Sound On

UB afforded me another phenomenal experience. On this year’s theme of Music and Computers, here is what some of the composers, students, and faculty are up to at the 2008 June in Buffalo.

Miller Puckette

Author of Pd, the open source programming language, as well as Max/MSP, Miller’s software dominates the field of interactive sound, and his workshop bemused the history and future of signal processing. To paraphrase, “Why play a video game, like guitar hero, that rewards you for some behavior and punishes you for others–like a lab rat–when you can program the computer to do your bidding?”

Miller spent a good portion of his talk explaining the difficulties of score following and pitch tracking, citing the importance of artist control in performance. He also denounced a broad sound spatialization detracting the focus from an on-stage performer. On this note I agree–I’d love to see a speaker mounted on the back of a cello, or some such. Also, spatialization was a sort of sub-theme at June in Buffalo this year; the subject of many conversations. Miller strongly encouraged students of signal processing to recreate other works as a discipline and for ear training, demonstrating with Charles Dodge’s A Man Sitting in the Cafeteria. The world of digital signal processing owes a great debt to this brilliant mathematician and his dedication to the arts.

Student Works

Andrew Colella’s Rhythmus 21 used histograms from a video stream to cue sounds using Pd. Andrew said the composition process was more interesting than the piece itself. I suggested he turn it into a theater piece whereby he explains the composition process.

Guitarist James Soares’ Vertiginous Rotation performed by virtuoso Magnus Andersson so fully utilized the capacities of the guitar and the computer interaction was splendid. A thrilling piece!

Charles Dodge

After being treated to a splendid performance of Any Resemblance is Purely Coincidental the night before, Charles Dodge reminisced to us about the early days of electronic music. He felt that it was probably a crazy waste of his time–but interesting. Digital-Analog Converters were not readily available, but there was one at Bell Labs. So after programming the computer from a control panel and manually addressing memory registers, one would commit the program to digital tape, and ask for time at the lab in order to hear it. Maybe a week later, you might get to hear what you programmed–assuming there were no bugs. Dodge: “It was like learning to play the piano by pressing a key and then coming back next week to hear what it sounded like.”

Currently Charles Dodge is working with just intonation. He’s working on a piece that, cycle after cycle, expands on the number of partials, and/or retunes pitches down from a given partial. It’s a very bold compositional gesture, with ideas as simple and pure as the consonances they are realized with.

Roberto Morales

Having demonstrated the integration of improvisation, computer responses to audio, as well as motion detection with computer responses in video from the previous night on Historia de Culebras, Robert Morales shared his vision for the future of music. He talked about the challenges involved in motion/movement detection (for his piece he used a pair of Wii remotes strapped to his arms). I really like where he is taking the arts–composer as improviser, integration of movement and video, all with interactive computer programs… it’s an exciting world.

Ben Thigpen

What can I say but that 0.95652173913 and malfunction30931 “struck a chord” with me. Something really clicked with fixed media this year and I felt a total connection with the aesthetics of these pieces. I felt transformed by hearing them, as if I had entered a new plane of existence. These works enchanted the audience, who seemed docile and entranced upon their completion. Ben Thigpen is a real master of the electronic arts, and friendly to boot. He is so sensitive to the beauty of the sounds, each of them carefully equalized so they fit perfectly together like the ancient stonework of a fine mason. Each sound flows seamlessly into the next. The form is so organic and never elicits a conscious structural element forcing the listener into the moment.

Ben is using some custom software built in Max. He takes a sound file and chisels out a clip to use, and then loops it. Another check box loops the sound alternatively forward and backwards. More magic changes the starting and ending points of the clip–perhaps only the attack of a sound is heart one time, and the decay, separately, the next. At this point the sound clip really feels alive. More parameters put a delay across another channel and manipulate the frequency independently. The result is a present, living sound that Ben can then tweak and record.

malfunction30931 borrowed some errant output from the sound card at IRCAM. The sound changed slightly as windows were dragged around, etc. The fascinating source sound resulted in a profound and meditative piece. Ben said that he has 5.1 mixes of many of his newer works. There are a lot of home users with systems capable of this format, thirsty for content (I’m one of them!). I really hope Ben will get his act together and put out an album of recent works in 5.1.

