Lavinia Meijer, New Superstar of the Harp Takes on Philip Glass

This is the ninth CD and the fourth Sony release by harpist Lavinia Meijer (1983- ).  This South Korean born artist was raised and educated in the Netherlands by her adoptive parents.  Her musical talent has earned her Cum Laude Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in music and she has successfully pursued a career as both a soloist and an orchestral musician.  She appears to have a thorough grounding in both classical and contemporary harp repertoire and a passion for music.

In this double CD she presents her own transcriptions of ten of Philip Glass’ piano etudes and a second disc of music inspired in part by Glass’ style.  The Herculean tasks of transcribing and learning these etudes elicited collaboration with the affable composer and any Glass fan will want to hear her take on these pieces.

Meijer has chosen ten (of the now twenty) piano etudes for this album.  Now the harp is very close to the piano in many ways.  I believe it has basically the same pitch range and it does rely on strings and a sounding board.  However the playing of the instrument and the range of possibilities playable by two trained hands differs quite a bit.  There are problems on transcribing piano music for the harp.  It is not clear that all twenty can ever be successfully transcribed and played on Meijer’s instrument but this reviewer is truly grateful to hear the ten she has done and holds hope for the future that the remaining ten may find their way to a future release.  Her interpretation of these works help to provide the listener with insight to their complexities both technically and in their interpretation.  

The sassy neo-punk haircut on the album cover conjures comparisons in this reviewer’s mind of the hipness in both dress and presentation that characterized the wonderful Kronos Quartet, especially in their early days.   Indeed she does seem to be following a similar trajectory and Sony no doubt has hopes that she will establish a similar marketing niche doing for her instrument what the Kronos did (and continues to do) for the string quartet.  It certainly appears to be a safe bet.

One need only look to the second of the two discs to find Meijer championing some recent works written in contemporary styles that owe something to Glass’ compositional style.  The disc which includes Meijer’s take on portions of Glass’ Koyaanisqatsi score along with compositions by five other composers is definitely a lighter even more pop-inflected experience at times.  That is not to say that this disc is lesser in any way but that it does seem to be reaching perhaps for a younger audience less versed in the classical harp repertoire.  Classical music needs to embrace other genres as the very concept of genre becomes more divisive than useful.  Another Strategy reminiscent of the Kronos.  

Whether or not this album manages to attract a wider audience to the charms of her instrument it does serve to showcase the range of this artist’s technical skills and the delightfully broad reach of her repertoire.  This rapidly rising star seems poised to be writing a bright new chapter in the life of the concert harp, a truly exciting prospect.

Kristjan Järvi Celebrates Steve Reich’s 80th

Kristjan Järvi (1972- ) is the youngest son of justly famed conductor Neeme Järvi.  He is also a frequent collaborator with the talented and ubiquitous Gene Pritsker among others.  This double CD represents a portion of his concerts in celebration of Reich’s 80th birthday.  There are apparently recordings available on the streaming service Medici TV of several other Reich works including the Three Movements for Orchestra (1983) and Desert Music (1986).  All these stemmed from a residency (2013-2014) that Reich enjoyed with the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony and Chorus.

This 80th birthday tribute gives us yet another opportunity to hear another generation (other than Reich’s) interpreting this music.  For years only Reich and his ensemble had access to his scores but this is not the case with his orchestral and choral works.  Some may still consider Reich to be a difficult or experimental composer and this has limited the programming (and no doubt the commissioning) of music for such larger ensembles.  It is delightful to hear how other musicians respond to and interpret Reich’s music.  

In fact Reich’s music for larger ensembles is definitely worth hearing and hearing in different interpretations.  This set gives us the world premieres of beefed up orchestrations of You Are and Daniel Variations.  This writer looks forward to the orchestral version of Tehillim (1981) as well.  

This handsome two disc set includes the early Clapping Music (1971), Duet (1993), The Four Sections (1987), You Are Variations (2004),  and Daniel Variations (2006).  It is not a greatest hits compilation.  Rather it is a personal survey by a wonderful young musician.  Kristian Järvi is a conductor, composer and new music raconteur who is at the beginnings of a very promising career.  This album is a love song if you will.  Järvi clearly understands and loves this music and the opportunity to record these works, especially perhaps the intimate Clapping Music with the participation of the composer.

The Four Sections is tantamount to being a concerto for orchestra and is among this reviewer’s favorites among Reich’s works.  It has received too few performances and to date only two recordings.  This is the first live recording and gives insight into the amazing competence of both conductor and orchestra.  The 1993 Duet for Two Violins and String Orchestra is Reich’s homage to a musician of a generation preceding his, the wonderful violinist, conductor, and pedagogue, Yehudi Menuhin on his 80th birthday.  Soloists Andreas Hartmann and Waltraut Wachter handle this all too brief piece with skill and insight.  

