What's
In Your Pocket?
A
tromba marina?
Saturday,
April 22, 2006
By Amanda von Goetz
Gotham Sinfonietta, George Steel, conductor. Guy Klucevsek (accordion), John Musto (piano), Marcus Rojas (tuba), Joseph Carver (bass). "Pocket Concertos, Year One." Miller Theatre at Columbia University, New York City, NY.
Audiences, look out. It's a bird! It's a plane! It's the music world's very own "Man of Steel," George Steel. Time Out New York recently labeled the executive director of Columbia's Miller Theatre an "impresario of the improbable," and The Village Voice followed up in equal good humor, dubbing the young conductor "a programming superhero."
Now the Miller Theatre has unveiled its newest project, "Pocket Concertos." Twelve world-class composers have each been commissioned to write twelve new concertos, and four will be premiered during each of the next three seasons at the Miller Theatre with stellar guest artists and the Gotham Sinfonietta in tow, with Steel upon the podium.
The premiere of Ichizo Okashiro's concerto, The Starry Night, was removed from this program last-minute, though Steel did announce that the piece will be saved for a future date.
Two-time Emmy Award winner and Pulitzer Prize nominee, John Musto, made a special appearance at this performance, likely to hear the premiere of his Second Piano Concerto. Oddly enough, it just so happened that Musto was also giving his own premiere. We are so far removed from the era of Mozart, who, besides composing occasionally, boasted equal proficiency on the flute, violin and piano. Half a century has gone by since the premieres of the Rachmaninov Piano Concertos, when Seryoja himself tore fire from the keys. The existence of a classical musician today is often one of specialization; composers compose, and players play. Crudely put, it is a world where few can put their money where their mouth is.
Musto's performance of his own Piano Concerto left little doubt as to why he stands as a dazzling anomaly in our midst. Appearing on stage in a chic single-breasted black suit that all but obscured a loud, fuschia button-down, the composer also sported an immaculate goatee to match his head of raven-black hair. Musto seemed the consummate "jazz musician," a very "cool cat" indeed.
Though his early jazz training may have served him well during the work's fiendishly tricky passagework, it quickly became clear that Musto's chops would have put many a pianist to shame - classical, jazz or otherwise. As to his style of writing, strict categorization cannot be applied, for the elements of flash contrasted wonderfully with the simple beauty of his melodies, providing us with tangible proof that it is possible to transcend genre stereotypes without sacrificing substance. To have heard the world-premiere of this fantastic, fun new concerto by any other pianist than the composer himself would have been a great diservice to listeners, not to mention a downright shame.
The accordion concerto True Love by Julia Wolfe, was definitely a "call from the wild," featuring a versatile (often overlooked) solo instrument. Accordionist Guy Klucevsek displayed remarkable facility and intuitive musicality, bringing an unusual freshness and enthusiasm to his performance.
Frightening swells emitted from the instrument, matching the rhythm of the accordion bellows as they expanded and contracted. This simple pattern soon took on an array of colorful variations, as the entire work grew to encompass numerous sections of the Sinfonietta. Waves ensued, then quickly died down, and rose again once more. Strings laid a pillowy base for the occasional harp solo, as performed by Jacqueline Kerrod with an elegant ease. In the grand Wolfe tradition, the Concerto seemed overwhelming in volume and intensity, a deeply moving and highly effective aesthetic experience.
Benedict Mason's Double Concerto for Bass and Tuba was perhaps the most experimental - certainly most controversial - work on the program. Projection screens were introduced at strategic points around the Miller Theatre (two on stage and one just below the balcony), from which soloists Joseph Carver and Marcus Rojas read.
Many of the
instrument names which appeared in the program remain foreign to me
even now, and terms such as 
tromba
marina, chitarrone, and Persian ney
appeared in the program but offered little assistance in identifying
their literal matches.
A digital film, of sorts, showed on the projection screens, scrolling through the soloists' parts as they focused intently on the task at hand. Behind them, orchestral musicians paraded about the stage in a carefully choreographed sequence of movements, doing everything imaginable, from whistling dixie to rubbing long plastic straws, swinging oversized rubberbands, bird-calling, frog-croaking, and wooden whip-cracking. They walked in slow circles, flailing the air with what appeared to be tubes over their heads. String players sat center stage, scratching the undersides of their strings or striking them with small mallets. The entire work was performed sans conductor, and all musicians wore headphones, which 'clicked' the precise tempo to be followed.
After the performance, a few individuals argued with me that Mason's piece seemed more like musical comedy than a "serious" classical work. To this I countered in asking: What is the definition of the term "serious"? Should a work which bores audiences to tears automatically be considered "serious," versus one that may hold the power to entertain?
If such were true, then all the concertos on the Miller's program could be considered "less than serious," for all of them both enlightened and entertained. The commanding style of Steel's conducting and the brilliance of the composers' new works had more than satisfied their faithful listeners, perhaps earning new devotees as well. Despite the pouring rain outside, and despite the experimental program, the Miller Theatre was packed that night, further evidence of their unparalleled success in a world where classical music is supposedly "dying." Together, Steel and the Miller Theatre are putting the "new" back into "new music." They are making new music "cool," "hip," and "happenin'," and by drawing many young listeners to their performances, they are transcending and trendsetting every gilded step of the way. Now what could be more "serious" than that?
*In Other Words
Chitarrone
- A 17th century lute with a long neckand eight sympathetic or
drone strings in addition to the six strings found on a simple lute.
Tromba
marina - An instrument with one played string and fifty
sympathetically vibrating strings. The bridge is hollow and contains
a small
bell which amplifies the sound of both the played tone and the sympathetic
tones. The single string is played only on its *overtones. The "tromba"
(trumpet) part of the name is because of the little amplifying bell
and
because the upper overtones upon which it depends have the same quality
as a
natural trumpet; the "marina" is from the colloquial Polish
"maryn" for bass
tuba.
Ney
- An end-blown flute important in Middle Eastern music. Indeed, it is
often the only wind instrument. "Ney" is a Persian
word for "reed", so it
is no surprise that the instrument is a hollow piece of reed with five
or
six finger holes and one left handed thumb hole. Though a virtuoso on
the
instrument can play the range of three octaves, it is more common to
have
more than one player, each one playing in a reduced *tessitura. Some
modern
neys are made of metal, which substantially alters the *timbre.