Intrigued by John Zorn and Stephen Schwartz

Has anyone seen the set of concerts of music by John Zorn and Stephen Schwartz—and their new operas La Machine de l’être and Séance on a Wet Afternoon at New York City Opera? Except for Breitbart's short and dismissive description, I had seen only press releases about the music.


For example, the New York Times produced a super piece of expectation, but not a follow-up review that I can find. Similarly, the Wall Street Journal printed an in-depth interview. Even the respected blog Sequenza /21 produced a blurb about the Masada marathon and the Schwartz opera, but failed to attend and review. Barry Singer wrote a long piece based on his interviews of the NYCO impressarii on the need for monodrama to reach today's opera audience.

Until the New York Times published Tomassini's insightful and evocative review. And this interesting description by composer Drew Baker—it's a plus-plus that he includes a YouTube video interview. And this review by Bruce Hodges with superb stills of the productions. And though Paddy Johnson acknowledges he knows nothing about opera, he provides us with two intriguing photos. Finally, I found a terse, supportive piece of a review in Opera Today.

Thomas Adès conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic, 9 April 2011

A guest column by Charles Derry

The Philharmonic performed Adès' Polaris to the accompaniment of a video that was created by Tal Rosner, a collaborator (and boyfriend) of the composer. The video seemed good, but not great.  But it damaged the music, making the music seem "less than" rather than "more than."  With images, the music seemed an accompaniment, and less complex that it actually was.  When I looked away from the video, which I did a lot, the music seemed really great.  With the video, it was hard to hear the structure of the music.  Only at the end when the video became totally abstract did it seem to accompany the music, rather than vice-versa.  I hope that Adès drops the video in any future performances of Polaris , even though the video has an emotional personal connection for him.  Adès' music--in the world of new contemporary classic music--is superlative, whereas this video--in the world of video art--is just good.

The second part of the program consisted of Messiaen's Eclairs sur l'au-delà. Even though we were seated high in the Frank Gehry-designed concert hall, we were on the side, and the result was that we could hear the source of every sound and see the source as well, so there was a kind of virtual choreography as we watched the interplay of the orchestra--double bass from the far right, tympani from the back, etc, and I could see every single musician clearly. There were about 10 tympanists.  I could hear at every moment the specific source, as well as find the musician(s) who was(were) playing the music.  I have never had such a great visual experience of music as in this specific concert hall from these particular seats.  The sound, the texture, the clarity of the individual sounds, was extraordinary--shockingly good, in fact.  It was actually one of the few live experience hearing music where I thought the "live" situation made the music sound better than when listened to on a CD.

The last movement, lasting about 8 minutes, required the trianglist to vibrate the triangle continuously with his brush for the entire length, with virtually no cescendos or decrescendos. (A Tourette's nightmare for me).  It seemed also a feat of incredible virtuosity.  One could see the virtuosity everywhere, actually. I felt for the musicians, who were asked to learn extremely hard, and untypical music, for this single performance.  They were absolutely up to it, each and every one of them.

To my surprise, somewhat, this work is--except for its length and profundity--less like Turangalila than I had remembered (maybe because of the lack of onde martinot), but it was filled through and through with a multitude of sudden rests, caesuras, and then sudden attacks--hundreds, thousands.  It was like lightning suddenly illuminating something profound, and then the darkness of no sound, and then lightning again.  The audience seemed often to be holding its breath, as the conductor and all the musicians were constantly suspending, and then attacking.  And there was the sense, too, in other sections, of the music "breathing"--with ins and outs--particularly in the spectacular sections dedicated to "love music"--passionate, ecstatic....

Weirdly, to me, the 3rd to the last movement was conducted using a totally different method.  Instead of counting out the time, the conductor was holding up numbers with his fingers: 1, 3, 2, moving his fingers closer to the orchestra and then back, and using other signals that looked like American sign language.  It makes me think that that movement may be without a time signature and allows the conductor special leeway.  It's almost as if the conductor himself was talking to the birds in the orchestra with this new language.  I've never seen this method used... [See the break for additional information from L.A.Times music critic, Mark Swed.]

