysis of these works.
So I’ve chosen to simply say that these are fascinating and engaging pieces whose structure is very much secondary to the quality of the musical content. These are truly post minimal works with a much wider harmonic palette than its minimalist predecessors. The sound is quite rich and the pieces engage the listener transporting them to a powerful emotional experience. The music echoes Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Terry Riley but they also are destined to share a place in the repertoire alongside similar works by William Duckworth, Jeroen van Veen, and Simeon ten Holt.
Horvath is truly in his element here and his performances are hypnotically engaging. I can’t imagine these works being done better but, that said, they are attractive concert pieces for adventuresome pianists to program. Above all these are listener friendly despite the feel that they are almost a sort of textbook or manifesto by the composer which describes in music his vision of minimalism/post-minimalism.
If you’re a fan of minimal/post-minimal music this is a must have. but beware and remember to budget for the forthcoming 3 discs. You will want them all.
This double album by guitarist, composer, producer, etc. Dan Lippel is sort of his Yellow Brick Road, an album which listeners of a certain age know well. Elton John’s album was more about dropping the shackles of adolescence and conformity but Mirrored Spaces is more about setting aside the shackles of Lippel’s very busy life with ICE (The International Contemporary Ensemble), Flexible Music, and the daunting task of producing for (the also very busy and wonderful) New Focus Records. Here he presents a virtual manifesto of works for solo guitar with electronics which, if only by proximity of release date, suggests a comparison with Jennifer Koh’s Limitless.
Promo photo from the artist’s web site
The present disc is at once a virtual CV of his interests as performer and composer as well as a forward looking compilation by which future new chamber music with guitar will be compared. It is a collection which looks like he culled the best of his current working repertoire to present a sort of photograph of his vision.
The two discs are actually an overwhelming listening experience of new material. Here are the tracks:
Its easy to see the richness and complexity of this release from the track listing alone. Having already demonstrated his facility with minimalist classics like his wonderful recording of Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint he presents selections from what appears to be his current active repertoire. It is a joy to see the diversity of composers he has chosen. Clearly he confronts the new and technically challenging works with the same zeal with which he approaches his various other responsibilities as performer and producer. We even get to hear some of his chops as a composer in the live recording of Scaffold as well as his collaborative work with Oriana Webb on the eponymous Mirrored Spaces. These are unusual works, not the “usual suspects” nor the latest rage but new and interesting music. Even the presentation of Kyle Bartlett’s pithy Aphorisms are scattered among the other tracks like pepper on your salad at a restaurant (personally my obsessive nature wants to re-order these tracks in sequence) demonstrating a sensitivity to alternate ways to present music.
I have at best a passing knowledge of most of these composers having heard some of the work of Douglas Boyce and some of Kyle Bartlett. I know Ryan Streber via his work as a recording engineer. the rest of the names are new to these ears. And that is exactly the point of this wonderful collection. I really can’t say much useful about the individual pieces except to say that they are compelling listening. The liner notes included in the CD release are useful and informative. (Now last I looked the CD version is not available on Amazon so you will have to go to Bandcamp to order it but I highly recommend it for the notes alone.) Many of these pieces will have a significant performance life and you heard them here first. Much as Jennifer Koh defines new collaborative adventures in Limitless with her trusty violin, Lippel brings his axe down on some challenging but substantive music in this forward looking collection.
OK, I admit that using the term “rogue” is a stretch. But titles of reviews should help draw the reader to it. And “clickbait” is the new “catchy”. But, in another sense one doesn’t generally think of the bass clarinet as a standalone recital instrument, even with electronics. Increasingly, it seems, new music purveyors are liberating instruments once unthinkable outside an orchestra or chamber ensemble. Jazz players have long used the bass clarinet as a solo instrument alongside the ubiquitous family of saxophones and the flute as the woodwinds that comprise most jazz ensembles,
Classical music has been slow to accept the bass clarinet until relatively recently. I don’t know when the first use of a bass clarinet either as a standalone solo or as part of a chamber ensemble occurred but certainly post 1950. Without getting in to the “whys” of this one can simply embrace the increasing presence of this instrument and its fascinating players.
