Summer 1999-Spring 2000
May 19th, 1999, Composers Concordance at NYU
After having seen the Composer's Concordance concert last night, I left
the theatre with mixed feelins. On one hand, it is rare to walk away from
new music concerts that have such high degrees of compositional craft and
a sense of clear intent, yet one couldn' help but wonder if this music might
as well have been written in 1925. As I began to poner the relative merits
of each point I realized that one does not have to redefine contemporary
music in order for the composer to make good music. There is however, some
responsibility ot keep up with the currents of music and its development
so that one's music is enhanced by the modern developments in texture, timbres,
form, development, and experimental innovations. These pieces are not bad
because they reflect a more aged sensibilty, but theyt simply could be better
pieces by incorporating more modern day elements. One example is the in
the charming piece by Eric Ewazen for violin, trumpet, and piano. This piece
was ermarkabley well crafter and had a wonderful sense of form and pacing
with very engaging melodies. On the other hand, Mr. Ewazen could have been
a contemporary of Brahms for all the listener knew as he never went far
beyond the more traditional and unfortunately aged limits of late nineteenth
century harmony. One the other hand, William Bolcom's piece Lilith, for
piano and saxophone seemed to grab the attention of the listener more with
its exteneded saxophone techniques and more expanded use of the piano. In
the vein of George Crumb, the piano player often played inside the piano
by plucking strings, dampening strings, and all sorts of interesting sounds
that bring out the limitless possibilities of the piano. Here is a good
example of a composer who having studied contemporary practice has thereby
expanded his own tool box and ability to convey more diverse and varied
interpretations of emotions. Overall, it was a good concert, except in the
fact that it was far too long and could have had at least three or four
less pieces. No justice is done to any piece when the audiences' ability
to remember and absorb the music is taxed by a overlong program. (Evan Gardner)
Program of Premieres from Oldenburg, Germany:
PROGRAM:
Isabel Kremeskoetter Ein Punkt (A dot) for Speaker,
Flute, Violin, D-Bass, Percussion, Piano, Choir*
Christoph Micklisch ... and the food is good.... Improvisation for Tape
and Ensemble*
Thorsten Peters My Eyes, for Piano / Speaker and Singer / Speaker*
Angelika Usselmann abhanden(lost), for Voice and Ensemble*
Thorsten Peters C 1 - aus Papier" (C 1 made from paper), for
Singer and Tape*
Julia Daniels Thinking of Kundera, for 2 Clarinets, Tenorsaxophon, Percussion
and Piano*
Esther Beckert Fuehl einfach gelb und spiel! (Just feel yellow and play!)*
On May 20th, Univ. of Oldenburg Student Composers Student composers from
the University of Oldenburg had a chance to show their music on May 20,
1999, at the Frederick Loewe Theater, NYU. The concert consisted of a wide
range of styles and compositional techniques, demonstrating the vast array
of talent available at the University. Violeta Dinescu heads the group,
as faculty and coordinator, and has been very supportive of the group, as
demonstrated by her willingness to bring them oversees on such an ambitious
exchange project with the NYU school of music.
Among the most prevalent of the works exposed in the concert, three stand
out as excellent: Isabel Kremeskoetter's Ein Punkt, Angelika Usselmann's
...abhanden... and Julia Daniels' Thinking of Kundera. The first showed
great percussion writing and contrapuntal technique, as did the third. Usselmann's
work was by far the most well constructed. The themes unraveled among each
other quite deftly and it was pleasant to hear, as a climax, an exact restatement
of J.S.Bach's Prelude No.1 from the first book of the Well-Tempered Clavier.
The ensemble also did a nice job of playing such a complex piece in such
a lighthearted way. Interesting amongst the instrumentation and orchestration
was the opening pairing od bass and cello, a pair which continued throughout
the piece to the end. The cellist was excellent, and the percussionist,
borrowed on the spot from NYU, did a nice job of sight-reading such a difficult
part. Christoph Micklisch's piece ...and the food is good... provided some
light humor to the concert and Peters' My Eyes was laden with heavy electronic
imagery.
The whole group deserved praise for their work. They were extremely supportive
of each other, as is attested by their contributions to their peers' music.
Most of the sang or played in all the large ensemble pieces. (Eric Foinquinos)
May 25th: Monique Copper's Piano & Multimedia Recital:
PROGRAM
Modest Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition (1874)
Wassily Kandinsky 1928 mise-en-scene for the Friedrichtheater, Dessau. Willem Wilmink poems commissioned for Monique Copper (1990)
The Monique Copper multimedia concert was an excellent combination of
music images and text. Mussorgsky^"s music fit the images perfectly.
Monique^"s playing style of Mussorgsky^"s music was superb. The
notes seem to flow to the images and make the still pictures come to life.
The addition of the text moved through the music with complete accuracy
and purpose. Giving you the sense of the music and pictures that were about
to come. The returning theme that came after each small piece of text connected
the piece. The stately theme seemed to embody the whole concert. The harmonic
language of Mussorgsky^"s fit the abstract images.
The whole experience set a mod of being taken on a journey. A journey in
which you were glad to go on. This experience was well done and a joy to
be a part of. (Shawn Harper Tarrant)
------------
Monique Copper direct from Holland presented a beautiful concert of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" with slide illustrations and poetic commentary. Monique's piano playing was just charming. Her interpertation of this well known piece was very moving and technically perfect. During her performance on Monday, May 25th, 1999 at 7:00pm Monique combined a slideshow behind her of illustartions by Wassilly Kandinsky, as well as her recitingpoetry by author Willem Wilmink. Wilmink wrote a story concerning the differentpaintings that Mussorgsky wrote about while walking through the exhibition. Usually the poetry was recited during the movements. But sometimes, Monique would say the poetry while playing a section of the piece. This added an intense feeling between the music and the poetry. The art work shown on a huge overhead screen was very moving and beautiful. But it really did not make much sense with the other two events that were happening. But, overall the concert was a huge success. Everybody who attended the concert really enjoyed the originality of what was shown by Moniuqe Copper. A beautiful way of ending the concert was an encore of Monique playing two Debussy preludes after she recieved four curtain calls. The concert went off without a hitch! I really feel it was the most entertaining guest concert of the 1999 Composer's Seminar. (Michael Deall)
Giancarlo Schiaffini in Concert, May 27th, 1999
Program:
Giacinto Scelsi ..................... Maknongan (Dry Tne)
Bruno Maderna ................... Serenata per un satellite
(Tbne, tape and live electronics; Schiaffini version)
Ghezzo/Schiaffini ................ Music Silent Movie
Dinu Ghezzo ....................... Eyes of Cassandra
Edgar Alandia ..................... Mientras
Giancarlo Schiaffini ............ The Missing Chainring
Ghezzo/Schiaffini/Mazurek ..... Together Again
If Viking Eggeling knew what his experimental film "Symphonie Diagonale"
in 1923 would have accomplished with the help of the works of innovative
composers like Dinu Ghezzo, Ron Mazurek and Giancarlo Schiaffini, he would
be very excited now. In a dynamic connection from the past to future, the
performers Schiaffini and Ghezzo interacted their music with a projection
of the experimental film, making the vision of the filmaker deliciously
wider.