Hans Tutschku

Hans Tutschku is a brilliant musician and user of Max/MSP. He has a set of patches that are the envy of any electronic musician. He talked a bit about score following using terraced dynamic registers and timers; a loud sound (relatively louder than ambient noise-absolute values being impossible with different microphones/setups) would act as a trigger, but then start a timer so that performing within a designated time space would not accidently trigger the next section. He also emphasized the importance of composing your patches for rehearsal; that 95% of the time, you will use your software in rehearsal, but only 5% of the time in performance, so it should be very easy to use. He discouraged the use of global paths and encouraged compiling your program as a stand alone application, increasing the chance that your application will work properly on other computers. He had a very cool patch that arranged 8 channels of sound into a 2d circle, and then matrixed it out to the nearest speaker for whatever number of channels may be present, making the piece flexible for different performance environments. The beginning of each patch literally has a checklist that steps the user/musician through setting up the sound outputs, number of speakers, etc. This is stereotypical of Hans, who is so sensitive to the nature of all things, human and musical, and carefully accounts for everything. Another example is allowing performers practice time if they need to do something unusual in their piece, for example, using a midi pedal to trigger events. What is the musician trained for (dynamics, interpretation, etc.)? What is the musician not trained for (pressing a midi pedal while playing)? Take everything into account.

What does the audience think when they see a musician on stage looking into a computer screen? They could be checking their email, for all the audience knows. Hans encouraged performers (as he does himself) to use specialized controllers and keep away from the computer on stage as much as possible. He encouraged heavy computer interactors to stay at the mixing board. Performance practice is important and we should be considering it as carefully for experimental electronic music as we do for the proper performance of a baroque piece.

In addition to music, Hans has been busy using his programming prowess to prepare interactive art and sound installations. Why sit in the audience and watch a performer on stage have all the fun? Further, why do we suffer the traditional confines of a concert hall and ancient performance practice? How about a “concert” with different interactive musical experiences going on in different rooms, with the “audience” free to wander from space to space as they please? Hans also insisted that the public be free to interact with his exhibits in any way they choose, including unpredictable ways, and that we must, as artists, accept this. Hans is so sensitive and accommodating to the nature of things.

Cort Lippe

As a composer, Cort Lippe explained the challenges of getting past, for example, the “pianoness” of a piano; that when an audience sees and hears an instrument, they bring, in the case of the piano, hundreds of years of history along with them. Cort tries to get the audience past this history and begin hearing instruments for what they really are, aptly demonstrated in Music for Marimba and Computer and Music for Snare Drum and Computer, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Also, in retrospect, I recall being acquainted with the true sound character of the piano, free from history, in Braxton Sherouse’s Regulated Action.

Karlheinz Stockhausen

Though no longer with us, Stockhausen is as alive as ever thanks to several outstanding performances at this year’s June in Buffalo, including a magnificent rendition of Capricorn by bass vocalist Nicholas Isherwood, who, piously bowing to Stockhausen, never fails to disappoint.

Thanks

As with any June in Buffalo, I leave with a renewed invigoration, sense of self, and purpose. I really like where these composers are taking the arts. For another take, check out mad Eastman bassist Scott Worthington’s account of June in Buffalo 2008. But what stays so strongly in my mind are not just the musical performances, but all of the insightful discussions with the brilliant and fun participants, who are so inspirational with their achievement and dedication to their art. They have encouraged me to keep plugging away at my goals, which I will do. To all of them I wish wisdom, flourishing, and inner peace!

Programs

Programs are available for June in Buffalo 2008 and June in Buffalo 2007.

This year the Toronto Jazz Festival was action packed with an all-star lineup. If it had been practical, I would have loved to stay the week and attend as many concerts as possible. However, I somehow managed to narrow the performance list down to just a pair of concerts: John Scofield with Medeski, Martin, & Wood, and Vijay Iyer with his quartet including saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa.

John Scofield with Medeski, Martin, & Wood

In the tent on a warm Wednesday evening at Nathan Philips Square in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, legendary guitarist John Scofield joined forces with keyboardist John Medeski, percussionist Billy Martin, and bassist Chris Wood for some funk-rock fusion. Originally I thought there might be some competition for John Medeski, who it might seem had the spotlight taken off of him by John Scofield as the primary harmony/solo voice of the ensemble, however the two worked very well together. Medeski, relentlessly creating new sounds on keyboards, seemed to especially enjoy comping Scofield, and the two were in constant visual communication. Unlike many modern orchestral performances, there were no egos to be found amongst the members of this ensemble. Having been very much in the mood for the performance, I thoroughly enjoyed it – it satisfied a desire.