Here, we get another of the subgenre of “COVID Isolation music”, itself a category worth further exploration.
There are five selections with composition dates ranging from 1983 to 2020 and composers from the still underappreciated Isang Yun to a new name, Hidiaki Aomori, a composer and friend of the soloist. And the remainder are risen and rising stars including the late conductor/composer Pierre Boulez, Grawmeyer Award winner Unsuk Chin, and the prolific Japanese composer Dai Fujikura.
The Fujikura work opens this isolated recital with a melancholy piece which appears to be a set of variations and has the character of a cadenza calling upon both technical and interpretive skills of the performer. And do I hear a nod to minimalism at the end? “Contour” (2020) is a fine opener where Lee displays her technical skills and insight to the composer’s vision.
Then its back to 1985 with one of the technical peaks of Boulez’ work at IRCAM, “Dialogue de L’Ombre Double” for bass clarinet with inscrutably complex electronics. This once leading edge example of the avant garde in its day actually sounds a bit dated but the soloist here seems to humanize the piece with her warm interpretation. And, despite what you may hear in the other tracks here, it is the only one using electronics on this disc.
Isang Yun (1917-1995), the late prolific Korean master is beginning to get more of a reckoning, and this 1983 piece, “Monolog for Bass Clarinet” is a fine entry to the expanding recorded oeuvre of this mid/late-twentieth century embattled and neglected genius. This piece speaks deeply of alone-ness.
Unsuk Chin (1961- ), a rising star and Grawmeyer Award winner is represented by a bass clarinet solo from her much lauded opera “Alice in Wonderland”. This stand alone solo, titled “Advice from a Caterpillar” is a maze of hallucinatory nods to Gershwin, Carl Stalling, and perhaps Prokofiev (in a “Peter and the Wolf” sense) using multiphonics and seems to expand the possibilities of this instrument to limits which might only be transcended with electronic assistance.
Hideaki Aomori‘s “Split” is a rather personal addition, a submission from one friend to another, a gift from one alone to another alone. It is another fine solo work which sits stylistically somewhere between the technical extremes of Boulez and Unsuk Chin and the more melodic work of Fujikura and Yun.
This is a very personal disc on many levels and it is a fine calling card by which to introduce listeners to this fine musician.
Who? Cenk Ergün (1978- ) is a Turkish born, New York based composer and improvisor. His distinctly ethnic Turkish sounding name will trigger fond memories in “listeners of a certain age” of the profoundly significant work of Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegün, the Turkish/American brothers whose Atlantic Records label helped define jazz, pop, and rock throughout the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. Lesser known is one of Atlantic’s spinoff labels, Finnadar helmed by fellow Turkish/American Ilhan Mimaroglu, himself a composer as well as producer. It was here that one saw the producers’ radar turned to the classical avant garde. And Ergün fits rather comfortably in this category.
Cenk Ergün
A quick Google search reveals Mr. Ergün to have released at least six albums both solo projects and collaborations with composer Alvin Curran, cellist Mariel Roberts, and unclassifiable iconoclastic guitarist Fred Frith. His bio does not document his education but those collaborations show him to be in sympathy with what one might consider the current leading edge of the avant garde.
This disc consisting of two works for string quartet entitled, respectively, “Sonare” and “Celare”. Whether these are separate works or, as this listener perceived them, two parts of a whole, they are engaging works utilizing a variety of extended techniques and tunings. The album lacks liner notes but the works, though complex and unconventional, are rather transparent (at least to ears accustomed to some of the innovations of the last 50 years or so of new classical music).
Sonare is far more rhythmically active than its partner on this disc. Its use of unusual tunings and spectra as well as its apparent micropolyphonies suggest a variety of predecessors including George Crumb (think Black Angels) and some hard to delineate minimalist ideas. Celare, which follows it brings the listener to more of a drone minimalism aesthetic which also suggested Luigi Nono’s “Stille An Diotima” at times. These two pieces (or movements?) collectively clock in at just over 30 minutes which I guess makes this a sort of “CD single”. There is no apparent program other than the music itself and the music suffers from neither understatement nor overstatement and is ultimately a very satisfying experience in the very capable hands of the venerable Jack Quartet.