A very, very memorable evening

Liaisons: Reinterpretations of Stephen Sondheim

The increased access we enjoy today to new music benefits its composers and their performers, and it benefits the audience as well. Through a few well-chosen search engines, we can find examples of the work by a composer or performer. Sometimes with more focused searches or more exploration of a long list of results, we can even hear a composer's specific piece by a specific performer.

Absent such a lucky strike, we can glean an approximation of a piece by listening to online samples of other works by the same composer or performer. And often that approximate understanding is enough to decide on purchasing a new CD or set of audio files. That's the case today with information about a planned set of performances by Anthony DeMare. He has commissioned works from 30 composers that rework songs by Stephen Sondheim. The list of composer-interpreters has some surprises and some names new to me. (The links are to examples of each composer's music, often for piano, that are available on YouTube.)

• Milton Babbitt— "I'm Still Here" from Follies
• Mason Bates— tba
• Eve Beglarian— tba
• Derek Bermel— "Sorry-Grateful" from Company
• William Bolcom— "Anyone Can Whistle" from Anyone Can Whistle
• Kenji Bunch— "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" from Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
• Michaeld Daugherty— tba
• Peter Golub— "Children and Art" from Sunday in the Park with George
• Ricky Ian Gordon— "Every Day a Little Death" from A Little Night Music
• Annie Gosfield— "A Bowler Hat" from Pacific Overtures
• Jake Hegge— "A Weekend in the Country" from A Little Night Music
• Jerome Kitzke— "Sunday/Lesson No. 8 Move On" from Sunday in the Park with George
• Phil Kline— "Someone in a Tree" from Pacific Overtures
• Ricardo Lorenz— "The Worst Pies in London/A Little Priest" from Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
• Paul Moravec— "Losing My Mind" from Follies
• David Rakowski— "The Ladies Who Lunch" from Company
• Steve Reich— "Finishing the Hat" from Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street
• Eric Rockwell— "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" from Company
• Daniel Bernard Roumain— selections from Assassins
• Frederic Rzewski— tba
• Rodney Sharman—"Beautiful" from Sunday in the Park with George
• David Shire— "Comedy Tonight" from On The Way To The Forum
• Bernadette Speach— "Liaisons/Send in the Clowns" from A Little Night Music
• Nils Vigeland— "Alma Mater/Merrily We Roll Along" from Merrily We Roll Along

Apparently the remaining six composers are not yet announced or arranged. Who might they be? Nico Muhly, Jennifer Higdon, Thomas Adès, Libby Larsen? ... one can only guess, although another source includes Stefano Bollani, Adam Guettel, Fred Hersch, Ethan Iverson, Gabriel Kahane, Tania Leon, John Musto, Thomas Newman, David Rakowski, and Mark-Anthony Turnage.

De Mare has distinguished himself among pianists in his development of the pianist as vocal performer. Perhaps the most expressive of such works is De Profundis by Frederic Rzewski, who set the text of Oscar Wilde's letter from Reading Gaol. This half-hour work asks the performer to alternate bravura pianistic moments with highly charged speech and other effects, both percussion and vocal. Although the listener may link the music to Schönberg's use of Sprechstimme, the vocal element is not always so carefully notated and the vocal production goes far beyond mere speaking voice. Much of the effect comes from the ability of the performer to transcend the bounds of speech and song, and De Mare explores his exceptional capacity so well that his recording of De Profundis comes to life, almost holographically.

It is through my familiarity with the recording Speak! that I anticipate the availability of Liaisons, which must await completion until several of the commissions are realized. In the meantime, Anthony De Mare has scheduled a concert tour that presents the working state of the suite in several cities and culminates with a full-suite première in New York City.