Mainstream Crowd

What really amazed me about the show was the more mainstream crowd in attendance. Instead of the normal “jazz club” arrangement of tables and chairs, there was practically a mosh pit going on in front of the stage, with whatever extra chairs spread out around the parameter of the tent. The crowd enjoyed rocking out to the performance by dancing and grooving. But the music emanating from the stage was as far outside the tonality as any the work of any modern jazz ensemble. I’m going to guess that if you played the same thing on a saxophone, people would think, “what is that racket!?” But because it was played on an electric guitar with bass and drums, the crowd is comfortable with the music and accepts it as ok. Also assisting the lay-audience members’ musical thoughts were drummer Billy Martin’s constant steady beats, neatly organized into groups of four. Finally, no matter how far outside the tonality the group would venture, they would always give you tonic at the end, like Bach.

Vijay Iyer Quartet

Once again I was treated to the immense pleasure of a live performance by the Vijay Iyer Quartet, of which I am a huge fan. Pianist and composer Vijay’s modern music, loaded with rhythmic sophistication, improvisation and spiced with South Asian flair, never fails to thrill me. For each tune I hear, I think, “I would not change one thing about that!” Vijay was joined by long time collaborator Rudresh Mahanthappa, an excellent alto saxophonist as well as composer, and interestingly they both met in Toronto. Also playing was bassist Stephan Crump, another longtime collaborator, who reliably finds depth in musical inspiration with every performance, and a brand new percussionist, Justin Brown, who has only been with the quartet for a week – but by the sound of him, you might guess they had been playing together for years. The communication amongst ensemble members was indeed effortless. Justin infused an enormous amount of creative energy into the ensemble, constantly accenting particular microbeats and turning multimetric music into polymetric music. This guy could definitely give Billy Kilson a run for his money!

New Music By Vijay

Though Vijay apologized for opening up the concert with “the same music as last year,” tunes heard on the album Reimagining, he didn’t need to – besides being great tunes, because Vijay’s music so strongly embraces improvisation, every old tune becomes new again each time it is performed. The latter end of the first set and the entire second set consisted of completely brand new tunes by Vijay, which build up layer upon layer of intensity, always changing, never resolving, almost like the music of Steve Reich. Vijay Iyer is constantly evolving as a composer, always embracing new mediums and new techniques, but always true to his voice. I can’t wait to hear the new tunes again – certainly I hope they will be recorded, along with his orchestral piece. The future is flourishing for these exceptional musicians!

Live @ Courthouse

The venue for the Vijay Iyer Quartet performance, Live at the Courthouse, just opened in 2007. At 57 Adelaide Street East, what I’m assuming was a former courthouse has been renovated into a posh jazz club, featuring live music six nights per week, and a décor to suit even the most opulent of tastes. The intimate yet airy space features tables and chairs, a bar towards the back, a balcony, large tapestries, and imposing fireplaces. Even the bathroom will impress, as water flows into the basin through the mouth of a carved beastly countenance. Don’t miss this venue in Toronto, Ontario!

Toronto Jazz Festival

The TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival, produced by Patrick Taylor and artistically directed by Jim Galloway, is one of the premiere jazz festivals in North America. The performances have been inspiring and entertaining me for years. More information is available on the website or by calling (416) 928-2033. If you are a fan of the arts, enjoy and support this great festival!

June in Buffalo is a wonderful annual festival at the University at Buffalo for composers. Not just seasoned veterans, but also student works are always performed by the best professional ensembles, offering young composers a performance and recording of even the most demanding contemporary works.

An Evening with Steve Reich

Steve Reich’s Daniel Variations is a beautifully mature hypnotic work for voices, strings, woodwinds, and percussion. The performance on Monday evening seemed especially “on,” the performers all visually entranced by the chant-inspired rhythms. Sometimes everything lines up and magic happens.

Steve Reich’s Lecture

In his Tuesday lecture, Steve Reich played recording of a recent composition You Are, explained that last night’s performance of Daniel Variations can’t be matched as it was played by an all-star band, confessed to using Propellerhead Reason software to mock-up his compositions and create “music minus one” parts to help musicians prepare for rehearsal, and assured us that we should not feel guilty about any such “cheating.”

He also explained the influence of the Notre Dame School on his work, and now organum finally seems relevant. When I think that organum + canon = Steve Reich, it all makes so much sense! David Felder was saying how he sees the different layers (at different speeds) in Reich’s music as representing heart, breath, and brain, or some such, all based on organum, the ancient music of the 12^th century.