Put Mr. Ergün on your radar alerts. This is a voice that this listener hopes to hear more from in the near future.
This is another in this first volley of new releases from Neuma. Philip Blackburn did fine service by reissuing the out of print the wonderful Argo recordings of Moran’s works and released two new collections from this all too little heard American composers as well as the gorgeous Trintity Requiem (2011) on Innova Records. He now continues his advocacy of this composer in the release on Neuma of two new Moran recordings, The second, Buddha goes to Bayreuth (2015) will get its own review shortly.
The present disc consists of five works, only one of which (Points of Departure) has been recorded before. Composition dates range from 1973 to 2017. Moran’s work is widely eclectic reflecting his early study with Second Viennese composer Eric Apostel, his M.A. studies at (the now lamentably defunct) Mills College where he studied with Luciano Berio and Darius Milhaud. HIs work ranges from graphic scores to post minimalist and post modern/neo-romantic styles doubtless influence at least in part by the various places he has lived (Vienna, Milan, Berlin, Portland, San Francisco, and Philadelphia where he now makes his home).
All of the works on this album are of the very listenable and sometimes unabashedly beautiful category. But these compositions belie the processes that underlie their structures and methods. What is most fascinating is Moran’s ability to use quasi aleatoric procedures (as in Star Charts and Travel Plans I) and produce results so gentle on the ear. This is a beautiful disc.
The all new recordings presented here begin with the titular Points of Departure (1993). It is a work for large orchestra which, according to Philip Gentry’s fine liner notes, is excerpted from a larger dance work. It is a rhythmic and exciting piece which demonstrates the composer’s mastery of the orchestra. One can easily imagine this accompanying choreography but it stands alone successfully as a concert piece.
The second track is Angels of Silence (1973) is seemingly anachronistic given it’s composition date when Moran’s output was arguably at it’s most experimental. Written during Moran’s time in San Francisco, it is one of a trilogy of works (between Messages from 1970 and Emblems of Passage from 1974). This trilogy followed on the heels of such grand experimental pieces as Thirty Nine Minutes for Thirty Nine Autos (1969) and Hallelujah (1971) for the city of Bethlehem, PA.
Here, despite the modernist use of chord charts for soloist and orchestra, we hear a very consonant piece which has an ethereal, gentle quality. To my ears it has much in common with the sound world of Stimmen Des Letzten Siegels(Voices of the Last Seal) (2001). The viola soloist, the Romanian-American Maria Rusu, handles her role beautifully with the university of Delaware Symphony Orchestra under the guidance of conductor James Allen Anderson. This writer’s fingers are crossed in the hopes of hearing the remaining two pieces of this trilogy in the near future.
Next up is the five movement Frammenti di un’ opera barocca perduta (2017). The title translates to something like “fragments of a lost baroque opera” and reflects Moran’s deep interest in early opera. The composer mentioned in an email exchange with this writer some years ago that he greatly enjoys listening to early baroque operas and this influence is in evidence here (in fact the texts he sets are texts from operas of this era). Scored for large orchestra with countertenor, a vocal artistry nearly extinct in the 20th and 21st centuries save for Philip Glass’ (with whom Moran collaborated in the fine fairy tale opera, The Juniper Tree) casting of the lead in his opera Akhnaten.
This gloriously lyrical suite can be sung by a soprano (and on first listen done before consulting program notes my guess was soprano) but it is sung as written by a truly fine vocal artist, Daniel Bubeck. The orchestral intro is followed by three arias (fast slow fast) followed by a brief orchestral epilogue. The piece is in some ways Moran’s Pulcinella, an homage to the past in the garb of the 21st century.
Star Charts and Travel Plans I (2016-17) is yet another example of the composer’s remarkable ability to use non-traditional notation to achieve his compositional goals. This rather meditative piece is very much in keeping with the overall sound of this fine release.
