Keeping the "modern" in modern music

Finding the American in its commissions

Saturday, March 12, 2005
By Paul M. Somers

Palisades Virtuosi: Margaret Swinchoski (flute), Donald Mochrynski (clarinet), Ronald Levy (piano). Unitarian Society, Ridgewood.
...with guests: Bob McGrath (narrator/tenor), Laura Hamilton (violin), Justin Kagan (cello), Juliette Bowen (signer). Prokoviev: "Triumphal March from Peter and the Wolf; Seymour Barab: The Sea Princess (premiere); Martinu: Trio for Flute, Cello, and Piano; Stravinsky: L'histoire du soldat (concert version); Tower: Petroushskates (1980).

The Palisades Virtuosi (PV) is an ensemble which does what this writer profoundly intends should happen everywhere: it cares deeply about connecting living composers with living audiences. It plays well-known music, too, but the heart of every one of its concerts is the premiere of a commissioned work. Over the past few years since the first time I heard them I can recollect no concert which was without a premiere. What a record!

And what a relief it is for the audience to be treated as a thinking entity which not only can but will talk about the music at each post-concert reception. This being New Jersey, a new work always draws other composers in support of their colleague, but the regular concert-goers are just as involved in sharing opinions and asking questions. The general topics of conversation are not mostly trivial, but even when lighthearted they have spun off from the topic of the evning: provocative music.

The PV always invites at least one guest artist to join them. To be sure, the combination of flute, clarinet, and piano is not filled to overflowing with literature, but there is always about one of their concerts the idea of introducing their musical friends to the audience. And what friends they are: Bob McGrath (labeled as a "celebrated musical personality", but better known as a mainstay of Sesame Street), violinist Laura Hamilton, oboist Elaine Douvas, bassoonist Daniel Shelly, and hornist Scott Brubaker (all with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and most if not all residents of Ridgewood or its neighbors), and other folks of that calibre.

Is it any wonder, then, that on March 12 a very goodly audience assembled to hear the premiere of Seymour Barab's The Sea Princess, based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid? The music is often close to modern musical theater lyricism, but it lacks the artificial slickness one finds in most Broadway fare. This proved to be of much more substance.

The Andersen bicentennial inspired Barab himself to pull the author's story into the present in its humor (a character named the Who-What-Why Witch; or a sign reading "No smoking under sea; or a school called Voodoo U.), yet keeping the færie quality of the original. Barab supported his rewriting of the story with music which painted words even while producing long melodic lines. The narrator and tenor was McGrath, who, in spite of the usual lack of rehearsal time, pulled it off with his consistently high professionalism.

The basic trio of flutist Margaret Swinchoski, clarinetist Donald Mochrynski, and pianist Ron Levy, having been presented with a rich score at least three times longer than they had expected, obviously dug into the music with relish. Easy to understand though it may be, Barab's music is anything but simplistic. All four performers were constantly making eye contact to create tight ensemble, and the instrumental writing certainly had its well met challenges.

At the conclusion Mr. Barab came forward, evidently quite pleased, while the audience applauded long and loud. His powers have certainly not slackened at age 84!

Another great PV touch was the presence of signer Juliette Bowen. I for one could barely take my eyes off her elegant and expressive signing. It barely mattered if there were any hearing impared people present; strictly at the level of interpretive dance her presence was evocative.

Petroushskates (1980) by Joan Tower, a younger composer than Mr. Barab, is a fun piece which was used as the concert closer. It used all the instrumentalists of the evening including Ms. Hamilton and cellist Justin Kagan as guests. Inspired as it is by pairs figure skating, it was a natural for Ms. Swinchosky, who is a very committed amateur skater. She was also committed to the difficult and zippy flute part, which she handled with great flair. The "Petrouch" part of the title becomes apparent in quotes from Stravinsky's Petrouchka, most notably from the "Shrovetide Fair" section. The references to pairs skating show up in 2 woodwinds, 2 strings, 2 hands on a piano, at least according to Swinchoski.

Other works on the program included a trimmed down version of Stravinsky's L'histoire du soldat in which it was revealed just why Hamilton is a concertmaster of the Met Orchestra, a reading with the basic trio of the "Triumphal March" which closes Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, and a brilliant performance by Swinchoski, Kagan, and Levy of Martinu's Trio for flute, cello, and piano. This latter work proved to be by turns cheerful and disturbing, to the extent that neither mood prevailed.