When asked about his musical influences, Mr. Reich explained how when he was 14 years old, a friend played him some John Coltrane, and another friend played Rite of Spring. He ended up being the drummer of their ensemble and cites his drumming experiences as a possible influence for his rhythmic style. Even back then, they played in canons, and the joke was, “where’s one?” or, “who’s on first?” He admired Kenny Clarke’s ability to make the ensemble seem like it was literally floating on air, and never missed a John Coltrane performance when Reich lived in California.

Mr. Reich explained how he starts with meaningful text and then develops the music to go with it, and how all of the music we hear influences what we compose. He encouraged composers to only work on music and texts that inspire them and get them fired up, and that in spite of any non-musical meaning a tune may have, it must be great music (no one cares about Norse mythology, but we all love Wagner) to survive the test of time.

Arditti String Quartet Rehearsal

Usually, the ensembles rehearse with the composers each in private, and then perform the selections one after another for the public, just like a normal concert. However, Arditti String Quartet chooses to use their concert time for an open rehearsal. I felt bad for the student composers who were relentlessly put on the spot to defend their work by the witty violinist Irvin Arditti, who was fair, though firm. While I’m sure the sessions were productive and helpful for the composers, I am also confident that the composers would rather have conducted them confidentially. In spite of all this, the “final” performance of each piece was enjoyable, and the quartet performed splendidly.

The New York Virtuoso Singers

The New York Virtuoso Singers conducted by Harold Rosenbaum put on a fantastic performance of modern music. They must have golden ears to be able to lay down a dissonant tone cluster with only the previous cluster or unusual dissonant chord as their reference point. One of my favorite tunes was Matthew Barnson’s Absorbing Wounds, based on a certain polytemporal/randomly canonic “effect” – almost a sort of heterophony – where everyone is not quite singing exactly together, like a room full of people each muttering prayers softly at their own pace. He cited a moment from another choral work as his influence, which he fleshed out into an entire composition.

The ensemble seemed happiest to close with Patrick Castillo’s A piece of coffee, which had some theatrical moments including laughter and a word from the conductor, as well as a solo. This piece stood out as the most unusual of the group.

The highlight of the evening was Christian Baldini’s Two Adoration Motets, a lush setting of beautiful chord after chord, any apparent clusteral dissonance abberated by the automatic homogenous blend of human voices. This piece would also be at home performed by strings or brass choir, which I would especially enjoy hearing.

Chamber Music

The all-around strong program opened with Tom Stoll’s Two Dreams, featuring recorded tissue paper, wrapping paper, and wood planks. Also, it was my pleasure to finally hear soprano Alice Teyssier perform (and she can really sing!), and her blending and collaboration with soprano Tony Arnold was outstanding. They should definitely work together again. Eric Roth’s Body Death didn’t take itself too seriously. Nicholas Isherwood’s presentation guaranteed success. Jonathan Golove performed Jane Stanley’s cello solo Deep Turn beautifully – a strong piece. Finally, Paolo Cavallone’s Scendero a patti enticed listeners with exoticism and extended techniques including the clever use of a bullhorn.

Arditti String Quartet Performance

Helmut Lachenman’s String Quartet No. 3 Grido was extremely well received by the audience. I will definitely be studying more about this highly respected (and popular) composer! At one point, a cell phone rang, but the ring tone was in the same tonality as the tune at that time. Also, a woman randomly proclaimed, “this is scary,” after a particularly dissonant chord. Still, I feel very fortunate to have experienced the performance, as I gather that the piece is performed often, but never quite this well.

Roger Reynolds’ Lecture

Roger Reynolds’ theme was going right to the music effect he wants in a piece, as opposed to starting with a motif and fleshing it out into the effect he wants. He wants to be able to start with anything – any sound or sounds (as he demonstrated with a performance of The Image Machine) and mold them into the ultimate musical effect he desires.

He also spoke and demonstrated the use of diagrams and various notation to keep track of musical ideas and thoughts as a “firewall” to protect art from the turmoil of everyday life. The most valuable resource an artist has, besides their “sensibilities,” is time. The “sensibility” part is frightening, though, because I wonder how much of it I actually possess.

Arditti String Quartet Final Performance

The quartet went out with a bang on Fusun Koksai’s ‘STYX’, a very well composed piece. It was a treat talking with Ashot Sarkissjan, violinist and youngest member, about the quartet and how he got started in music. Having performed a Schoenberg duet in college, he was pegged as the modern music guy and his career went on from there. He explained how the quartet puts itself in complete servitude of realizing the new music of composers, and works to standardize new notational practices. “When a quartet plays Brahms, they express themselves through Brahms, but when Arditti plays a new piece, the composer expresses him or herself through the quartet.”