This was the middle part of a very enjoyable music evening on May 27th at
the NYU Education Building. The concert started with Mr Schiaffini, giving
us an interesting changes of colors and dynamics in almost a same note in
his tenor trombone ,in the solo performance of "Maknongan". The
trombone player / composer then performed "Serenata per un Satellite",
a piece that interacts the trombone with an effects processor that particullary
uses the delay. In "Serenata" ,the trombone made an exotic athmosphere
helped by the delay effect, which increases the repetition of the signal,
allowing to recreate a wave-like feeling of the sound of the trombone.
After the Silent Film of Viking Eggeling, came a very interesting a enjoyable
ensemble made by Schiaffini, Ghezzo and Mazurek. The first piece in the
ensemble was the ambitious and interactive "Eyes of Cassandra",
which combines piano, percussion,tape sounds, samples, synthesizer and trombone
with effect processor in order to recreate a huge creative athmosphere.
Said by the author, this piece came after an improvisational session over
the internet. This piece sucessfully recreates (for me) a quest, a longing,
a cry, and a very detail image of a Cassandra, the woman. This was followed
by a genuine improvisation by the three composers in "Together Again",
the last piece.
As a composer, my tastes go with the music that creates inner images, and
give me the chance to explore, to feel, to hear more than the usual. In
this evening , I got everything of that...and even more.(Galo Recalde).
I had almost missed this concert because of other plans I had made. Lucky for me, I cancelled my plans and went to the concert. Always a big fan a Scelsi, I loved listening to Schiaffini perform this trombone solo, and a Scelsi piece is no easy feat. It's all about subtle nuances of dynamics and timbre, and this Schiaffini was able to communicate to the listener in a very precise and moving way. One of the things that interests me about improvisation is the many different ways it can be combined with composition to create. The Maderna piece did this in a very interesting way. Having live performers interactive live with computer programs is a very exiciting concept to me. It is the classic 20th conflict of man against machine brought into the sphere of music. Of all the pieces performed that evening, the ones I enjoyed the most were the trio improvisations between Schiaffini, Prof. Ghezzo and Prof. Mazurek. Group improvisation has an energy that notated music, no matter how well written, just cannot match. It's a matter of living in the moment of losing yourself to the group. These three performers interacted very well and were extremely in-tune with each other. It is so rare that group improvisation have any kind of music direction or overall sense of structure, but these three managed to pull it off nicely. Using the silent film as an organizing structure, and in the process creating a multi-media environment, the group maintained the energetic, in the momentness of live improvised music and at the same time created a dynamic structure that one doesn't normally find in improvised music. I, for one, was very impressed. (Scot Lasley)
Concert Review. May 25th, 1999.
Giancarlo Schiaffini (Composer-Trombone) assisted by Dinu Ghezzo (Piano-Percussion)
and Ron Mazurek (synthesizers).
Program: Maknongan (Giacinto Scelsi), Serenata per un Satellite (Bruno Maderna/Schiaffini
version), Music Silent Movie (Ghezzo/Schiaffini), Eyes of Cassandra (Ghezzo),
Together Again (Ghezzo/Schiaffini/Mazurek).
According to Joel Chadabe, two main reasons for using electronics in music
are access to sound and interaction. This concept has been truly confirmed
during this performance. The first two pieces showed Schiaffini as a solo
performer. In "Maknongan" the timbral capabilities and dynamic
shades of the tenor trombone, either open or muted, were exploited around
a single pitch and its neighbor tones. In "Serenata per un Satellite"
the trombone was driven through a multi-effect processor allowing Schiaffini
to skillfully interplay with different transformations of his own sound,
with the tape providing a sonic background and emphasizing the climax points.
For the remaining of the concert, Ghezzo and Mazurek joined Schiaffini to
conform a sensitive and at the same time powerful ensemble. The first trio
piece "Music Silent Movie" happened to be, in my opinion, the
peak of the evening. The opus served as an improvised real-time soundtrack
for the 1928 experimental silent film "Symphonie Diagonale" by
Viking Eggeling. The performers interacted with a projection of the movie
and developed the shape of the music while reacting to the evolution of
a series of abstract figures on the screen. It was very impressive to see
how musical concepts such as augmentation, diminution, inversion, accelerando
or ritardando have their correspondence in visual arts (cinema in this case)
as well. The performance not only created a beautiful soundtrack but also
added color to the original black and white of the motion picture. Ghezzo's
"Eyes of Cassandra" followed. This is a piece for three solo instruments
and tape that was born out of a collaborative sampling session over the
Internet. Once again, interaction was the name of the game. Motifs and ideas
travelling from tape to live ensemble and vice-versa and the sampled text
"I can't see you Cassandra^ " acting as the opening and closing
statement of the piece. Finally, "Together Again" closed the concert.
An improvisational trio session celebrating the joy of making music together
and a very appropriated finale for a great musical evening. (Juan Raffo)
-----
On May 27th, 1999, at 7 PM, a concert took place, featuring the accomplished composer and trombonist Giancarlo Schiaffini. He was assisted by Dinu Ghezzo on Piano and Percussion, and Ron Mazurek on Synthesizers. The concert featured five pieces in the twentieth century style.