The disc ends with another vocal piece, Yahrzeit (2002-18), described by the composer as a “memory piece”. It has much in common emotionally with his wonderful Trinity Requiem (2011). Yahrzeit is a Jewish custom practiced on the annual celebration of the memory of the honored deceased. It is in memory of AIDS victim Michael Neal Sitzer whose life partner, poet James Skofield, wrote the beautiful text. Commissioned by friends of the couple, it was originally scored for male chorus and orchestra. It is presented here in a version for basso profundo, sung most movingly by Zachary James .
This is another major addition to the still too small discography of this great American composer. It is beautifully performed and recorded, a joy for fans of Moran’s work and a gift to listeners.
This EP released by UK label Fatcat Records managed to traverse the World Wide Web to my sympathetic ears last week. This is my first experience reviewing a release solely on the SoundCloud platform. No EPK, sparse liner notes, never heard of the artist or label. I have no idea why I decided to check this one out but I’m glad I did.
These five tracks which can be described as new music, ambient, drone, perhaps even the edges of spectral. The tracks reminded this listener of the late, great, and still under appreciated New York based artist Elodie Lauten. Shahabi, described as a Swedish-Iranian pianist and composer joins with her friend, cellist Linnea Olsson to create some very compelling post minimalist/ambient/drone new music that compels attention in a manner similar to Lauten’s early independent releases on her Cat Collectors label (what is it with this cat theme?
Here are the liner notes:
A wonderfully immersive suite of five stunning new tracks, ‘Shifts’ expands upon Swedish-Iranian pianist / composer Shida Shahabi’s debut album and confirms her as a genuine new force in contemporary piano music.
Without radically departing from the ‘Homes’ blueprint, this time around her pallette is expanded, with the opening three tracks seeing the prominent addition of cello, intertwining with piano to provide a powerfully emotive sweep and drone. These parts were provided by Linnea Olsson, who Shida calls “an old musician friend of mine and without a doubt the best cellist I know in Sweden.”
Recorded by Shida and Elias Krantz, the record was mixed by Hampus Norén and mastered at Calyx by Francesco Donadello (Jóhann Jóhannsson, Modeselektor & Thom Yorke, A winged Victory for the Sullen, Dustin O’Halloran, Lubomyr Melnyk, Hauchka, etc).
In an attempt to get ahead of the inundation of my review requests I’m presenting this curiosity briefly and will leave curious listeners to do their own research into the origins, training, etc of this composer/performer. I will, however, keep an ear/eye out for this composer, these artists, and this delightfully odd little label. You should too. Brava, Ms. Shahabi. Keep up the good work. Continue reading →
For this reviewer, my relationship with the music of Giya Kancheli (1935- ) began with the symphonies (I think there’s seven now) with the character of some outrageous dynamic contrasts such that they spawned warning levels on the package containing the CD. It was only after that, when ECM began to release the “holy minimalist” type works, that I first heard those.
Frederic Bednarz
Now comes Canadian violinist Frederic Bednarz who, along with pianist Natsuki Hiratsuka and bandoneon player Jonathan Goldman have recorded some incredibly lovely chamber music which has not been previously released or widely distributed.
Well its hard to say why these have not been widely heard because they are just beautiful. These are miniatures, all clock in at less than 4 minutes but all have a certain charm that relies neither on the dynamic range or the “holy minimalist” meme. These are simply delightful neo-romantic pieces that could not fail to charm a recital audience.
Bednarz clearly knows and loves these little gems. His playing is both sincere and, I think, definitive. In this album he shows this lesser known aspect of the composer’s work. Certainly there have been releases of Kancheli’s chamber orchestra pieces and a string quartet but this is the first recording this reviewer has heard of the violin and piano (and bandoneon) music.
Doubtless there are musical and musicological aspects to this music which escape the average listener (this one included) so no attempt will be made here to analyze these works. Bednarz provides concise but useful liner notes in the gatefold cover to the CD.
Once again our neighbors to the north have scaled the metaphorical art barrier between our adjacent countries to bring this delightful music to light. It is a welcome addition to the Kancheli discography and a delight in your CD player. Whether as calm background or for intense listening this disc is a gem.
N.B. As of this writing the physical disc does not appear to be available from Amazon but it is available through the usual streaming services. If you can get the physical disc it is worth it for the notes though.
New Music Buff 