Review of Concert

Next: Boston Modern Orchestra Project

Friday, May 21, 2004, 8:00 PM
Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory, Boston, MA

The program for this concert bore the cryptic title "Next," without further elaboration. It proved to be a series of selections by some of America's most notable mid-career tonemeisters and was almost without exception a must-hear event.

Three of the five entries showed modest kinship to process/ostinato idioms. In Sky Above Clouds (1989) by Elena Ruehr, such figures serve as a subtle background motor around which melodies and fragments seductively hover; low-key use of shifting meters and phrasing keep the music from becoming stodgy. Its cunning orchestration, inventively expressed narrative curve shape, and felicitous handling of Americana-inspired tonality stamp it as a winner. In Stephen Hartke's Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra "Landscapes with Blues" (2001), patterned figures take a back seat to an ethos skillfully cannibalizing jazz, blues, and ethnic styles into something inimitably Hartke. By and large tonally focused with some thickening discords, it's an irresistible listen that expertly evokes suave, soulful, and jaunty moods. And while lengthy, its somewhat sprawling feel seems hot-climate relaxed, not thoughtlessly careless. By far the most unusual entry heard, War Chant (2004) by Evan Ziporyn lacks the others' overall architectural integrity but still has its merits. Uniquely colorful scoring is only the most obvious manifestation of this composer's desire to create a piece that dreams beyond the ordinary. Tonally derived harmonies neatly incorporate glissandi and microtones, and unfolding of material takes many surprising twists.

While Persistent Memory (1997) by David Rakowski and Aurora (2000) by Augusta Read Thomas have East Coast roots, neither proves anything but wonderful to hear. Rakowski's two movements delineate ternary and variation formats without a hint of stuffiness. The sturdy material is handled here with crafty inspiration, its masterful spinning of seamless counterpoint being only the most obvious manifestation. And while textures are often full, there's never a dense or clogged measure. In her work for piano and chamber orchestra, Read Thomas breaks all the rules of concerto writing and still comes out on top. The keyboard more often than not busies itself with textural and punctuation ideas, letting the ensemble assume center stage. The coda's preoccupation with newly entering soprano and bells may feel jarring to some. But this ethereal ending seems like a natural, if unusual, outgrowth of earlier melodic lines and ringing-point sounds. And the pianist gets a sufficient share of focus, especially in the various brief cadenzas, so that one can truly call this a soloist's vehicle. Like all this composer's work, forms are compellingly expressed and scoring is vibrant. Fine works both.

Gil Rose led his excellent ensemble with unmistakable skill, featuring a meticulous ear for balance and detail. Pianist Ursula Oppens and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman showed why they are among today's pre-eminent soloists in their respective fields. Scintillating finger work and round, hall-filling sound were the order of the day from both. From the orchestra, Kendra Colton (soprano) and Neil DeLand (horn) contributed memorably in exposed passages.

So if "Next" here is meant as a synonym for "essential event," your reviewer heartily concurs.

--David Cleary