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CONTEMPORARY MUSIC REVIEW
SFCMP (2): Ambitious Program, Faulty Execution
February 26, 2001
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By Ronald Caltabiano
The San Francisco Contemporary Music Players is the only professional new-music ensemble in the Bay Area (and one of only a handful across the country) with a budget big enough to program long works for large ensembles. Last year, for example, they gave an impressive performance of Elliott Carter's Penthode for 25 players. Their program last Tuesday at the Yerba Buena Center included three works that were sizable either in forces, duration, or both. It provided a marvelous chance to be deeply absorbed into three compositional worlds.
Unfortunately, neither of the program's two large-ensemble pieces compared to last year's Penthode performance in either quality of composition or quality of performance. The program included an intriguing octet by Danish composer Karl Aage Rasmussen, a justly famous piano work by Messiaen, and a composition for 19 players by Dutchman Klaas de Vries that was as colossal in its proportions as it was in its failure.
Rasmussen's Movements on a Moving Line (1988) is an 18-minute work for two woodwinds, two bowed string instruments, guitar, two percussionists, and piano. An opening complex mass of sound yields to several attractive motives and textures. As they rotate to the fore and develop distinct profiles, a highly sectional work emerges. Interest is attained by sometimes transitioning between sections and other times starkly juxtaposing them.
But continuous reappearances of the same or only slightly transformed sections made even the more charming ideas become tiresome. By the 11-minute mark — I looked at my watch, a bad sign in itself — my interest had waned considerably. The piece might better have been represented with a more tightly directed interpretation than that provided by guest conductor David Montgomery.
The next work on the program was Le Merle bleu (The Blue Rock Thrush) from Messiaen's monumental piano work Catalogue d'oiseaux (Catalog of Birds), written in 1958. This section, a bit under 20 minutes in length, is a tour de force in itself, and soloist Julie Steinberg showed why she is considered to be among the best interpreters of modern piano music. Messiaen's trademark bright chords interplay with florid lines, counterpoint arises from simple melodies, and delicate and violent gestures contrast with simpler ideas of melody and accompaniment. Steinberg's performance brought all the subtleties — and all the power — necessary to give flight to the composer's intentions. My only complaint was with the hall itself. The brilliant sounds produced on stage lacked reverberation in the auditorium, and occasionally the fan noise distracted from the quieter moments. The entire second half of the program was given to the American premiere of de Vries' "Sub nocte per umbrass" ("Through the realm of spirits"), written in 1989. For over 30 minutes, 20 performers waded through uninteresting, often awkwardly written music. There was virtually no counterpoint, little harmony, and no harmonic motion. What is left? Unison. For minute after minute, bland unison timbres were created out of a highly diversified ensemble of seven woodwinds, three brass, five strings, percussion, piano, harp, and guitar. The obviously underrehearsed performance did not help matters. While David Montgomery seemed enthusiastic about the work, he sometimes forecasted dynamic changes, giving away some of the work's few surprises. Similarly, the usually excellent ensemble playing and intonation of the SFCMP was nowhere to be found. While the idea of programming three large works was a good one, the SFCMP or its guest conductor overstretched on this occasion. If works of this size are programmed in the future — and they must be — it would behoove the ensemble to disperse them among several programs to give each work the kind of fine performance for which SFCMP is known. (Ronald Caltabiano is a composer living in San Francisco and teaching at San Francisco State University.) ©2001 Ronald Caltabiano, all rights reserved |