The first was a solo trombone piece, entitled "Maknongan (Dry Tne)" by Giacinto Scelsi. Schiaffini performed this dynamic piece with clarity, feeling, and technical mastery.
"Serenata per un satellite" by Bruno Maderna followed that piece with another spectacular solo performance by Schiaffini. Schiaffini encorporated his own compositional talents on this piece and made it his own version. Tape and live electronics were used for many interesting and exotic effects.
The next piece was written by both Ghezzo and Schiaffini and was called "Symphonie Diagonale", a silent movie made by Viking Eggeling in 1923; For this piece, a monitor was set up for the audience to watch an old movie, featuring many artistic and abstract shapes which formed a kind of duet between the music and itself.
The fourth piece was "Eyes of Cassandra" by Dinu Ghezzo which featured many experimental techniques and sounds. The sounds overlaid themselves on top of one another and created a prolific texture.
The final piece was an improvisation between Ghezzo, Schiaffini, and Mazurek. A peaceful beginning led to a tumultuous climax which died away and led into a longer atmospheric music. The improvisation was very successful and was followed by an excited applause from the audience. (Patrick Snyder)
June 8th Ron Mazurek Self Portrait
Program:
Bird of Passage: Cindy Shiung, flute and Marian Dybsjold, dancer
On Becoming: Ron Mazurek, keyboard with Jeoung Nam Park and Marian Dybsjold, dancers
Three Preludes: Ju-Ping Song, piano
Satori: Michael Caputo, clarinet and Jeoung Nam Park, dancer
In Strange Tongues: Ron Mazurek, keyboard with Jeoung Nam Park and Marian Dybsjold, dancers
If I have to describe him in a one sentence, I will say that Ron Mazurek
is a composer whose vertical and horizontal senses are well balanced. Here
"vertical sense" indicates the sense of temporally melody, harmony,
and rhythm, while "horizontal sense" indicates the sense of time
flowing that controls the audience's emotion. Mazurek's compositions are
usually assemblies of sound textures. He assigns its own sonority to each
texture with free space left. Performers, including him, can improvise in
the specific frames. It makes the performers not only play pieces easier
but also enjoy them and give them lives. Additionally, in the composing
process, it makes him use energy to concentrate more on the time structure
of the whole piece than on details. This concert showed many aspects of
Mazurek. In the pieces as "On Becoming" and "In Strange Tongues,"
he played keyboard by himself with two dancers. Although he said most notes
were actually written, we could say it was a sort of improvisation because
the timing was obviously created in real time in interplay with the dancers.
In pieces as "Bird of Passage" for flute, "Three Prelude"
for piano, and "Satori" for clarinet, he manipulated electronic
devices with each performer. The same kind of interplay occurred here between
him and the performers. The performers seemed to enjoy creating the musical
moments in real time. At the same time, "Three Prelude" showed
his great sense of harmony. This piece has one of the most beautiful piano's
sounds that I have ever heard. (Yusuke Iwasaki)
June 17th, 1999, Concert of Premieres
PROGRAM
Gustavo Parra ........... Zaius*
Yusuke Iwasaki .............. Pillow*
Eric Foinquinos ............. Caprichos del Tiempo*
Juan Raffo ...................... El Momento Entre Los Trapecios*
Matt Vinson ................... Jubilations*
Hyun Jung Shim ............ Beyond*
Jong Suh Lee ................... Lunarian Dance*
Shawn Harper Tarrant....... The Forgotten**
Chan Ji Kim ....... Flying in New York on a Summer Night*
David Reminick .............. Spiderman*
Galo Recalde ................... Looking for Carlos*
Wendy Luck ................... The Ancient Key*
* First Performance ** First NY or US Performance
Having long awaited the final concerts for this seminar, I was extremely
pleased with the final concert for group A. The concert consisted of pieces
by Gustavo Parra, Yusuke Iwasaki, Eric Foquinos, Juan Raffo, Matt Vinson,
Hyun Jung Shim, Jong Suh Lee, Shawn Harper Turrent, Chan Ji Kim, David Reminick,
Galo Recalde, and Wendy Luck. In general terms, the concert displayed a
great degree of ecclectisism and diversity. There were pieces of a straightforward
tonal nature as with Yusukee's piece Pillows, pieces consisting of more
of a polyphonic and freely tonal linear design like Gustavo's piece, and
pieces with a modal, eastern quality like Wendy's piece and Hyun Jung Shim's
piece. I was pleased to see so many pieces that were obviously crafted with
care and attention to the development and realization of melodies over time.
As with any student concert, there were varying levels of succes but I would
think its safe to say that every piece on the concert had some really wonderful
moments and that every piece was composed with feeling that came out in
the show. The performers in the ensemble faced a rather daunting task of
learning quite a bit of music in a realtively short period of time with
very limited and rather stressed rehearsals. In spite of all this however,
I think they did a good job of presenting the material as best they could.
I think it was unfortunate, however, that the music was often stopped so
that mistakes might be fixed with the fictional idea that the music could
be cut and spliced magically in the recording studio. This really isn't
how that kind of thing works. Not to say that a recording studios can't
do some very magical things, but a spliced recording will sound just like
that unless there are transition points that have some kind of clear ending
and beginning. (Evan Gardner)
Two Concerts of Premieres June 17th and June 22nd, 1999 These two concerts
reminded me of a conversation with a student majoring in fine art the other
day. He and I discussed about the general tendencies of students' works
in two fields, fine arts and music composition. He said that in the fine
art field, students have concept, philosophy or just what to want to express
clearly. However, usually they don't have enough skill to embody those themes,
so their works become to look incomplete. Then, it is funny that instead
of creating, they talk a lot about their themes, he said. In the music composition
field, things seem in the opposite way. Most students seem to know theory
and technique enough. However, it seems that they don't have what to want
to express. In other words, they just write the "good" pieces
that sound beautifully without any theme. Also, many students seem to lack
the sense of time flowing throughout pieces while they care much enough
about vertical sonority or temporally rhythm. Unfortunately, it turned out
that this conversation was applicable to most pieces from these two concerts.
