INTERENSEMBLE at NYU Casa Italiana: 12/12/2000

On Tuesday, December 12th, the INTERENSEMBLE group from Padova presented a special concert as part of the NYU Composers Forum series at the very lovely Casa Italiana. The group, consisted of Fabio Bacelle - Fl, Roberta Gottardi - Clarinet Alessandro Fagiuoli - Vlin, Nicola Baroni - Cello and Bernardino Beggio - Piano/Composer, who is also the director of the organization.

This is an exceptional ensemble, who brought a very demanding but also attractive program of older and younger 20 Century Italian composers. Each player is a true virtuoso soloist, exploiting the limits of their instruments, at the same time, excellent chamber ensemble players. All in all, a great ensemble, fully dedicated to the exploration and research of new music.

Michael Biasutti, a member of this organization, was represented by his 1996 work, En Proximidad del Infinito, with the full ensemble involved in quite exquisite sound explorations of color shapes & textures, games of unisons, clusters and harmonics.

Representing the earlier repertoire, Bruno Maderna's Piece for Ivry (1971), written for solo violin brings a surprising lyrical feel. Maderna's work consists of a succession of segments, to be played by the performer in random order. Mr. Fagiuoli performed it with great feel, creating a fluid and expressive overall shape.

Franco Donatoni's Nidi (1979) is written for a piccolo solo instrument. Mr. Bacelle's performance was exceptional, in its range of colors and gestures.

The younger generation of Veneto composers was also represented by Stefano Bellon's Breaks, sette intermezzi minimi (1990). This is ashort and exquisite work, in which the seven brief movements are very expressive, exploring contrasting timbres and textures.

The Univ. of Massachussets composer, Salvatore Macchia, who is of Italian origins as well, was represented by Arcanum VII for flute and tape, an intricate piece, with a complex relationship between the soloist and the tape, in which the performer is challenged and is surrounded by the prerecorded music.

The great school of mid 20th Century Italian composers was also represented by Luciano Berio's Lied, a short solo clarinet. Ms. Gottardi performed it with great sensitivity, and with a rich and contrasting tones. It was followed by another solo clarinet piece, by Fabio Cifariello Ciardi. Altre tracce (1992) is a warm, virtuosic work, played impressively from memory by Ms. Gottardi. I enjoyed in particular the great transitions from the chalumeau register into contrastic melodic lines or to discreet and rich multiphonics.

The concert was concluded with a piece of the heart-and-soul of this group, composer-pianist Bernardino Beggio. Entitled Five (2000), this is a rich romantic piece, with dance-like sections, reminiscent of Eastern-European folk music. A wonderful piece, to conclude a wonderful evening of music from Italy at its best. (DDG)