Feast of Music

Cadillac Moon Ensemble Presents Program by Circles and Lines at Tenri

by Melanie Wong 

Above: Cadillac Moon Ensemble; below: Circles and Lines

Friday evening at the Tenri Cultural Institute, Cadillac Moon Ensemble presented a program of music exclusively written by members the composer collective Circles and Lines. A unique quartet comprising flute, violin, cello, and percussion, Cadillac Moon Ensemble has commissioned over 50 new works for their instrumentation, including four of the five pieces on the evening’s program. 

On the first half of the program, violinist Patti Kilroy and cellist Meaghan Burke demonstrated their duo skills in Noam Faingold’s Knife in the Water (named for Roman Polanski’s first feature film). A series of disconnected sonic outbursts and melodies ranging from sparse pizzicato sections to chaotic rhythmic chases created a chilling effect throughout; that is, until its comical ending, complete with an audience fake-out, where the performers were instructed to wait for applause before proceeding to the forceful and abrupt ending.

(le) Poisson Rouge and the Metropolitan Opera Preview Nico Muhly's "Two Boys"

by Robert Leeper

Last Tuesday night, fresh from curating and performing in his own festival, A Scream and An Outrage, Brooklyn-based composer Nico Muhly returned to New York for two shows at (le) Poisson Rouge. The evening consisted of a broad range of works based loosely around a preview of his upcoming opera, Two Boys, premiering at the Metropolitan Opera in October.    

With a libretto by celebrated American playwright Craig Lucas, Two Boys examines issues associated with the darker corners of the Internet and online chat rooms. The production is an important part of Met General Manager Peter Gelb’s larger effort to bring opera to a younger demographic, and the nature of the issues explored firmly drags opera into the 21st century.

For the performance, Muhly chose to highlight two selections from the opera in the intimate space. “I’m Scared for My Life,” sung by gifted Met soprano Jennifer Zetlan, comes early on in the opera, and raises questions about the protagonist’s little brother, “a computer genius,” and his activities on the Internet. Equally talented tenor Paul Appleby brought his talents to the excerpt “I’m Only Sixteen,” sung by a young suspect in the case who, after a day of interrogation, breaks down about his time online.

Counterpoint and Counterparts: Uptown & Downtown on a Tuesday in New York (Part 1)

by Aristea Mellos

Some nights, after returning home from a music-soaked evening, you can’t help but be reminded that living in New York City is a privilege. On Tuesday, May 7, after first attending the Picker Pops Up concert at Columbia University's Miller Theatre, and later, Fred Hersch and Anat Cohen’s 9:30PM set at the Jazz Standard, I felt fortunate to be a witness to the city's diverse musical life. 

Miller Theatre often features music by contemporary composers in both its Portrait Series and cocktail-hour Pop-Up Series. The music of the award-winning American composer Tobias Picker was featured on May 7 in a well-attended and intimate event. The concert celebrated both the formation of the Tobias Picker Ensemble and the upcoming recordings of Picker’s chamber music on John Zorn’s label, Tzadik Records. The Tobias Picker Ensemble, (a quintet of recent graduates from some of the nation’s most prestigious conservatories) includes violinist Keir GoGwilt, pianist Nathaniel LaNasa, violist Margaret Dyer, cellist Michael Unterman, and bassist Tony Flynt. 

The concert opened with Third Etude (1996), a Romantic work for solo piano that La Nasa executed with poise and elegance. Cascades of crushed note clusters trickled down the keyboard, only to be followed by moments of intensely transparent counterpoint. It’s rare to hear Romantic resonances in serial compositions, but Picker’s unique twist on this expressionistic compositional method results in music that was both cerebral and fragile. 

Counterpoint and Counterparts: Uptown & Downtown on a Tuesday in New York (Part 2)

by Aristea Mellos

By 9PM on May 7, I found myself one concert into the evening, almost 100 blocks south of my first engagement, and in a large and stagnant line that started at the mouth of the Jazz Standard and stretched down 27th Street. Pianist Fred Hersch was about to open his week of duos at the club with guest performer Anat Cohen, a clarinetist whose recent New York Times profile ensured a sold-out show.

The set opened with a Hersch original dedicated to jazz trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, with Hersch’s rich and warm tone on the piano matched by Ms. Cohen’s throaty chalumeau register work. As the piece fired up and impish improvised passages were passed between the two artists, it was immediately evident that Ms. Cohen has complete technical and soulful command of her instrument. 

An upbeat rendition of Fats Waller’s "Jitterbug Waltz" (whose sequentially descending theme brings to mind a child begrudgingly practicing Czerny piano exercises) instigated frivolous fun between Hersch and Cohen. Flights of fancy were replaced with soulful sass in Antonio Carlos Jobim’s "O Grande Amor." Hersch opened the tune with his signature sparse syncopation, over which Cohen played soft and dulcet long tones.

Perhaps in no other piece were the differences between Hercsh and Cohen’s performance styles more evident: Whilst Hersch maintained inscrutable composure at the keyboard, making minute movements from his fingers, Cohen embodied the Latin flavor completely. The syncopated rhythms seemed to be grafted to Ms. Cohen’s hips as she swayed and shifted on the stage while beads of sweat poured down her face.