However, some pieces have strong expressions. Hyun Jung Shim's "Beyond"
reflects her national identity as a Korean composer. Although using ethnic
materials always works to get the advantage to make the audience like the
piece, every composer has a right to do so as far as it is true to him or
her. Patrick Snyder's "Cannon's Walk" is another example to express
a composer's musical identity. This classical cannon shows his attitude
to write what he wants to write, without being influenced by "cool
trend." Also, in his piece called "Sandwich Musings," Chris
Bassett's crystallizes his unique sense of rhythm, knowledge of each instrument's
color, and the sense of humor into one piece. Those young composers may
achieve his or her own style with excellent quality, unless they depend
too much on the technique they may learn. (Yusuke Iwasaki)
-----
Eric Foinquinos' highly structured and rhythmic piece "Caprichos del Tiempo" brings about many brilliant harmonic and thematic elements. Encompassed within these elements is a unique, eminent, fulfilling voice. .Juan Raffo's "El Momento Entre Los Trapecios" is a dynamic tango which utilized the full force of the septet for which it was written. The piece built from a very soft and flowing introduction to a loud and tumultuous. The shortest piece on the program, Matt Vinson's "Jubilations" was a well orchestrated and effectively strong piece. The pace was fast and there was much rhythmic activity making a lot said in a short period of time.
The accomplished composer, Gustavo Parra, brings about an enlightened and thought provoking piece, "Zaius". The orchestration was magnificent and the thematic evolution was brilliant. "Pillow", by Yusuke Iwasaki, is a piece which seems peaceful yet it's running all over the place. The composer used each instrument's sound individually to create a very approachable and extremely effective texture. Hyun Jung Shim's, "Beyond", is a slowly powerful and meaningful piece incorporating eastern music and instruments. Its pulse and its sounds immerse the listener in an exotic and provocative mood.
The poignant piece, "Lunarian Dance", by Jong Suh Lee brought out a lot of creative rhythmic and thematic material. With this music, it is easy to envision dancers moving about in a nocturnal ritual. "The Forgotten" by Shawn Harper Tarrant, is a flowing and emotional piece. The composer's experience in film is probably what brings about many of the lucid images interwoven throughout this music.
Chan Ji Kin - Flying in New York on a Summer Night. A moving marimba introduction brings about the rest of this fast and equally moving piece. The piece effectively implants the image of flying as well as the longing for the composer's homeland, which originally inspired the piece.
A playful and extremely well constructed duet for Piano and Marimba, David Reminick's piece, "Spiderman", combines a multitude of musical styles and moods. From 20th century to Jazz to more romantic mediums. The styles are not only combined but seamlessly blended together, so that hints of a style are present as another comes into focus.
"Looking for Carlos" by Galo Recalde is a solo performance with midi backup dedicated to the composer's brother. Galo Recalde gave an fantastically funny performance, imitating trumpet and electric guitar with his voice, while acting as a somewhat absent minded performer.
A moving and powerful look into the mysteries of ancient and present day Egypt, Wendy Luck's "The Ancient Key" made full use of flute, percussion, video, and tape. The piece was a kind of duet between different types of flutes which the performer, Wendy herself, utilized and the sound of a flute played within the natural acoustics of the titanic structures of Egypt. (Patrick Snyder)
June 22, 1999, Concert of Premieres, Grouop B:
PROGRAM
Evan Gardner ................. Ricochet*
Brett Green .................. Collage*
Eric Klein .............. "1899"*
Christopher Pierce ................ Concertino*
Chris Freeman ............. Time and Place*
Chris Bassett ................ Sandwich Musings*
Scot Lasley .................. Bruises*
Michael Deall ............... Images*
Carlos Delgado ........... Sketches in Orange and Grey*
Sonia Roubeni ........... Meditation on a Persian Theme*
Sarah Snider ..................... Prelude*
Franck Picarazzi ............... Rondo for Two Keyboards*
* First Performance ** First NY
or US Performance
The second concert of premieres by students of the NYU Summer Composer's Seminar on June 22 proved an eclectic and intriguing evening. Collectively, the fourteen pieces reflected an amalgam of interests, influences and backgrounds as diverse as the students themselves. The feature common to the works, however, was the clear degree of effort each student put into his or her composition in a remarkably short amount of time. What seemed true for each piece was the singularity of objective: however disparate the stylistic gestures incorporated may have been, each composer managed to articulate and achieve his or her artistic goal in a clear and unique manner. The first piece of the evening, Christopher Pierce's *Concertino*, written for the septet (flute, clarinet, trumpet, percussion, piano, violin, and cello), plus bass clarinet and trombone, was a well-crafted exploration of a memorable melodic motive reminiscient of neoclassicism, yet seeminglymore centric in the harmonic and stylistic exposition that followed. The music suggested what must have been rather technically demanding passages for the instrumentalists, particularly the pianist - Professor Fabio Gardenal, who realized the virtuosic writing with force and animation. Following was *"1899"*, Eric Klein's piece for the septet, which he described as an exploration of particular musical ideas that were just on the brink of dissolution at the end of the nineteenth century. While the piece did indeed invoke an array of turn-of-the-century stylistic gestures, Eric managed to fuse them into a composition that nevertheless sounded unique, contemporary, and well-constructed, appearing to draw just as much from the composer's imagination as it did from the palette he described. The following two pieces -- Patrick Snyder's *Cannon's Walk* and Brett Green's *Collage* -- were likewise written for the septet.
Patrick's *Cannon's Walk* combined imagination with an astute sense of instrumental color and a solid treatment of rhythm and motivic development; the instrumental voicings blended successfully, and the stylistic gestures were inventive and well-timed, allowing the piece to maintain its momentum smoothly throughout. Brett's *Collage* also relied upon momentum, although in this piece, it functioned as a temporal link between the various sections of the work. As a self-described pastiche of motivic ideas, the piece draws upon the composer's "eclectic" taste in music to create a medley of musical paragraphs, each of which returns at least once, usually signaled by a transitional gong or shimmer of cymbals. The paragraphs themselves -- featuring tonal melodic and harmonic structures with rock and jazz inflections -- seemed well-suited to one another, and flowed smoothly from one to the next. The next two pieces -- Evan Gardner's *Richochet* and Chris Bassett's *Sandwich Musings* -- both utilized other media in addition to the full septet. The only electro-acoustic work of the evening, Evan's *Ricochet* featured Evan himself triggering samples -- voices of seminar students speaking in languages other than English, the splash of a water droplet, doors creaking, and other sounds -- which served as a compelling complement to the textural creations of the acoustic instruments. The sample patterns were well-coordinated -- rhythmically and even harmonically -- with the phrasings and motivic development in the acoustic writing, blending into the color, texture, and affect of the piece as if they were simply another instrument.