• Banff Alberta, 5 March 2011
• College Park MD, 2 April 2011
• Portland OR, 12 July 2011
• Chicago IL, 11 December 2011
• Fort Saskatchewan Alberta, 23 September 2011
• New York Century Club NY, 18 October 2011
• Hudson NY, 21 January 2012
• Fort Worth TX, 4 February 2012
• San Francisco CA, 12 March 2012
• New York Symphony Space NY, 21 and other dates April 2012, full suite première
• Kalamazoo MI, 1 and 3 May 2012

The performance at Banff is documented online with recordings of eleven pieces.

Syvien vesien juhla (Rejoicing of the Deep Waters), fantasy for orchestra

I recently heard music by another Finn, Kalevi Aho (1949- , first work 1969). His Syvien vesien juhla (Rejoicing of the Deep Waters) is a single-movement work that exemplifies his output.

Polyphonic brass open the work, and lower voices are juxtaposed with higher. Then the woodwinds enter as a high choir taking up a motif in juxtaposition to the brass, and finally the strings enter the mix as another choir. From this point on, the strings run a nearly-constant counterpoint to the choirs of brass and woodwinds. Throughout from the initial measures, a percussion battery has taken an increasing role, sometimes the melodic percussion joining with the string choir, sometimes the woodwinds, and then on its own. A tightly interplay of motifs weaves between each choir. A midpoint of relative quiet is gradually supplanted by the return of the motifs originated in the choirs. Then through the end segment, individual voices are allowed to utter motivic comments, and sometimes even nearly complete melodies.

The quite heavy textures are sometimes reminiscent of Messiaen's orchestral work, and then occasionally similar to the orchestral flourishes of Wozzeck and other Berg works.

Career

Aho studied composition at the Sibelius Academy and also a year with Boris Blacher. He taught at the University of Helsinki and the Sibelius Academy. He became composer-in-residence for the Lahti Symphony Orchestra in 1992. His compositions include

