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SYMPHONY REVIEW
Mavericks On Parade Again At The Symphony
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By Sarah Cahill
What exactly is a maverick? My dictionary offers an 1892 definition: a
masterless person. Certainly this is true of autodidactic composers like
Cowell and Harry Partch, who head any list of American mavericks. Mavericks
also defy convention, forging uncharted territory: Ives, Ruth Crawford, Lou
Harrison, John Cage, Conlon Nancarrow come to mind. Not surprisingly, many
maverick composers are Californians.
In its annual Mavericks concert, the San Francisco Symphony has identified a
few maverick torch-bearers with almost yearly representation. Harrison is
one. Another is Meredith Monk, who treated us to her phenomenally flexible
voice in duets with Robert Een. In selections from Facing North, the two
evoked an icy wind with high wails and low buzzing spanning a three-octave
range, bounced through a buoyant "hey hey ha ha hoo hoo," drew breathy tones
deeply inwards and out in sustained chords, and hocketed on three melodic
levels of interlocking patterns.
1998's Pulitzer Prize winner Aaron Jay Kernis seems the polar opposite of a
maverick. Far from "masterless," he studied with John Adams, Charles
Wuorinen, Jacob Druckman, and Morton Subotnick. His highly appealing music,
tinted with the palette of Mahler and Richard Strauss, fits squarely within
the borders of convention. His 1991 Simple Songs sets texts by Hildegard
von Bingen, Ryokan, Rumi, and from the Book of Psalms, all taken from Stephen
Mitchell's compilation The Enlightened Heart. Kernis conducted, and Susan
Narucki (the songs' dedicatee) was the stunning soloist. Her voice hovered
warmly over the ten-member chamber ensemble. Kernis proved his sensitivity
to the divergent texts, and moods within each.
Kernis' music for Ryokan's earthy
Zen poem was light and quick-witted until the poet's enigmatic last phrase,
"Just this!" With a brief vibraphone pattern and a sustained flute pitch,
Kernis highlighted this line as a distilled profundity. These songs were a
pleasure to hear, even if they sounded out of place on this program.
With its new cellist Jennifer Culp (Joan Jeanrenaud is on sabbatical
leave), the Kronos Quartet spun us around on a dizzying tour of the globe
with brief stopovers. Anibal Troilo's Responso conjured up an Argentine
tango's heave and swoon. We heard the sigh of gypsy fiddling in Panonia
Boundless by Yugoslavian Aleksandra Vrebalov. Local Korean composer Hyo-shin
Na contributed a ferocious Kahk-seo-ree-ta-ryeung and, from Terry Riley,
Cortejo Funebre en el Monte Diablo a lament for David Harrington's son
Adam. In Rahul Dev Burman's Tonight is the Night (which, along with
Troilo's piece, was arranged by Osvaldo Golijov), the quartet was joined by a
tape of tablaist Zakir Hussain.
The sheer volume of pieces composed and arranged for Kronos is overwhelming.
Sometimes it seems that every composer one encounters these days at concerts or parties or receptions is writing a
piece for Kronos. The ensemble does have a remarkable facility for adapting,
chameleon-like, to each ethnic style. But especially in the midst of a
larger concert, throwing so much at us in quick succession dilutes the impact
of each single work.
Violinist David Abel and pianist Julie Steinberg were as excellent as ever
in two movements from Lou Harrison's 1988 Grand Duo. A more substantial
Harrison piece would have done the composer greater justice, especially with
his wild Concerto for Organ and Percussion, featured in the first Mavericks
concert, still resonating in our minds.
Russell Peck's Liftoff! for six shirtless (male) bass drum players made a
high energy opener. Strongly reminiscent of Taiko drumming, the piece drove
its players (and audience) to near-exhaustion. But it told us nothing new.
In his informal opening remarks to this concert, Michael Tilson Thomas
promised that next year's event will celebrate the past century of American
mavericks. Hopefully he will narrow his definition to celebrate the true
musical pioneers.
(Sarah Cahill is a pianist and a music critic for the Express, and hosts a music show on KPFA (94.1 FM) every Friday from 10:00 a.m. to noon))
©1999 Sarah Cahill, all rights reserved
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