In the next piece, *Sandwich Musings*, Chris Bassett combined spoken word (the composer himself speaking) with music for the septet, and masterfully delivered a series of short verses on the topic of sandwiches. The pieces displayed a keen use of rhythm and timing; Chris managed to keep the music -- which would have been compelling even without the dialogue -- independent while it also served to illustrate and punctuate the verse. Written for sextet, Michael Deall's *Images* colorfully and energetically explored a motive which he described as reminiscient of Poulenc and other early 20th Century French composers. Indeed, the piece conjured shades of impressionism, but it was marked by a late 20th Century inventiveness that rendered it unmistakeably modern and unique. Michael managed to create sonorous instrumental colors that complemented the dynamic, animated piano writing ^÷ which often stole my attention ^÷ very well. Following Michael Deall was Scott Lasley, whose *Bruises* was a quintet written for flute, percussion, piano, violin, and cello. Scott^"s piece was quite engaging, exhibiting an imaginative, dynamic approach to both instrumental blending and motivic development. Chris Freeman^"s *Time and Place* ^÷ a quartet for clarinet, trumpet, percussion, and piano ^÷ exhibited a strong sense of pulse, as Chris highlighted the percussive, rhythmic potential of the non-percussive instruments in the ensemble; while the piece did indeed reflect the rock influence the composer describes, it did so in a rather unique and adventurous manner. The following two pieces ^÷ Carlos Delgado^"s *Sketch in Orange and Grey*, and Sonia Roubeni^"s *Meditations on a Persian Theme* ^÷ were both characterized as "investigative" pieces by their composers, but the respective explorations were, of course, quite different. As a study of instrumental timbres and their relationship to non-tempered pitch constructions, *Sketch in Orange and Grey* utilized extended performance techniques to evoke instrumental sounds which, owing usually to their registral positions and dynamic demands, blended to create textural patterns which shifted gradually ^÷ and evocatively throughout the course of the piece.
Dynamics played an integral role, often drawing out the multiphonics and harmonics to rousing levels of climactic and harmonic tension. Sonia^"s *Meditations on a Persian Theme* ^÷ written for string quartet and percussion ^÷ was a beautiful, well-crafted exploration of the fusion of Eastern and Western musical elements. The instrumentation provided the perfect setting for her juxtaposition of Iranian folk melody into "classical" form and structure: the percussion added a unique and distinctly Eastern quality to the strings, which already possessed an exotic lyricism owing to the composer^"s delicate deployment of modal harmonies and subtle, graceful dissonance. Because the following piece, *Prelude* ^÷ for solo piano ^÷ was composed by the author of this review, I will leave commentary to another reviewer. The final piece of the evening, *Rondo for Two Keyboards*, written by Franck Picarazzi ^÷ a guest composer for the evening ^÷ was a fantastical exploration of the duet makings between a marimba and vibraphone, with Rina Okubo and Mr. Picarazzi, respectively, turning out dynamic performances in the process. The piece made wonderfully idiomatic use of the two instruments, exploring their ranges and sonorous potential through rapid, virtuosic runs and rhythmic counterpoint. Though previously unfamiliar to Seminar students, Mr. Picarazzi^"s piece provided an invigorating and rather apropos conclusion to what had been a truly diverse, enlightening, and engaging evening of premieres. (Sarah Snyder)
June 22nd, 1999. By Juan Raffo The 1999 NYU Summer Composers Seminar - Second Concert of Premieres
Program: Concertino (Christopher Pierce), Ricochet (Evan Gardner), Collage (Brett Green), "1899" (Eric Klein), Cannon's Walk (Patrick Snyder), Time and Place (Chris Freeman), Sandwich Musings (Chris Basset), Bruises (Scott Lasley), Images (Michael Deall), Sketch in Orange and Grey (Carlos Delgado), Meditation on a Persian Theme (Sonia Roubeni), Prelude (Sarah Snider), Rondo for Two Keyboards (Franck Picarazzi).
Performers: NYU Contemporary Players: Cindy Ying Shiung (Flutes), Michael Caputo (Clarinet), Kenneth Caputo (Bass and Piccolo Clarinet), David Reminick (Saxophones), Matt Hildenberg (Trumpet), Fabio Gardenal (Piano), Ju-Ping Song (Piano), Rina Okubo (Percussion), Pauline Kim (Violin), Davis Gotay (Cello).
Conductors: Roger Mahadeen, Gustavo Parra, Patrick Snyder, Carlos Delgado and Sonia Roubeni.
Guest Performers: Steven Masi (Piano), Kuo-Hsuan Wu Franck Picarazzi (Percussion), Shahab Ebrahimi-Zarb Maxim Moston (Violin), David Cieswell (Viola), Evan Gardner (Samples), Chris Basset (Narration).
As well as the First Concert of Premieres of the Composers Seminar, this second venue displayed a wide range of compositional styles and a very rich quality of musical material. On top of that, the overall performance of the ensemble showed a noticeable improvement in relation to the first concert, making this evening a smoother and more enjoyable experience. "Concertino", by Christopher Pierce, opened the concert. The piece -remarkably well orchestrated- is based on a march-type of melodic motif that is constantly transformed but always present, and somehow modeled after a concerto structure that featured pianist Fabio Gardenal. "Ricochet", by Evan Gardner, followed. This composition skillfully exploits the sound of sampled spoken texts in combination with a very well crafted mixing of electronic and acoustic sound textures. The next piece, "Collage", by Brett Green, successfully fulfilled the composer's intention in creating an admixture of contrasting styles and ideas in order to reflect his eclectic musical taste. "1899", by Eric Klein was next.