The second disc contains studio recordings of the large orchestra versions of two very personal works.  These recordings alone are adequate reason to purchase this set.  Reich has gained much from tapping his Jewish heritage (musical, linguistic, and literary) in service of his art.  Both of these pieces feature texts from a variety of sources including the Bible, Hasidic aphorisms, the writings of Ludwig Wittgenstein among others.  In both works the texts determine to some degree the rhythmic choices of the music. 

You Are Variations is a four movement orchestral/choral work which sets a different aphorism in each movement.  It is among the composer’s more personal works and includes quotations from Wittgenstein (the subject of Reich’s undergraduate studies) along with Biblical and Talmudic texts in a beautiful existential meditation.

Daniel Variations is a powerful overtly political work written in response to the tragic murder of journalist Daniel Pearl who was beheaded by extremists in Pakistan in 2002. It is a deeply felt and very pained work which expresses the tragedy and creatively makes a link with the Book of Daniel as well as Pearl’s own words.  Reich is no stranger to political protest on his music and this is among his finest in that genre.

If you don’t know Reich’s music this is not a bad place to start.  If you are already a fan (as I’ve been for years) you will want this set to round out your collection.  

Ross Feller: X/Winds

Innova 911

 

This album is both an auspicious debut and a fine representative sampling of the compositional efforts of Ross Feller.  Feller holds MM and DMA degrees from the University of Illinois Champaign/Urbana, that venerable rural Illinois institution which oversaw some of the most significant early developments in computer technology.  More importantly for the present context it is has been the home of many important composers whose works have incorporated this technology directly or indirectly.  Like similar centers in New York (Columbia-Princeton), Oakland (Mills College), Stanford (CNMAT), Berkeley (CCRMA) among others a distinctive musical thread developed in that rural outpost and it is this provenance that makes this recording of particular interest.  Feller is also an editor at the Computer Music Journal and teaches at Kenyon College.

Ross Feller at the Paul Sacher Stiftung

Feller represents the current state of the art whose ancestry includes the likes of Lejaren Hiller and Salvatore Martirano, both major innovators in both music and technology.  Martirano was one of his teachers and Martirano’s widow, the fine violinist Dorothy Martirano, performs on this recording.  This writer had the pleasure of hearing the Martiranos in concert some years ago and can attest to the astounding quality of the work of this too little known composer.  Judging by the works on this recording Feller appears to be a worthy successor.

Eight works are represented here ranging from solo to acoustic ensemble to electroacoustic works.  The only thing missing is a purely electronic work and one hopes this will occur in a future release.  Composition dates range from 1994 to 2008 though, properly speaking, the 1994 work was revised in 2006.

Triple Threat (1994, rev 2006) is a sort of mini concerto for three soloists (B flat clarinet, trumpet and violin) and an ensemble of nine.  It is a sort of contemporary concerto grosso in that the soloists are more integrated into the overall texture of the piece.  It is a taught, well organized composition whose technical aspects discussed in the composer’s very useful notes are beyond the scope of this review.  What is well within the scope of this review is the fact that this is a marvelously engaging work in a sort of neo-mid century modernism sort of vein.  The technical aspects which will no doubt entertain theorists function in service of the music and are not an end in themselves.

Still Adrift (2013) is the first of three electroacoustic pieces on the disc.  This is an intense and virtuosic essay ably handled by soloist Adam Tendler.  It is obviously a very personal work evidenced both by its intimate focus and the composer’s own liner notes.  One suspects, however, that something is lost without the visuals and immediacy of seeing a live performance.  Nonetheless this piece easily stands on its own sonic merits.

Bypassing the Ogre (2006) is the first of two tracks for soloist without electronics.  This is perhaps the most experimental of the pieces on this disc.  It is essentially an etude focused on the soloist’s (Peter Evans) formidable improvisatory techniques on the trumpet.  It reminds this reviewer at times of the more experimental work of the justly lauded West Coast composer Robert Erickson (1917-1997) whose work also pioneered developments in electroacoustic musics as well.

Disjecta (2006) for percussion ensemble is actually the most extended work here at 14’10”.  It is sort of a catalog of Feller’s experiments with writing for percussion ensemble using playing techniques and naturally occurring (instead of electronically mediated) acoustic phenomena.  The title comes from Samuel Beckett’s term which he applied to a collection of miscellany.  This one requires close ,multiple listenings to grasp the composer’s intent but it appears to point the way to innovations in writing for percussion.

