A Master returns to Princeton
Restraint displayed
Thursday, March 10, 2005
By Timothy Broege

Ivan Moravec (piano). Schumann: Kinderscenen; Debussy: Estampes, Preludes Books I & II (selections); Beethoven: Sonata no. 23, op. 57 ("Appassionata".) Richardson Auditorium, Princeton.

Pianist Ivan Moravec returned to the campus of Princeton University for a master class on March 8th and a superb recital in Richardson Auditorium on March 10th. Displaying his usual dignity and fastidiousness, Moravec delivered memorable renditions of three cornerstones of the piano repertoire without once resorting to the distracting "acting out" that plagues some younger recitalists. There was no thrashing about on the wooden piano bench (Moravec did not use the traditional adjustable padded seat), and not once did he cast his eyes heavenward as if beseeching the musical gods for intervention. There was no need: the playing was flawless and consistently involving. The familiar music emerged fresh and exciting, as it should.

Schumann's Scenes from Childhood was treated as the radical work that it is. Moravec presented this set of extremely short pieces as a compositional totality, not a medley of cute little tunes. A favorite of Vladimir Horowitz (who also played it beautifully in recital), the work comes out of the short character pieces of such 18th century composers as C.P.E. Bach, and at the same time foreshadows Arnold Schoenberg's Six Little Piano Pieces, op. 19. Moravec's tempos were perfect, and his pedalling was a textbook demonstration of ways to maximize the expressive power of his superb concert grand.

Efficient use of the *sustaining and *sostenuto pedals also served well the brilliance of Debussy's piano music. The three pieces of Estampes were beautifully characterized. Moravec followed this with a selection of preludes from Debussy's Books 1 and 2. "The Engulfed Cathedral" was presented with great clarity, not lost in an impressionist haze. Debussy is the first great modern composer. Continually astounding for their structure and harmony, these pieces found a superb advocate at the hands of Moravec.

After intermission he presented Beethoven's "Appassionata" sonata with both intensity and virtuosic fire. Tempos were invariably convincing, and the work once again blazed forth in all its innovative power. This is one of the pinnacles of the piano repertoire, and Moravec gave one of the finest performances I have heard in years. His shift into the "*Presto" *coda at the end of the third movement was breathtaking - and this was a real Presto, the "hold on to your hat" kind. Gifted with a superb techique, this European virtuoso maintained complete clarity even at the super-fast tempo.

Throughout the recital inner voices were always audible. Motives and interior movement in the Debussy pieces were easy to follow. Clarity and elegance define the playing of this self-effacing pianist.

A large and enthusiastic audience, with at least half appearing to be college-age or younger, was amazingly quiet throughout the program, a testament to the communicative power coming from the stage. No encores were offered, but none were needed after the perfection of the Beethoven. Ivan Moravec's next appearance in Princeton is already eagerly awaited.

New ensemble and new plans
Contemporary music in Red Bank
Saturday, March 12, 2005
By Timothy Broege

Ionisation New Music Ensemble, Darren Gage and Kimberly Burja (directors), John McMurtery (flute & piccolo), Kenneth Ellison (clarinet & bass clarinet), Liza Zurlinden (violin), Katie Schlaikjer (cello), Leon Lavshin (piano), Burja (percussion). Music of Melinda Wagner, Christian Carey, Gage, Victoria Bond, Brooke Joyce, and Augusta Read Thomas. United Methodist Church, Red Bank.

A worthy program of new music from New Jersey composers and some from out of state was presented by the New Jersey Arts Collective and the Two River Theater Company in the acoustically blest sanctuary of the United Methodist Church in Red Bank. The performers were members of the Ionisation New Music Ensemble which includes flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion - another post -Pierrot Lunaire ensemble (like the superstar group Eighth Blackbird), Ionisation's instrumentation was creatively employed on nine different pieces that ranged from one player to the full ensemble.

The central focus of the concert was the music of New Jersey's own Melinda Wagner. This gifted composer won the Pulitzer Prize in 1999 for her lovely Concerto for Flute, Strings and Percussion. Ionisation presented four of her works, all composed within the past ten years: Insomnia for solo flute; Romanze with Faux Variations for violin, cello, and piano; Tintinnabulum for pian;, and Wing and Prayer for clarinet, cello, piano and percussion.

Wagner writes in a genial *post-Bergian *chromatic idiom. The music is full of contrasts that hold the listener's attention. For me the two best pieces were Insomnia, a Japanese-influenced solo flute piece that was beautifully played by John McMurtery, and Wing and Prayer, which closed the concert effectively. This work was highly expressionistic with lots of scurrying figures in the instruments leading to a lovely quiet ending. With the exception of some overly loud drums, the playing was first-rate throughout.

Another winner was Can(n)ons for clarinet and violin, the oldest piece on the program. It was written in 1970 by Victoria Bond and was a delightful set of five *contrapuntal *bagatelles. Despite the quasi-graduate-school title, this was an always interesting work that makes one eager to hear more from this fine composer.

Ionisation director Darren Gage composed his Tibetan Sketch in 2003. Scored for one player performing on marimba and Tibetan cymbals and bowls, the piece went on too long for its material. The sounds in the resonant room were lovely, however.