This is a very strong work in terms of form and orchestration and with a very clear sense of compositional development and musical continuity. After that, "Cannon's Walk", by Patrick Snyder, brought another good example of composition and orchestration skills, along with a very good conducting performance by the author himself. The following work, "Time and Place", by Chris Freeman was a very fresh opus based on a rhythmic groove related to rock music. However, the combination of clarinet and trumpet carrying all the melodic material gave the music an early jazz flavor as well. "Sandwich Musings", by Chris Basset, reminded us that humor can be a very effective compositional tool (Frank Zappa is the best example of that). The piece, according to the author, "it's about sandwiches" and featured the composer himself as a narrator. "Bruises", by Scott Lasley, happened to be one of the peaks of the evening. It is a colorful piece that exploits a wide range of instrumental hues with a strong sense of "drama" and forward motion. "Images", by Michael Deall, followed. The work is, according to the composer, based on a loose sonata form structure and its principal theme is in the style of Poulenc and the early French composers of the 20th century. Once again, we heard the result of a very balanced blending of inspiration and craftsmanship. The next composition, "Sketch in Orange and Grey", by Carlos Delgado, was another highlight of the concert. The piece -written for clarinet, percussion, piano, and cello- is "a preliminary study of interlaced instrumental timbres and superimposed textures, and their relationship to non-tempered pitch constructions" (Delgado's words) and clearly demonstrated the author's talent and compositional control throughout its entire length. "Meditation on a Persian Theme", by Sonia Roubeni, was introduced as a first attempt of the composer at incorporating elements of her cultural heritage (Iranian folk music, in this case) within a classical framework. The piece -written for string quartet and ethnic percussion- thoroughly fulfilled that proposition, exhibiting a very well balanced eastern-western flavor. The next piece, "Prelude", by Sarah Snider, Was a solo piano work beautifully performed by Steven Masi. The composition uses a modal (Lydian) melodic motif as a departure point and develops it in a very sensitive manner. Finally, "Rondo for Two Keyboards", by Franck Picarazzi, closed the concert. The piece was performed by the author on vibraphone and by guest performer Kuo-Hsuan Wu on marimba, and acted as a great vehicle for a very virtuosistic duo performance. In sum: A successful combination of outstanding composers and performers that made a remarkable and very gratifying musical evening (Juan Raffo).
On the evening of June 22nd, at 8 PM, the 1999 Summer Composers Seminar and the Tonmeister Program impressively directed by Drs. Dinu D. Ghezzo, Bernard Fritsch, Kenneth Peacock, and Paul Geluso, premiered new and exciting works of 13 student and professional composers from all over the world. The 13 unique pieces, beautifully performed by the NYU Contemporary Players, were enthusiastically received. Composers scored for 1-10 instrumentalists as well as for computer and synthesized sounds. Inside the Frederick Loewe Theater on the NYU campus all kinds of sparkling music influences resounded - traditional with a twist, theatrical, ethnic, jazz, contemporary/classical, film, pop - to name a few. Evan Gardner's piece 'Ricochet' seemed to do this very thing as computer sounds, samples, fragments of different languages, and live instruments interrelated and bounced off the walls of the theatre space. The slowly shifting layers of sound were futuristic, eerie, anticipatory, and seemed to suspend time.
Roger Mahadeen's clear and concise conducting beautifully brought the
piece together. 'Collage', by composer Brett Green, lyrically conducted
by Mr. Mahadeen, was madcap, slightly sinister, fanciful yet ominous. Broad
sweeps of juxtapositions of many different styles of music established this
interesting work. Eric Klein's '1899', conducted by Gustavo Parra of Columbia,
almost had an epic film score quality, evoking images of open fields; an
earlier time in this country. Parra graced us with his ease, command, style,
and lyricism - a heartfelt conductor. Chris Bassett's work 'Sandwich Musings'
was both theatrical and interestingly scored. With a jazz-like tone established,
Bassett entertained us with quirky, fun twists of wordplay about sandwiches.
'Bruises', by Scot Lasley, was dark and rolling, with blasts of the dramatic.
From flowing to jagged and edgy, the piece was rich in contrasts. Michael
Deall's work, 'Images', was interesting and complex. A plaintive cello captures
the ear. Parra, conducting, flowed through many different time changes with
enthusiasm and boundless energy. 'Sketches in Orange and Grey', by Carlos
Delgado, composed 'other worldly' textures and harmonies, creating sensitive,
haunting, and surreal landscapes. Unusual effects were created by combining
clarinet multiphonics and humming, cello, and strings of the piano in certain
sections. Sonia Roubeni composed 'Meditation on a Persian Theme'. The juxtaposition
of Western and Eastern cultures proved to be quite beautiful. With strings
and ethnic drum, she creates a refreshing dip into both cultures. Sara Snider's
'Prelude' for solo piano was masterfully composed. Flowing and impressionistic,
rolling waves of sound inspired poetic musings. Chris Pierce's work, 'Concertino',
was rather traditional in structure yet clearly his own original creation.
The work of Pat Snyder tells a story. Aspects are lovely, rich, then delicate.
Chris Freeman composed a work entitled 'Time and Place'. The piece has interesting
elements of rock-type chords with scored 'improvisations'. 'Rondo for Two
Keyboards', by Franck Picarazzi, is a complex work; refreshing, insistent,
swingy, and sparkling. Congratulations to all the composers, conductors,
performers, professors, and participants- to an inspired job well done!