• 15 symphonies 
• 15 concerti
• 4 operas
• Vocal works
• Chamber music

Chronology

• String Quartet No. 1 (1967)
• Symphony No. 1 (1969)
• Symphony No. 2 (1970/1995)
• String Quartet No. 2 (1970)
• String Quartet No. 3 (1971)
• Sonata for Violin Solo (1973)
• Oboe Quintet (1973)
• Symphony No. 3, for violin and orchestra (1971–73)
• Symphony No. 4 (1972–73)
• Lasimaalaus (vocal, 1974; text by Aila Meriluoto)
• Symphony No. 5 (1975–76)
• Chamber Symphony No. 1 for 20 strings (1976)
• Bassoon Quintet (1977)
• Quintet for Flute, Oboe, and String Trio (1977)
• Kolme laulua elämästä (vocal, 1977; text by Raimo Lehmonen)
• Ludus Solemnis for Organ (1978)
• The Key (opera, 1978–79)
• Symphony No. 6 (1979–80)
• Piano Sonata (1980)
• In Memoriam for Organ (1980)
• Violin Concerto (1981)
• Quartet for Flute, Saxophone, Guitar, and Percussion (1982)
• Silence (orchestra, 1982)
• Cello Concerto (1983–84)
• Oboe Sonata (1985)
• Insect Life (opera, 1985–87)
• Symphony No. 7 Insect Symphony (1988)
• Piano Concerto No. 1 (1988–1989)
• Paloheimo Fanfare (orchestra, 1989)
• Sonata No. 1 for Accordion (1989)
• Sonata for 2 Accordions (1989)
• Sonata No. 2 Black Birds for Accordion (1990)
• Pergamon for 4 reciters, 4 orchestral groups and organ (1990)
• Chamber Symphony No. 2 for 20 strings (1991–92)
• Veet välkkyy taas (vocal, 1992; text by Viljo Kojo)
• Three Interludes for Organ (1993)
• Symphony No. 8, for organ and orchestra (1993)
• Symphony No. 9, for trombone and orchestra (1993–94)
• Mysteerio (vocal, 1994; text by Maritza Nunez)
• Quintet for Saxophone, Bassoon, Viola, Cello, and Double-Bass (1994)
• The Rejoicing of the Deep Waters (orchestra, 1995)
• Chamber Symphony No. 3, for alto saxophone and 20 strings (1995–96)
• Symphony No. 10 (1996)
• Ilo ja epäsymmetria; (vocal, 1996; text by Mirkka Rekola)
• Kiinalaisia lauluja, soprano and orchestra (1997)
• Symphony No. 11, for six percussionists and orchestra (1997–98)
• Epilogue for Trombone and Organ (1998)
• The Book of Secrets (opera, 1998)
• Clarinet Quintet (1998)
• Kimasen lento [Kimanen's Flight] for String Quartet (1998)
• Three Tangos for Violin, Accordion, Guitar, Piano and Double-Bass (1999)
• Before We Are All Drowned (opera, 1995/1999)
• Tristia. Fantasy for wind orchestra (1999)
• Quintet for Flute, Violin, Two Violas, and Cello (2000)
• Tuba Concerto (2000–2001)
• Symphonic Dances (2001)
• Lamento for 2 Violins or 2 Violas (2001)
• Piano Concerto No. 2, for piano and 20 strings (2001–2002)
• Flute Concerto (2002)
• Symphony No. 12 Luosto, for two orchestras (2002–03)
• Louhi (orchestra, 2003)
• Symphony No. 13 Symphonic Characterizations (2003)
• Concerto for Two Cellos and Orchestra (2003)
• Bassoon Concerto (2004)
• Contrabassoon Concerto (2004–2005)
• Clarinet Concerto (2005)
• Double-Bass Concerto (2005)
• Viola Concerto (2006)
• Trio for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano (2006)
• Wind Quintet (2006)
• Kysymysten kirja, mezzosoprano and chamber orchestra (2006; text by Pablo Neruda, suom. Katja Kallio)
• Oboe Concerto (2007)
• Symphony No. 14 Rituals, for darabuka, djembe, gongs and chamber orchestra (2007)
• Alles Vergängliche. Symphony for Organ (2007)
• Lamu. Music in the space for young brass players (2008)
• Minea. Concertante Music for Orchestra (2008)
• HAHE for 4 Cellos (2008)
• The Bells. Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra (2008)
• In memoriam Pehr Henrik Nordgren for Violin Solo (2009)
• String Quintet Hommage à Schubert (2009)
• Trombone Concerto (2010)
• Percussion Concerto (2010)
• Kaksi Mawlana Rumin runoa (vocal, 2010; text by Mawlana Rumi, suom. Jaakko Hämeen-Anttila)
• Symphony No. 15 (2009–2010)

Another composer who is new to me

I read today in Opera Cake of the newly announced season at the Opéra National de Paris. Among the rather conservative works is the 2010 "The Cherry Orchard" (La cerisaei) by a composer new to me: Philippe Fénelon. (Sorry that the only available bio is from the French Wikipedia.)

Checking Amazon, only 3 CDs are devoted to his work, and these are available at relatively high prices from importers or collectors. The main link is to the only listing that includes samplings of the music. ...I hope I didn't destroy the linked samplings by buying the CD.

Saturday on DPR

I just heard that Dancing Solo for Clarinet, chamber music by Libby Larsen, will be broadcast on next week's Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (WDPR Sundays at 6 p.m.). The full program:

• Sebastian Currier: Night Time for Violin and Harp (Yura Lee, violin; Bridget Kibbey, harp)
• Libby Larsen: Dancing Solo for Clarinet (Romie de Guise Langlois, clarinet)
• David Bruce: The North Wind was a Woman for Soprano and Ensemble (Dawn Upshaw, soprano; Avi Avital, mandolin; Bridget Kibbey, harp; Arnaud Sussmann & Todd Phillips, violins; Paul Neubauer, viola; Kurt Muroki, double bass; Andres Diaz, cello; Tara Helen O'Connor, flute; Todd Palmer & Alexander Fiterstein, clarinets; Ayano Kataoka, percussion)

Next up: information on Sebastian Currier and David Bruce.

