NOVA ENTHRALLS AUDIENCE WITH MUSIC FOR BOWED PIANO

NOVA CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES, Libby Gardner Concert Hall, April 21

The NOVA Chamber Music Series isn’t just a venue for local musicians. It’s also a series that doesn’t shy away from programming contemporary music. Especially under the direction of Jason Hardink the series’ Sunday afternoon concerts have been the place to be to hear cutting edge, significant works by well established older composers as well as works from the younger generation.

Sunday’s final concert of the season brought together two composers who at first glance didn’t seem to belong on the same program, but who actually fit together quite well –  Maurice Ravel and Curtis Curtis-Smith.

The American Curtis-Smith is a relatively unknown composer, but he writes compelling works, two of which were on the program. Both are for bowed piano, where the pianist bows the strings with specially prepared fishing line, a technique the 72-year-old composer invented in the 1970s.

Both of these pieces – Unisonics for alto saxophone and piano and Five Sonorous Inventions for violin and piano – are wonderfully crafted works in which the composer explores the possibilities of creating a “oneness” of sound. It is interesting to hear how Curtis-Smith combines the two instruments and makes them sound as one while still maintaining each instrument’s coloristic uniqueness.

In Unisonics, Curtis-Smith also employs extended technique for the saxophone, as well as exploring its extreme high range resulting in some aurally stunning imagery. In Five Sonorous Inventions one is sometimes lost in a timbral forest – one doesn’t know if the sounds are emanating from the piano or from the violin. Both are evocative and mesmerizing.

Hardink is a master of contemporary music. These pieces are extremely difficult yet he made it look easy. The same can also be said of saxophonist Taimur Sullivan and violinist Stephanie Cathcart. Both played their respective pieces with virtuosity and a highly developed sense of interpretation and musicality.

The Curtis-Smith works were bookended by Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Cello and his String Quartet.

Violinist Robert Waters and cellist Anne Francis Bayless of the Fry Street Quartet opened the concert with the sonata, a later work that is much leaner than Ravel’s better known – and lusher – impressionist pieces. Waters and Bayless gave a dynamic account that captured the almost classical structure and restrained poise of the work. It was finely crafted and frequently softened the music’s rougher edges without compromising its intensity and drive.

To close the concert Waters and Bayless were joined by their quartet colleagues Rebecca McFaul, violin, and Bradley Ottesen, viola, in Ravel’s quartet.

The group gave an effusive and radiant reading of the work that emphasized the vibrant lyricism of the music. Their interpretation was dreamy and atmospheric, and their seamless playing brought the gorgeous expressiveness of the work to the fore.

(NOVA is recording an album containing all four of the bowed piano works by Curtis-Smith for  release in the fall.)

This entry was posted in Concert Reviews by Edward Reichel. Bookmark the permalink.

About Edward Reichel

Edward Reichel, author, writer and composer, has been covering the classical music scene in Utah since 1997. For many years he served as the primary music critic for the Deseret News. He has also written for a number of publications, including Chamber Music Magazine, OPERA Magazine, 15 Bytes, Park City Magazine and Salt Lake Magazine. He holds a Ph.D. in composition from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He can be reached at ed.reichel@gmail.com. Reichel Recommends is also on Twitter @ReichelArts.

Leave a Reply