Consistently, I am surprised at the general attitude towards creating and improvising music amongst modern music performers. It seems to be off of their radar. Ashot said he tried improvising once, seven years ago, and didn’t sound very good, so he hasn’t tried it since. But he confessed that the notation does sing to him, and I believe such musical powerhouses as the Arditti Quartet members must have music inside them waiting for an opportunity to be exposed.

The situation is emboldened by a failure of music education to incorporate creativity and improvisation as a core component of music study. The same could be said about the situation of contemporary music in the broader landscape of music education.

red fish blue fish

The percussion ensemble from the University of California, San Diego presented a series of challenging works Thursday evening. Ya Ting Lee’s Ritual, which was more of a finale than a “middle” piece as it was programmed, offered a rousing theatrical presentation. As my friend Glen pointed out, HSBC Arena would sell out for this music if people only knew what “Stomp” could really become.

Charles Wuorinen’s Lecture

A regular contributor to June in Buffalo, Charles Wuorinen took this opportunity to condemn the “culture of idiocy” happening in the States: where knowledge and tradition seem only to get in the way of genius; where music notation is abandoned for music recordings; where the popular music genre is “imploding on itself” and has de-evolved into “four-four chant.”

Notation seems to be sacred in the modern music scene. Modern composers strive to increase the amount of information notation can convey. People even refer to the notation itself as music. But really, the notation is just a symbol. Music is a sound. Could someone perform a samba from notation if they never heard Latin music?

Musicians should place as much emphasis on recording as they do on notation. Though Wuorinen had an interesting point – that a recording of a piece is simply one specific performance of that piece – the question is begged, what do composers really create? Do they create sound, or merely abstract instructions to produce sound? Notation is a musical fossil. Dinosaur bones are a record of the past, and we can put them together to build skeletons. But did Dinosaurs have reptilian skin, or feathers like chickens? Wouldn’t it be great if we had photographs, or even videos, to see how they looked, moved, and lived? If you had to choose between a skeleton and a photograph of a dinosaur, which would you choose? Oral tradition, notation, and recordings can all work together to preserve our musical heritage and inspire our future.

Solo Vocal Music

Finally I was treated to another performance of David Felder’s Chashmal, which I thoroughly enjoyed. So many tunes I hear are one time performances; to hear multiple performances strengthens my connection with a piece by giving me more time with it. Besides, it is always a satisfying experience to hear Nicholas Isherwood perform absolutely anything.

John Harbison’s Four Songs of Solitude meditated on the lonely life of the performer. The piece explained why I don’t perform much, was very accessible in its folk influences, and was very well played by Curtis Macomber on the violin.

The concert closed with Charles Wuorinen’s Visible and Fenton Songs II, well given and well received. During these performances I felt an unusually strong sense of meter, which I believe was based in the performers’ strong phrasing.

Blast From The Past

In 2005, I heard a tune at June in Buffalo by Ryan Burruss, Pascal, continuing on the musical tradition of Philip Glass. Ryan has since moved to Den Haag, Netherlands. He keeps a blog, and has posted recently recorded performances from his composition recital online. Jupiter, with its never-resolving tremolos, would be especially impressive on a room full of pianos. Electronica becomes acoustic on Elektro. Keep up the great work, Ryan!

It’s The People You Meet

It has been absolutely amazing spending time with all of the participating composers. I’m so glad we got to have dinner, visit the art gallery, and have our various conversations. Hanging out with all of you was like traveling, but the travelers came to me. You are all so talented, interesting, deep thinking, and kind. I will miss our late night heart to heart talks. Good luck in all your endeavors!

This week has been such a pensive one for me because I am realizing that the composers I meet are especially thoughtful and devoted to their art. This culture is the reason I have decided to pursue a master’s degree in composition to fulfill NY State teacher certification requirements. Hopefully I will be applying in February 2008, for the 2008-2009 school year.

If you are a June in Buffalo composer and you are reading this, please do the pleasure of recommending some composers and or recordings you are particularly fond of. Just leave a reply, send me an email, or add me on facebook. Let me know if you have any pets, please keep in touch, and best wishes!

This Sunday afternoon I had the pleasure of listening to tenor saxophone performer Paul Shapiro and his band Midnight Minyan perform as part of the Art of Jazz series at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, NY.