Sfumato (2006) for violin, bass clarinet and electroacoustic sound comes from the same apparently very productive year, 2006, as do three other tracks on this album.  This is the second electroacoustic track here.  As is often the case with electroacoustic compositions it is frequently difficult for the listener to determine whether the sounds heard are acoustic, electronic or some combination of the two without seeing a score or at least seeing the performance.  What is important is the sound and the impact of the music.  Again the music is engaging and satisfying.

Retracing (2009) for violin and electroacoustic sound is related to Still Adrift in that it incorporates gestures as well as textiles and dancers but stands on its sonic merits as a concert piece as well.  This is a very intense essay beautifully handled by Dorothy Martirano.  Even without the visuals there is much to engage the listener.

Glossolalia (2002) is the second of the two unaccompanied solo pieces here.  This one is for cello.  Unlike Bypassing the Ogre this piece seems to have impressionist leanings.  It is certainly filled with a variety of techniques but the end result is a coherent musical narrative.  It is abstract without an obvious narrative so the listener is free to apply their own impressions elicited by this very intense piece.

X/Winds (2008) for symphonic woodwind ensemble is the piece from which the album derives its title.  Here we return to the rich orchestral palette of the opening track.  Feller seems particularly strong in his ability to write meaningful and engaging music for large ensembles.  It left this reviewer wanting more.

These are incredible performances by highly competent and creative musicians of music which is well served by these skills.  Very engaging music very well performed and recorded.  

Oakland Raga Mini With Tempeh

David Boyce, saxophones and Sameer Gupta, tablas at Sound and Savor

Vegan chef and shakuhachi player Philip Gelb’s dinner/concerts have been one of the great joys of the east bay for over ten years now.  Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with my enthusiasm for this series.  Once again Gelb has woven magic in his impeccably creative vegan cuisine and his ability to attract astoundingly talented musicians.

I had to steal this photo from Phil’s Facebook page because I got so caught up in the fine conversation and food that I forgot to take pictures of any of the five courses except for the dessert.

Four wonderful food courses preceded the musical segment of this evening beginning with a hearty soup followed by some deliciously roasted brussel sprouts and the main course of vegan mac and cheese with deep fried tempeh.

Here is the menu:

“Cheesy” broccoli chowder (practically a meal in itself).

Roasted brussel sprouts with scallion ginger oil.  

Southern Fried Tempeh, Macaroni and “cheese” with stewed greens, black eyed peas, Cajun roasted cauliflower, pickled daikon with Meyer lemon and mango chutney (pictured above but must be tasted to be believed, excellent!)

Chocolate waffle bowls withsoursop coconut ice cream, mango ice cream, blood orange marmalade, pineapple sauce and maple walnuts (all vegan and sinfully delicious)
As is customary in these events the musicians played just before dessert was served.  A word about these musicians.  Sameer Gupta , now heading up the wonderfully creative fusion ensemble Brooklyn Raga Massive hails from San Francisco.  David Boyce is originally from New York but is now based in the Bay Area, has appeared on numerous recordings and his band, The Supplicants, can be heard in the Bay Area.  Both are seasoned and extremely creative musicians.

Gupta began first by tuning his four drums (instead of the customary two found in most Hindustani music) and created bell like sounds as well as a rhythmic pulse before Boyce entered with his mellifluous sax.  The music, clearly informed by melodic jazz and by traditional Hindustani elements took off in a high energy duet and became a unique and wonderful music which clearly energized the audience.  The two had played together before though not in this particular configuration.  

Here is a short video sample:

 

Three improvs were performed, one each with Boyce on soprano sax, tenor sax and bass clarinet.  This unusual duo pairing sounded remarkably comfortable.  They have performed together before and one could sense it in how well they meshed their individual styles.

The audience was understandably enthusiastic and appreciative after each performance.  The combination of these fine musicians, clearly enthused about their music, and the intimate setting of this West Oakland loft made for a powerful experience, among the best this writer has heard in this venue.

Also worthy of mention was the amicable atmosphere with friendly interesting fellow diners, a common experience in this series.  

Gupta and Boyce enjoying the vegan ice cream dessert after their performance.

Missed this one?  There is another dinner concert featuring Mitch Butler on trombone and Howard Wiley on saxophone on Wednesday March 15th.  Menu not yet announced.  I hope you can make it.  

Tickets are at:  https://eventium.io/events/393278541021381/mitch-butler-howard-wiley-dinner-concert-march-15-2017