Wendy Luck
"Keep in mind that these are works in progress," our teacher Dinu
Ghezzo said before the first work premiered on last Tuesday^"s concert
by the students of the NYU Summer Composers Seminar. Although this was indeed
the case, the creativity and originality of the composers was evident. The
concert began with "Concertino" by Christopher Pierce which featured
the piano in a grueling set of variations on a jig-like melody. With its
constantly shifting meters and tempo modulations Michael Deall^"s "Images"
was similarly difficult for the performers, although strikingly different
in its. The only piece of the evening using electronics was Evan Gardner^"s
"Ricochet", which in addition to the electronics, used extended
techniques to further expand the possibilities of the ensemble. Eric Klein^"s
"1899" was a bit more conservative, with tonality and more traditional
harmonies pervading the music. Chris Freeman^"s "Time and Place"
showed strong influence from rock music, using characteristic riffs and
form, while Brett Green^"s "Collage" showed similar influence
in its harmonies and melodic development. Both Scot Lasley^"s "Bruises"
and Carlos Delgado^"s "Sketches in Orange and Grey" used
controlled improvisation to create specific sounds that were unobtainable
through traditional notation. Although humorous in nature, Chris Bassett^"s
"Sandwich Musings" was tightly constructed piece blending spoken
word with related musical phrases. Patrick Snyder^"s "Cannon^"s
Walk" was a concise two movement work whose themes were very well developed
in a short amount of time. The string quartet format was augmented with
a percussionist in Sonia Roubeni^"s "Meditation on a Persian Theme",
an exploration of a folk melody in a contemporary medium. The concert concluded
with Sarah Snider^"s "Prelude" for solo piano, a very well
written virtuostic piece that never seemed unnecessarily so ...... (David
Reminick)
Having long awaited the final concerts for this seminar, I was extremely
pleased with the final concert for group A. The concert consisted of pieces
by Gustavo Parra, Yusuke Iwasaki, eric Foquinos, Juan Raffo, Matt Vinson,
Hyun Jung Shim, Jong Suh Lee, Shawn Harper Turrent, Chan Ji Kim, David Reminick,
Galo Recalde, and Wendy Luck. In general terms, the concert displayed a
great degree of ecclectisism and diversity. There were pieces of a straightforward
tonal nature as with Yusukee's piece Pillows, pieces consisting of more
of a polyphonic and freely tonal linear design like Gustavo's piece, and
pieces with a modal, eastern quality like Wendy's piece and Hyun Jung Shim's
piece. I was pleased to see so many pieces that were obviously crafted with
care and attention to the development and realization of melodies over time.
As with any student concert, there were varying levels of succes but I would
think its safe to say that evey piece on the concert had some really wonderful
moments and that every piece was composed with feeling that came out in
the show. The performers in the ensemble faced a rather daunting task of
learning quite a bit of music in a realtively short period of time with
very limited and rather stressed rehearsals. In spite of all this however,
I think they did a good job of presenting the material as best they could.
I think it was unfortunate, however, that the music was often stopped so
that mistakes might be fixed with the fictional idea that the music could
be cut and spliced magically in the recording studio. This really isn't
how that kind of thing works. Not to say that a recording studios can't
do some very magical things, but a spliced recording will sound just like
that unless there are transition points that have some kind of clear ending
and beginning. (Evan Gardner)
PROGRAM
Todd Hasson......................... Dreamweaver
OTHER WORKS BY STUDENTS IN DR. PEACOCK'S CLASS
-------
Christine Ghezzo/Lea Bracher ... Songs of Mourning
-------
Ron Mazurek ............ Ascension, for Synth & Dancer
Mr. Mazurek - Synthesizer, Jeoung Nam Park - Dance
Carlos Delgado ...................... Night Scenes
Mr. Delgado - Synthesizer, Jeoung Nam Park - Dance
-------
Tom Beyer/Dinu Ghezzo/Ron Mazurek ..... 3/2/1
Tom Beyer - Percussion, Dinu Ghezzo - Piano, Percussion,
Ron Mazurek - Synthesizer
* First Performance ** First NY
or US Performance
Wednesday, June 23rd, 1999, on a hot summer night in New York City, eclectic sounds of a fanciful Computer Music Student Showcase drifted out of the doors of the Frederick Loewe Theatre on the NYU campus. The highly regarded Music Technology program featured works by students in the Advanced Computer Composition course led by Dr. Kenneth Peacock. The first piece on the program 'Rondo for Flute and Tape' by Lee Zakian, opened the evening with a unique combination of concrete sounds, MIDI sounds, and improvisational flute. Rhythmic computerized sounds interweave with melodic flute lines. A juxtaposition of serenity and chaos create a stimulating work. 'Water Music', created by John F. Duckett, integrated words ( ..."the music ... crept by me...sweet air, water...."), rain sounds and sections of choral music into subtle rhythms, creating a rich texture. Todd Hasson's 'Dreamweaver' conveyed an eerie, compelling quality. He skillfully combines samples of violin and piano, natural sounds, MIDI sounds, and 15th century Sephardic songs to create an interesting piece. 'Prayers for String Bass and Tape' composed by Christopher A. Benge beautifully merges the sacred world of prayer chants with a loosely woven live bass counterpoint. The piece brings Eastern and Western worlds together creating his own personal prayer. Darin J. Meyer's 'The City Crazies', is a compilation of street and outdoor sounds manipulated into a collage of unusual rhythms and textures. 'Weave' by Mina Kim creates a world of 'weaving' the overtones into new sounds. Striking textures sounding like insects and machines came to mind at moments.
'Five Short Transmissions' by Michael Rice, pans sound from left to right complete with humorous radio announcer and people talking. The use of lights changing adds a rich dimension to the piece. 'Event Horizon' by Orlando Legname, is unique transformation of sound and its harmonics into first a noisy sound; then back to its original. Enter "Jamaican Spaceship" here! This original and quirky journey is provided by Vyacheslav Vasilevskiy in his composition called 'The Universe'. He playfully takes us into space complete with baby sounds, distorted rhythms, symphonies, pop, and ethnic music. Ron Mazurek captures our attention with his work 'Ascension' for synth and dancer. His music combined with the dancer creates a majestic, graceful, rich, and flowing story. Pieces of Gregorian chants take us to yet another level. Carlos Delgado continues to captivate us with his work entitled 'Night Scenes'. Delgado creates reflective, misty, compelling landscapes. Graceful and cat-like, a dancer teams with his soundscapes, telling an abstract and enigmatic tale of the mysteries of the night. 'Songs of Mourning', created and performed by Christine Ghezzo and Lea Bracher, was a sensitive and soulful piece. Ms. Bracher, through subtle movement and expression, revealed a woman in mourning. As she mourned, Ms. Ghezzo beautifully began to sing accapella, Hungarian and Roumanian melodies. Both eventually joined together singing in poignant and heartfelt delicacy. This summer evening was a delightful; exploration in creativity - Cheers and Congratulations to all involved! (Wendy Luck)
Multimedia Concert, June 24, 1999
PROGRAM
Composers Seminar Multimedia Concert (Prof. Dinu Ghezzo), Film & Multimedia Class(Prof. Ron Sadoff):
Eric Foinquinos ........... Caprichos del Tiempo
(Dance project)
Yun Jeong Cho ............. Totem (Film Project)
Juan Raffo ..................... El Momento Entre
Los Trapecios (Dance)
Hyun Jung Shim ............. Beyond (Film project)
Jong Suh Lee .................. Lunarian Dance (Dance
project)
Shawn Harper Tarrant...... Music for Three Short Films:
One Dark World/Oceanic Celebration/The Traveler
David Forni ..................... Film Project
Chan Ji Kim ...... Flying in NYC on a Summer Night
(Dance)
Galo Recalde ................... Looking for Carlos
Wendy Luck ................... The Ancient Key (Multimedia)
* First Performance ** First NY or US Performance
On June 24th, students of the Composer's Seminar and the Film & Multimedia Class presented works combining original music with dance, film, or video. As most NYU student concerts go, it was an eclectic program, showcasing the diversity of styles and interests present in the classes. The four composers behind the dance projects were fortunate to have Sean Russo and Maya Elbaum as dancers, with Mr. Russo also choreographing.