Start Like A Lamb

Most bands like to open with a bang; something loud, fast, and in-your-face to give the audience an exciting kick start. Midnight Minyan, however, opened with the cool and even-keeled Ma Lecha Hayam; a traditional Jewish melody performed with an easy swing feel. The classy opener set the tone for Paul Shapiro’s tasteful arrangements carried out with finesse.

Unnatural Solos

Trumpet player Steven Bernstein’s solo on Ma Lecha Hayam was completely out of character with the rest of the tune. It’s as if he thought, “forget this Jewish stuff – I’m going back to my jazz roots,” as he belted out a rousing solo that would be at home on any 60s jazz album. I wonder how he came to be inspired to do that. I’m reminded of vibraphonist Steve Nelson’s performance of his own tune Candlelight Vigil with the Dave Holland Quintet during April of 2000 in the same hall. Nelson’s vibrant, lively solos contrasted with the meditative mood of the piece. Since I had never heard the tune before, I thought it was normal. After hearing the recording, however, where his solo was more transparent stylistically, I feel got to experience a special moment in that live performance.

The highlight of the performance was tenor saxophonist Peter Apfelbaum’s solo on Children of Abraham. His touching, simple melody was lovingly crafted out of sequential major sixths.

Some pieces were really brought to life by pianist Brian Mitchell’s tasteful block chord comping, loaded with extensions.

Paul Shapiro

Paul Shapiro’s arrangements are golden. The traditional Jewish melodies are ear catching, fun, and easy to follow. Mr. Shapiro sets them modestly to swing and latin beats without over- or understating anything; they are set with supreme taste and say just enough. Having truly adopted the tenor saxophone as his voice, Paul Shapiro performs with ease, a unique tone, and tasteful showmanship.

Finale

As always, I wish the ensembles would abstain from using amplification in such a small venue. Aside from that, the performance was an absolute joy to attend! Recordings including Midnight Minyan and It’s in the Twilight are available on the label Tzadik.

This weekend I was overloaded with art experiences. It all started Friday night, March 2, 2007…

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

This film work of what is technically science fiction has been recommended to me time and time again by film making friends whose tastes I trust. Though it stars Jim Carrey, it is devoid of the usual antics and rather features Carrey’s “real” acting skills. It only took a few moments for me to be completely engrossed by the film – I was instantly sold.

This work is shot on real film and you can tell. It hasn’t been color corrected by insane amounts as most films are. Combined with the shallow depth-of-field focus, the vignetting and true film colors give the entire piece a dream-like look and feel.

After watching, I couldn’t help but feel so thankful that I am the way I am. You must experience this incredible Michel Gondry film!

David Keuhn: Trumpet Recital

Mr. Keuhn was principal trumpet of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra for many years. He played fantastically well with accompanist and composer Persis Vehar. As an owner of the album Musical Landscapes for Trumpet on which they play, it was my pleasure to hear the pair perform live as part of the Buffalo Brass Festival at the University at Buffalo on Saturday.

Persis Vehar’s impeccable piano technique perfectly complemented David Keuhn’s lyrical phrasing, crisp articulation, and relentless stamina. It was a thrill to hear Vehar’s Sound-Piece for Trumpet, Flugelhorn and Piccolo Trumpet, which plays one movement per horn, has a modern sound with phrases coming to conclusions on blue notes, memorable motifs, and brain twisting developments - one of my favorites. The performance was nothing short of inspiring.

Hila Plitmann Sings Corigliano

Saturday night, the BPO played John Corigliano’s tune Mr. Tambourine Man. If Corigliano’s name is on the program, I’m at the concert.

As Mr. Corigliano explained, the piece uses the lyrics of Bob Dylan as poetry (Corigliano has never heard Bob Dylan sing), and sets them not only to new music, but Dylan’s artful opposite. In an interesting musical twist, the secondary theme of each movement becomes the main theme of the next. The spacious, emotional piece carries the audience on a journey through Dylan’s thoughts, and (while it may sound hokey) the “pulse of the nation” through the 1960s. Unfortunately, I fear the Masters of War are still at work, and the Chimes of Freedom have yet to toll. For better or worse, Dylan’s journey is as relevant now as ever.

I think I figured out the hype behind John Corigliano. He writes modern music with modern sounds, but his work is far from utilitarian; he writes meaningfully and with emotion. He is, in a sense, Bob Dylan’s art-music counterpart, which explains how he felt so at home with Dylan’s text.