Music from the 1940s by Blacher, Weill, Milhaud, and others

I found this gem of a CD at the Dayton Public Library, which typically doesn't have much of interest from the 20th Century. 

Testimonies of War / Kriegszeugnisse

Music of Blacher, Weill, Vaughan Williams, Milhaud

I first have been listening to the works of Boris Blacher (1903-(1932)-1975), which are the largest part of the 2-disk CD. The Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin under the conductor Noam Sheriff perform three works. 

Alla Marcia  (2:26)

This march is a very short piece that has bright orchestration of a simple tune, which is enlivened by juxtaposing the march with underlying, constantly changing rhythms (for example, 4/4 over 3/4 drums). The result sounds truly of its time rhythmically, but the melodic component depends greatly on simple folk influences that seem to be sorely out of context.

Dance Scenes "La vie" (1938). 1. Intrada; 2. Pas de Deux; 3. Scherzo; 4. Rag-Caprice; 5. Valse, 'La Vie'; 6. Carnival; 7. Episodes; 8. Tango; 9. Intermezzo; 10. Theme And Variation I (Rumba); 11. Variation Ii (March); 12. Danzon; 13. Envoi. Total time about 33 minutes.

This dance suite generally has an open scoring that is very reminiscent of the orchestral textures of Mozart. Some interpolations of larger masses of the orchestra occur, but their appearance works more as commentary on the generally spare textures. Blacher uses tonality in a fluid way, similar to Debussy's use of modal centers and free, unresolved dissonance. Each short piece has a clear central harmonic focus (though not always a "key" in a traditional sense), and the pieces have a clear harmonic relationship to each other. Some pieces have a strong affinity for popular and cinematic music idiom. All have a consistent, convincing dance drive. The "Danzon" is especially nice, providing a penultimate thrill for the full orchestra, and "Envoi" seems a gentle let-down or after-thought.

Chiarina (1946). 1. No. 1 Promenade (Theme); 2. Variation I; 3. Variation II; 4. Variation III; 5. Variation IV; 6. Variation V; 7. Coda; 8. No. 2 Adagio; 9. No. 3 Rondo-Finale. Total time: about 23 minutes.

This work, also originally a dance work, explores a mix of theatrical content in a modified symphonic form. The theme of the first movement is pleasant—almost too pleasant—and light dance music that becomes ever more revealed at each variation, some of which derive nicely from contemporary ballroom dance styles. The second movement brings the piano to higher prominence, giving it a slowly rising, scale-based melody that is answered by descending replies in the strings and a lightly-textured swinging chorus that has strong elements of jazz-based harmonizations. Notable is the reliance on repetitions that are nearly exact, a heavy-handed emphasis (to a modern ear, at least) on the formal organization based on simply stated elements. The third movement again places the piano in prominence, and again uses many jazz-based figures, some as incongruous to the 1940s as ragtime.

The remaining three works by Blacher are performed by others.
Partita for Strings & 6 Percussion (1945). 1. Allegro; 2. Andante; 3. Vivace molto. Total time about 17.5 minutes.

Andrzej Borejko, leading the Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra. This tip of the hat to the Baroque form has compellingly independent lines for the strings, with a rational, free treatment of dissonance that results from that independence. Though the percussion battery is fairly broad (excepting most of the pitched instruments), the writing for the instruments does not push toward the freedoms afforded in the latest years of the 20th C. The second movement starts with an especially nice, long melody.

Sonatine No. 2 for piano. 1. Moderato; 2. Allegro.

Sylvie Lechevalier at the piano performs a very charming, off-tonal piece reminiscent of the neoclassical Stravinsky. Total time about 2.5 minutes.

Drei Psalmen. 1. Ich schreie zum Herrn mit meiner Stimme; 2. Herr, ich rufe zu dir, eile zu mir; 3. Ich hebe meine Augen auf zu den Bergen. Time 6.5 minutes.