The distinguished composer and Northwestern University faculty member Augusta Read Thomas was represented by an excellent short piece for solo violin, Incantation, from 1995, well played by Liza Zurlinden. Along with the Wagner Wing and Prayer this was the best music on the program. Thomas has crafted a spare, eloquent masterpiece employing plenty of *double-stopping to create a very full harmonic texture. Thomas is another composer who comes out of the sound world of Alban Berg, so she was an excellent complement to Wagner's works.

Nothing else was on the same level, although all pieces were very well-played, again with the exception of a few instances of drums that assaulted the ears briefly.

Christian Carey's Trio for Flute, Cello and Vibraphone, from 2000, sounded pleasant enough, including the use of *bowed vibraphone tones (as much a cliché in contemporary scores as the use of wind chimes), but added up to very little. Short and Zippy by Brooke Joyce was extremely brief, and the only time on the program that the dreaded Bang-On-a-Can-All-Stars idiom was evoked. Toy piano was included in the scoring; perhaps the piece could be rewritten as a solo vehicle for that instrument.

Indeed it was refreshing to encounter programming that did not insult the audience with *minimalism or popular music idioms (as the Bang-on-a-Cansters usually do). These were serious pieces by composers endeavoring to speak through their work to serious listeners.

I was puzzled that director Gage, in a spoken introduction after intermission, described the pieces as "ground-breaking". To my ears there was nothing on the program that merited that label. The maverick tradition of American music represented by Ives, Partch, Cage, Nancarrow, Feldman, Earle Brown, Christian Wolff and Pauline Oliveros was nowhere to be heard. Teven the group's name, borrowed from the truly ground-breaking percussion work Ionization by another supreme maverick, Edgard Varese, did not inspire any Varese-influenced sound explorations.

No matter. The language of Bergian expressionism, filtered through Roger Sessions and other distinguished composer/teachers at many American universities, is very much a classic language which deserves equal space on chamber music programs with both mainstream 18th and 19th century classics and the best of today's vanguard composers (Ligeti, Kurtag, Birtwistle, Lindberg, Lachenmann, for example). Since some of the composers on the Ionisation program have studied with Charles Wuorinen, it was surprising not to encounter any of his music on this concert. I hope the group will turn its attention to the wonderful music of Rolv Yttrehus, for many years an ornament of the Rutgers composition and theory faculty. His use of a kind of hyper-serialism results in work of great power which would be well suited to Ionisation's talents.

The program was repeated at the Montclair Art Museum on Sunday. Gage also announced that Ionisation will be the Ensemble in Residence at the brand new Two River Theatre Company complex which is to open in Red Bank on May 7th. Programming at the theatre, in addition to a full season of plays, will include concerts, dance, and multi-disciplinary performance. This is an exciting development for Monmouth County and the already wildly successful downtown Red Bank area.

Young cellist with impressive credentials
Sweeping Schubert
Saturday, March 12, 2005
A. Michael Noll

The New Philharmonic of New Jersey, Leon Hyman (conductor); Karen Pinoci (associate conductor); Wendy Warner (cello). Handel: Concerto Grosso, op.6, no. 12; Scarmolin: Sinfonietta in A major, op. 168 (two movements); Boccherini: Cello Concerto in B flat major; Schubert: Symphony no. 5 in B flat major. Community Theatre, Morristown.

The unusual piece in this program was Anthony Louis Scarmolin's Sinfonietta. Scarmolin, though born in Italy, spent most of his life teaching and composing in New Jersey. Two movements from his Sinfonietta were conducted by associate conductor Karen Pinoci. The first movement that was performed reminded me of the music of Ernest Bloch, with many interesting romantic and melodic twists.

The Boccherini Cello Concerto was competently performed by Wendy Warner, a younger cellist who already has impressive credentials. As a short encore, she played the Sarabande from the Bach Cello Suite in G. Although her playing in the Boccherini could have benefited from a lighter, more baroque approach, the power and intensity of her playing in the Bach left me longing for more. But she certainly discovered a depth in the Boccherini that probably even eluded the composer of this somewhat bland and overplayed concerto.

The program concluded with Schubert's Fifth Symphony, sweepingly conducted from memory by Leon Hyman.

The relatively small attendance for the concert was disturbing, though it was an enthusiastic group of listeners Live classical music will indeed disappear if there is little audience. Maybe more marketing and promotion was needed. But this program, with the exception of the Scarmolin, had a sameness that seemed to me to be lacking in musical excitement. Almost every soloist plays a string instrument today - usually a violin or a cello. I, and maybe others in the audience, would like more variety in soloists, in composers, and in works performed. I need to be enticed to leave my iPod®.

The New Philharmonic of New Jersey has many positives: informative pre-concert lectures by Dr. John Sichel, interesting remarks by Leon Hyman before each piece, well-rehearsed professional musicians, and the warm acoustics of the Community Theatre. If more people attended, then perhaps the programs would become more varied and less "safe."

Or perhaps it's the other way around: more varied programming would draw bigger audiences.

---

Return to CNJS Home Page | Return to Reviews Table of Contents