Sinfully Good
Pianist Kathleen Supove seemed to relish the chance to play at the First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn Heights on Friday night. Speaking from the richly carved pulpit in between pieces by Louis Andriessen, Michael Gotanska and Alvin Curran, she claimed she was guilty of committing numerous sins: playing a toy piano, tossing rose petals in the aisle, wearing a provocative red bustier that matched her fire engine red hair. For all her transgressions, though, she more than made up for it with playing that was passionate and full of energy.
Supove saved her biggest sin for last: Jacob TV's "The Body of Your Dreams," which turns an infomercial about a stomach-exercising machine into a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the sucker proclivities of American culture. It was funny and dark, tough and transporting, with Supove nailing the spiky piano line which mimicked the commercial like a Mynah bird.
The concert was the second in a new monthly series called Music at First, hosted by First Presbyterian organist Wil Smith, a composer in his own right. The next concert on April 16 features cellist Jody Redhage with Fire in July; tickets available at the door. (More pics below.)