Michael Kraus, baritone, and Walter Moore at the piano perform these relatively astringent settings of the psalms, which turn out to be quite a test of the strength of a singer's character—and security of pitch. Though the vocal lines are indeed melodic, as is the piano at an independent pace, seldom does the voice produce more than one tone for each syllable, which makes for a quickly moving survey of long passages from the source. This tone-for-syllable setting assigns a difficult task to the singer: make a suitably emotional result. Michael Kraus does not meet this challenge.

 

New arrival

The postal service delivered the CD of four pieces by Libby Larsen yesterday, and I was looking forward to getting to my computer for three first hearings and a chance to hear Parachute Dances again (and again). Here are my first-out impressions.


Symphony #1: Water Music (1984). 1. Fresh Breeze; 2. Hot, Still; 3. Wafting; 4. Gale.

• The first movement starts as a fanfare, with a flourish of trumpets and trilling strings and woodwinds. It's a bright, welcoming sunlight of a movement, ending with chimes and bells.
• The second movement might be compared to a mysterious, hidden glen with woodwind calls into the morning haze. Then a stillness, a langour takes over for the remainder of the movement.
• The third movement has a jocular, active passing of short motifs that ends before much gets explored; it is an extremely short movement.
• The fourth movement has tone painting at a fine point, though the music is a bit trite with ripping flute-piccolo above rumbling tympani. Here for once the earbuds are clearly not up to the sonic test. A good speaker system or an in-person acoustic experience should bring forth the power called for from the score.

Overall, this symphony feels of a scope and weight more like a lesser-known contemporary of Mozart. The movements do not exhibit a strong symphonic drive, nor do they explore the motifs and textures in a definitive way. These four movements total 18.5 minutes, and the texture might be better served in a live rendition rather than earbuds or lower quality speakers. I listened to the work again away from the computer and felt more aware of the textures and qualities of the music.

Overture: Parachute Dancing (1983)

The CD-earbud experience is a pale imitation of the experience in the symphony hall. For example, the snap of strings on the fingerboard are almost unnoticeable, and the tympani are distant rumbles without great character. Nevertheless, the stereo effects are well separated, and the woodwinds and brass have greater presence.

Ring Of Fire (1995)

This work is a strong exhibit of Larsen's ability as a colorist, a balancer of orchestral forces that she places in juxtaposition to each other. Some 4 minutes in, the full-voice orchestra suddenly shifts to individual voices, starting with the oboe and bassoon and then gradually shifts back to full-voice utterances. Then again a couple minutes later, isolated voices echo each other, until one gets a sense of calls in a forest that move toward a momentary, constricted song from the violin. Toward the end, the orchestral forces again toss their motifs about in a building crescendo that ends inconclusively and quietly, as if the ring of fire has extinguished its fuel.

Symphony #3, "Lyric" (1995). 1. Deep Purple; 2. Quiet; 3. Since Armstrong

• The opening string choir of the first movement has a faint Gregorian-chant feel, tinged with Debussian voicing. Over these textures, various instruments add a commentary. The dark, deep-toned movement builds to a stretto that could be the equal of Schönberg as the lines break into battling chorused statements over a combative tympani presence and trembling strings.
• Over a chord that ever shifts its color between brass tones (think Elliott Carter's woodwind quintet) and barely noticed string and harp strikes, percussion and woodwind offer langourously moving phrases. The second movement closes with slowly uttered, plaintive chords over quiet tympani and xylophone.
• After an introductory alternation of chords between strings and tone choirs in the orchestra, the third movement features a repeated phrase for English horn and piano. The movement ends with a frenzy of low brass pitted against full orchestra.

Larsen has reached a more mature voice in this third symphony, having been written a decade later than the first symphony. Her palette of expressive color broadened in that decade, as had her command of exploring the subtleties of motivic structure. I look forward to hearing her symphonies #4 and #5 soon. Certainly, her work deserves more exploration than a single CD of orchestral music.

Larsen's catalog of works includes solo voice, opera, and solo instrument works that represent her work from 1984 to the present. And judging from the selections performed by the University of Dayton faculty in recital last week, the song cycles provide superb characterization and sensitive settings for the voice.