The concert began with Eric Foinquinos' "Caprichos del Tiempo." Opening with a "serialized" rhythmic pattern, the piece -- written for the septet (flute, clarinet, trumpet, piano, percussion, violin, and cello) plus saxophone and Bass clarinet -- explored various treatments of a quarter note, although the whimsical, inventive and well-voiced melodic material made the presence of any serialized rhythmic pattern hardly noticeable. The dancer conveyed the playfulness and expressivity of the music, treating the rhythmic mutations imaginatively.
The following piece, Juan Raffo's "El Momento Entre Los Trapecios", was a take on the traditional tango, but the dancers reflected the composer's unique, 20th century approach to the form. Attempting to capture musically the moment in which a trapeze artist must let go of one swing to catch another, the music -- written for the septet -- was dynamic, kinetic, and richly colorful.
Following was Jong Suh Lee's "Lunarian Dance," written for clarinet, percussion, and cello. The dancer's lithe movements and gesticulations managed to complement the playful, limber instrumental lines quite well. The piece seemed very well-suited for dance; both the melodic and the rhythmic material imparted a sense of agility and undulation, which Ms. Elbaum most gracefully conveyed.
The next piece, Chan Ji Kim's "Flying in NYC on a Summer Night" -- written for flute, clarinet, percussion, and cello -- also featured dance, as well as very kinetically-oriented musical material. Intended to reflect the composer's wish to fly home to her native country, the piece employs rapid arpeggiated runs (most notably on the marimba) and sudden, dramatic articulations, dynamics, and registral changes in order to create a sense of urgency and forward motion. The dancer, reflecting the anxious feelings inherent in the music, personified its unique blend of frustration and exuberance quite well.
Galo Recalde's "Looking for Carlos" followed, providing a very enjoyable and humorous change of pace. Written and performed on MIDI, the piece also featured Galo performing -- shaking maracas, playing the woodblock, snapping, and even vocally imitating a muted trumpet -- along with the recorded material, which was an up-tempo, jazzy piece reflecting a strong sense of melody, rhythm, and instrumentation on the part of the composer. The piece revealed a witty creativity, too, as it digressed into an 80's prog-rock synthesizer stint (reflecting Carlos' wandering mind) before returning to the opening material.
Shawn Harper-Tarrant then presented three short films which he had scored: "One Dark World," "Oceanic Celebration," and "The Traveler." The films - all animated and more or less science-fictional in content - were silent shorts, dependent entirely upon the music for narration. The animation however, was quite stunning, as the imagery utilized a great deal of kaleidoscopic movement and three-dimensional camera zooms. Shawn did a great job of creating music that was narrative without being didactic, and which kept the film's momentum flowing without losing track of its own motivic cohesion.
The following presentation was Wendy Luck's "The Ancient Key," a multimedia piece featuring two instrumentalists -- Wendy playing several kinds of flutes, and a guest performer playing various ethnic percussion -- performing in front of a large screen onto which video images -- mostly of Egypt -- were projected. In the background, a recording of synthesized chords and native Egyptian flute music could be heard, often providing the melodic and/or scalar lines to which Wendy would musically respond. The presentation was quite engaging, both visually and aurally; in merging imagery with music, it managed to conjure the kind of unique mystical ambience the composer wished. Rounding out the evening was David Forni's video presentation, "Film Project," which was shown during the Seminar's Goodbye Party. Set to electronic music by performance artist Laurie Anderson, the video culled together news and documentary footage of the Kosovo tragedy - creating a video montage of images made only more lonely and disturbing by the monotonous pulse and minimalist movement of the music. This rather poignant presentation concluded what was a very enjoyable, successful, and as always, diverse evening of student multimedia performances. (Sarah Snider)
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June 24th, 1999 was the last summer composers seminar. It consisted of
multimedia presentation from various composers. The composers had the flexiblitiy
to use differet methods of presenting their piece of music using computer,
video, MIDI triggers and gadgets. I was interested in Wendy Luck's "The
Ancient Key." This piece not only brought together musical idealogy,
but by utilizing the video aspect of her performances which gave it a fresh
new twist to the composers forum. The mysitical journey into Egypt with
the exotic percussion and flute duet was intriguing. I enjoyed the different
timbre of persussions sound such as the chimes and bells. It enhanced the
visual and audio experience. Also provided the piece with much greater taste
of Egypt. The fine line of both mysticism and realism was presented here.
All in all, this piece made me travel through a foreign place in a virtual
tour without physically being there. The visual aid definitely was a unique
feature and gave Wendy an edge in capturing the audience imagination and
attention.
The piece that Chris Bassett wrote called "Sandwich Musings",
was one of the challenging piece of music that was played on June 24th recital.
One of the unique style to his piece was using his voice as one of the instrument
to make a sound into the rhythmic and phonic patterns. The creative process
of using his voice was hindered by other instruments which drowned out by
what was being said. The individual instruments correlated into a creative
aspects of his piece which brought out an astract feeling. The overall feeling
with this piece was the voice leading out as one of the instrument mixed
in with the composition to bring out different areas of sound. (Hyun Jung
Shim)
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