Hila Plitmann’s performance brought honest beauty and an imposing stage presence to the piece. She was introduced as the greatest living soprano and I have to agree. Her voice can be as pure and clear as a serene lake or as shimmering as crystal ice. She plays with a level of artistry and attention to detail that is rare, even amongst professionals. Her physical manifestations personify the music with a bit of tasteful theatrics. I can’t imagine you’d want to hear anyone but Hila Plitmann perform this piece.

Back stage after the performance, Ms. Plitmann so graciously accepted every compliment, and confessed to having had Buffalo wings for dinner, which was my only wish for her while she visited the Queen City. Her husband, composer Eric Whitacre, was also in town but was busy caring for their offspring. Also back stage, some students had lined up to speak with John Corigliano. One of them said, “it was… Okay.” The unfortunate reality is that the audience did not like Mr. Corigliano’s tune and I know why. When people saw Bob Dylan’s name, even if they read in the paper how the lyrics were set to new music, they really believed that somehow, Bob Dylan’s music would come through in the piece. Of course, they were actually treated to the musical opposite of Bob Dylan. But it’s a great piece, and two weeks ago the audience responded so enthusiastically to Corigliano’s Altered States. If they liked Altered States, they must like Mr. Tambourine Man, as each bears the unmistakable stamp of John Corigliano’s musical voice. However, audience members let expectations cloud their judgement. If the audience came with the same open ears and open brains that they did for Altered States, they would have loved Mr. Tambourine Man. Perhaps it will grow on them with time.

Saturday night was a great performance of a great piece, and I can’t wait to pick up a copy of the recording. Anyone who attended was touched by the journey of Bob Dylan, the voice of the nation, and the voice of an angel.

Jon Nelson: Trumpet Recital

Again as part of the Buffalo Brass Festival, Jon Nelson gave a recital on the Slee Hall stage. Accompanied by Persis Vehar, he performed that beast that is Paul Hindemith’s Sonata for Trumpet and Piano with finesse. Morton Feldman’s A Very Short Trumpet Piece, composed for children, showcased Mr. Nelson’s beautiful tone and musical phrasing. Finally, Gustavo Matamoros’ RE: JON provided a brilliantly fun conclusion to an emotional weekend of the arts. The balance of the live performer and tape was absolutely perfect, with Jon Nelson’s sound weaving in and out of the accompaniment. The piece concluded with a fanciful bit of improvisation.

Buffalo Is Alive With Artistic Expression

The art scene in Buffalo, NY is thriving. Like a muscle that sore from thorough exercise, I carry a dull emotional ache from the weekend’s artistic experiences. If you live in or around Buffalo, get out and experience all the art that is happening!

Don’t let the title mislead you – I actually attended this performance because I saw John Corigliano’s name on the program. More on that later; but first, I should note that this performance was packed. A couple announced that only 50 tickets were left unsold, and of those were their two. It was a reassuring sign that big orchestral music productions are alive and well on Saturday, February 17, 2007 at Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, NY.

The Hall

Kleinhans was designed in the 1930s by Eliel and Eero Saarinen, with acoustic consultant Charles C. Potwin. Reverb was way out of style at the time. Interestingly, it still is.

Copland

Aaron Copland’s Music for Movies, conducted along with the rest of the tunes by JoAnn Falletta, provided a lightly orchestrated fun and boisterous introduction to the concert. This programming is historically significant as Copland had an enormous influence on film music for his time (1940-1960).

Corigliano

John Corigliano’s Three Hallucinations (based on the film score Altered States) continued the film music theme as well as the “composers whose names start with the letters C-O” theme. He uses extended techniques extensively, having coached the orchestra all week on the unusual tone production methods involved. Amidst all this, Corigliano never fails to coax warm, well voiced sounds from the orchestra. In one of my favorite passages, an off stage out of tune piano and off stage organ distantly paint a creepily contrasting aura against the orchestra’s lively theme. Corigliano’s near rock-star status in the orchestral world comes down to this: he really knows what he’s doing, and impresses with his ability to lovingly guide the orchestra in a display of genuine artistic integrity.

The following day, I had a chance to tell Mr. Corigliano how much I enjoyed his piece. He graciously accepted my praise and encouraged me to have music students compose. I really hope to hear more of his tunes played around here. He encouraged me to return for the Bob Dylan Tone Poems which will be performed by the BPO with Hila Plitmann on March 3^rd and 4^th, 2007.

André Watts Performs Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 2

Mr. Watts got his start at the age of 16 with the New York Philharmonic in their Young People’s Concerts, broadcast nationwide on CBS-TV (an extension of the film motif?). He played beautifully. Overall, the piece nearly flatlined (emotionally) until the last five minutes, when expression seemed to swell. Because I don’t know the piece well, I can’t say if this was characteristic, but I believe it was done on purpose and to great dramatic effect. Most of the audience members were busy wiping tears after their standing ovation.

