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CONTEMPORARY MUSIC REVIEW
March 12, 2007
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Hits and Misses By Jonathan Russell
Last Monday at Herbst Theatre, Earplay presented a concert of recent chamber music by established masters and local composers. Although it amounted to a mixed bag, it opened and closed with its most effective music, making for a satisfying evening, if not an especially exciting or revelatory one.
The concert began poignantly, with pianist Karen Rosenak's performance of John Thow's Remembering Opus 109. Thow, a prominent local composer and longtime professor at UC Berkeley, died unexpectedly on March 4, and this piece was added to the program in remembrance of him. It is a touching work, full of gently undulating stacks of thirds, resonant and lush, yet sweet and gentle. Rosenak played it with care and nuance.
György Ligeti's surprisingly lyrical Cello Sonata (1948) followed. An early work, it was written well before the composer had established himself as one of the most inventive and original masters of modern music, while he was still under the influence of Béla Bartók. The second movement clearly echoed his fellow Hungarian, being full of propulsive figurations and vigorous folk rhythms. The first movement was a beautifully unfolding melody, of a directness and elegance that is seldom heard on concerts of new music. Cellist Thalia Moore played it tellingly, emotional and expressive, yet with a sound that was subtly colored and not overly intense.
Bringing the concert to a rousing close was Kurt Rohde's bright, colorful, and energetic three-movement Double Trouble (2002), for two viola soloists (Rohde and Ellen Ruth Rose) and an ensemble of flute (Tod Brody), clarinet (Peter Josheff), violin (Terri Baune), cello (Moore), and piano (Rosenak). The piece contains brilliantly colorful and meticulously realized textures, and the outer movements had a frantic, headlong energy that kept me on the edge of my seat.
Of all the pieces in the program, the ensemble played this one with the most commitment and relish, ably led by conductor Mary Chun's clear and firm, yet relaxed and expressive conducting. While the piece was entirely effective and compelling, it had so many captivating moments and textures to offer that I wanted to bask in them a bit longer, instead of constantly being whisked along to the next thing.
The works in between these two proved to be a good deal less satisfying. Following the Ligeti came Christopher Wendell Jones' Fictions (2000), consisting of eight miniatures for solo flute. This piece featured lots of interesting colors and extended techniques, as performed ably by Brody, but it was difficult for me to grasp what it all added up to.
Closing the first half was Krzysztof Penderecki's dark and brooding Clarinet Quartet (1993). Reminiscent of some of the bleaker works of Shostakovich (his eighth string quartet) or Bartók (the last movement of his second string quartet), somehow the piece seemed more superficial than these works, as if its bleakness was more a pose than sincerely felt. The performance, by Josheff on clarinet, Baune on violin, Rose on viola, and Dan Reiter on cello, likewise fell a bit flat, though it's difficult to pinpoint why. Everyone played with expression and with sensitivity to the music's tone and character, yet the performance did not draw me in. Four Wilde Aphorisms (1991) by James H. Carr, a setting for mezzo-soprano and clarinet of four aphorisms by Oscar Wilde, which opened the second half, also was not fully engaging. Wilde's aphorisms contain subtle and dry wit, but they didn't lend themselves well to a musical setting. Their strength lies in their pithiness, their lack of adornment. Adding music to them only distracted from their simplicity and directness, particularly because the music itself, full of burbling clarinet lines and disjunct vocal melody, did not seem to enliven the spirit of the texts. Although they did arouse a chuckle from the audience, the overall effect, despite the clear diction and knowing inflection of mezzo-soprano Katharine Tier, was of a fairly lame joke. A piece like this on a new music concert is a bit like a politician telling a joke in a stump speech: Even if it's not actually funny, it's surprising and refreshing to hear any humor at all. All told, Earplay had some hits and some misses, but the hits made for a worthwhile experience. I also appreciated the 7 p.m. start time, and would encourage other concert presenters to follow suit. It's nice to leave a concert and still have some evening ahead of you.
(Jonathan Russell is a professor of musicianship at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and music director at First Congregational Church in San Francisco. He is active in the Bay Area as a clarinetist, bass clarinetist, and composer.)
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