Two Premieres
by
Lyn Bronson
The last day of California Summer Music’s student concerts began in Keck
Auditorium at 11:00 AM, as we heard an intriguing concert containing premieres
by two young composers who have been coaching during the past few weeks with
David Tcimpidis, CSM composer in residence.
Alex Overington
The first piece, “Less Yes, Morneau” was by young composer Alex Overington, 18,
a student at Oberlin Conservatory. This is an ambitious work performed by more
than 12 musicians, including two pianists, several string players, a percussion
section, the composer at the computer, and a conductor, Garrett McLean – oh, and
I forgot that one musician was manually operating on stage an upside down
bicycle with a piece of sheet metal lodged in the spokes of one of its wheels.
What we heard on this occasion was not music to read poetry by. Nor was it “New
Age” noodling or music that is comfortable for the listener. Words are
insufficient to describe the brilliant and shocking sounds coming from the stage
during this eight-minute piece. We heard many layers of sound going on
simultaneously − spiky chunky chords on the two pianos, weird screechy sounds
from the strings, jabbing intrusions from percussion instruments, plus
electronically produced sounds manipulated by the composer on stage which faded
in and out of the composite structure. Add all these elements together, shake
well and then stand clear of the resulting explosions, for it was as violent as
a horde of soul sucking Dementors closing in on Hogwarts to do some major
mayhem.
This piece grabbed you by the throat, rammed you up against a wall and demanded
your complete attention for eight minutes. Actually, about five minutes into the
composition, there was a brief minute or two of relative calm, like the eye of
the storm passing overhead before the initial mood returned with a fury. Whether
the audience enjoyed being assaulted with such violence is another matter, but
to the extent that Overington intended this work to be violent and shocking, it
was certainly extremely successful.
Evan Lewis
The other premiere on the morning’s concert was the opening Allegro movement of
a Piano Quartet by Evan Lewis, 26, a master’s degree candidate at Mannes College
of Music, where he studies privately with David Tcimpidis. This piece was as
remarkable for its unpretentious economy of resources as Overington’s was for
its utilization of an extravagant variety of novel effects. The performers of
the quartet movement were violinist Matt
Mouradian, violist Alex Shiozaki,
cellist Jessica Lizardo and pianist
Stephanie Ou. The beautifully
idiomatic piano writing at the beginning of the Allegro was quiet and mysterious
in a way that immediately drew you into the structure and held you there without
blinking for several minutes. An interesting aspect of this piece was how tonal
it was. Its tonal center began and ended in G minor, yet the harmonic tension
generated was intense, and the conflict created by the neighboring key of
A-flat major (a logical Neopolitan relationship) was nicely resolved at its end
— and a most satisfying end it was, too. The string players were magnificent in the bold
and authoritative way they fielded the repartee between them. This was a
terrific performance, one that you wanted to hear many times again.
Nathaniel Morrison, Caitlin Hafner & Emily Candaux
Also on this program was Beethoven’s Serenade in D Major, Op. 8, a work lasting
about 30 minutes and nicely played by violinist
Nathaniel Morrison, violist
Caitlin Hafner and cellist
Emily Candaux. Sometimes we hear
chamber music performances by amateurs or students where each instrumentalist is
just sawing away and playing as loudly as they possibly can, but in this refined
performance there was admirable restraint, superbly balanced textures and lovely
dynamic shaping and phrasing. This was very fine playing indeed.
Garrett McLean, Esther Shon, Austin Wang, Kasey Horton & Grace Kennerly
Ending the program was a glorious performance of Dvořák’s Viola Quintet in
E-flat Major, Op. 97, performed by violinists
Garret McLean &
Esther Shon, violists
Grace Kennerly &
Kasey Horton, and cellist
Austin Wang. Again we heard string
playing of a very high order that was disciplined yet passionate. Dvořák’s
chamber music has a magic all its own, and it was beautifully realized in this
performance.
