The ACJW Ensemble yesterday evening gave the final performance of this season's series at Weill Recital Hall. They ended on a high note with bravura performances of two demanding works by very dissimilar composers, Elliott Carter and Franz Schubert.
The opening work was Carter's 1982 Triple Duo, a sometimes cacophanous piece which consisted of three pairings - flute/clarinet, piano/percussion and violin/cello - engaged in "conversations" with one another. One of the artists noted before beginning that this complex work is usually led by a conductor, but last evening the musicians conducted themselves. It was fascinating to watch the members use hand movements to signal one another as they moved from one pairing to the next.
An interesting insight into Carter's work, which I had never before considered, was provided in the Program Notes:
"He [Carter] once said he preferred a different form of motion in which players are not locked into downbeats, that such steady pulses reminded him of soldiers marching or horses trotting - sounds not heard in the 20th century. The sounds of the day that he was most interested in capturing were more modern experiences, such as accelerating and decelerating sounds of automobiles and airplanes."
The second half of the program was given over to Schubert's Octet in F, D. 803, a piece which closely follows in form Beethoven's Septet, Op. 20, which had been written some twenty years earlier. This is an extremely lyrical work in which Schubert deliberately references his vocal works - the Program Notes remark on the influences of both Der Wanderer and Die Freunde von Salamanka - in order to distinguish his composition from Beethoven's earlier piece. One wonders if Schubert was at all intimidated to be following so closely in the footsteps of the still living Beethoven.
No comments:
Post a Comment