The Young Composers’ Forum

The following day, the BPO hosted the Young Composers’ Forum, which was a free reading session for three select individuals. The benefits not only included a live performance of the piece, but also John Corigliano’s personal commentary. Keep your ears open for Jennifer Bellor, a Masters student at Syracuse University. Her beautiful piece exhibited a rhythmic, tone clustery Philip Glass style. I hate to think how difficult it is to break into hundreds of years of established orchestral repertoire, but I don’t think the orchestra music scene will want to pass this one up.

The BPO

The Buffalo Philharmonic was founded in 1935 and continues to provide over 100 enjoyable musical experiences each year under the direction of JoAnn Falletta. Tickets are available at the box office, online, or by phone at (716) 885-5000.

Two Of A Kind

On Saturday, November 18, 2006 at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, NY, I had the privilege of hearing two excellent jazz musicians collaborate on tunes for the evening. Cyrus Chestnut on piano and Kevin Mahogany on vocals wowed the audience with an unrehearsed soulful display of mainstream jazz musicianship.

Jazz 101

When these two play a standard, they call it “Jazz 101,” as Kevin Mahogany explained, because they are revisiting their roots in how they learned jazz from jam sessions. They played Satin Doll and it was like hearing the tune again for the first time. Every time I hear fine musicians play a standard, I think, “Of course, that’s how you do it! How could it possibly go any other way?”

Cyrus Chestnut

Cyrus Chestnut loves playing with a rhythm section, but you simply must hear him play without one. While I know it’s a lot more work for him without a bass player, when he has the stage all to himself, he can completely change the character of the tune on a whim. His playing is very mainstream: never very fast or very slow and always appealing to the ear. However he is actually very innovative within the constructs of historical jazz tradition. Normally, I would consider “the next level” in performance to be something weird; some weird effect, some new harmony, something to break tradition. Cyrus Chestnut, on the other hand, finds ways to be innovative in a traditional style. His playing is full of spice: always a dash, a splash, a sizzle, a shimmer or a sparkle, never failing to delight. His playing is not polished brass, but rather a cake, with icing; a musical dessert.

Coming Through The Rye

Cyrus Chestnut and Kevin Mahogany were very sensitive and flexible towards each other in performance, following each other’s every mood; anticipating every step. Their collaboration may result in a new album, but then there are always labels to contend with. Kevin Mahogany is trying to get Cyrus Chestnut to sign onto his label so they can make an album together. I do not live these musicians’ lives, and I know the label is a steady and reliable source of income; that said, I wish these two would buckle down, invest in some research and professional gear, and record on their own. They can promote themselves through live performances and websites. I just hate to see musicians of this caliber bogged down by bureaucracy, when the means exist to “go it alone.” They could even use websites such as John Buckman’s Magnatune or Brian Camelio’s Artistshare.

Banter

Kevin Mahogany provided the unneeded but not unwelcome comedic relief through his banter between and during the tunes. When Cyrus Chestnut first started comping, Mahogany started laughing. “What am I supposed to do now,” he asked.

The pair ended the show by taking suggestions for tunes from the audience. They listened and appeared to carefully consider each tune as it was called out, commenting on how nice it would be to play it. After a period of quiet discussion, Kevin Mahogany announced that while they would not be playing any of the requested tunes this evening, if the audience listened very carefully, they would hear a lot of the same notes from the tunes they suggested…

Standing Schmanding

The usual standing ovation goes like this: a few devout fans stand to show their appreciation, and then slowly, those audience members surrounding them cobble to their feet out of guilt. Eventually the entire audience stands. They are perhaps satisfied, but are standing because they do not want to appear rude, rather than feeling the performance was truly exceptional.

I believe I have experienced my first genuine standing ovation at this performance. At the last moment, the entire audience simultaneously leapt to their feet in an enthusiastic and unrestrained expression of appreciation.

The standing ovation, in a manner of “grade inflation” has become standard practice at most performances I attend. But it is the way in which the audience stands which will reveal their true feelings about the show. This performance was one of the best I have seen.

Art of Jazz

The Art of Jazz series at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, NY, produced by Bruce Eaton is now in its eighth season. Rest assured any performance you attend will consist of nothing but musicianship at the highest caliber. For tickets and information, please call (716) 270-8292.