Sound On at the NY Philharmonic with Kwamé Ryan
As the 2023-24 season winds down, the NY Philharmonic held its last Sound On new music concert of the season Friday night with a program of unsettling, multimedia works led by guest conductor Kwamé Ryan, incoming Music Director of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. Although the Phil tried to connect the works on the program with the blanket title "Music of Connection and Displacement", this felt more like an after-the-fact justification for four distinct pieces best appreciated on their own merits.
If the ensemble of 20 or so musicians seemed visually swallowed up by the main stage of Geffen Hall - Sound On used to be held at the more intimate Appel Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center - the music had no problem filling the space. Ligetidyll (2022) by Ryan’s former teacher Peter Eötvös was a rollicking circus of metronomes, maracas, snare drums and cowbells written for the centenary of Eötvös’ own mentor - and fellow Hungarian - György Ligeti. Afterwards, Ryan requested a moment of silence in recognition of Eötvös' recent passing on March 24, which the audience obliged.
Michael van der Aa‘s Masks (2008) seamlessly blended acoustic, electronic and extra-musical elements like metronomes and gaffer tape to create a haunting, otherworldly atmosphere. This was music of intricate, almost pointillistic construction, requiring some deft playing on the part of the Philharmonic.
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