Current mood:

satisfied

League of Composers/ISCM concert last night
I've been on the Board of Directors of the League of Composers/ISCM for some years now. It's a quirky organization at times; there are no members to speak of, just Board members for example. It's also probably the only composer organization that (usually) does not program works by its own members. So why do we get involved with this group you may well ask?

There is the history of the group--or rather, groups--and the desire to maintain its lofty goals.The New York-based League of Composers and the New York chapter of the International Society of Contemporary Music have separately and then together promoted, disseminated, commissioned, and performed an incredible number of works by an astounding variety of composers. Last night's concert at Columbia University's Miller Theatre (whatever happened to the American spelling of "theater," anyway?) proved this commitment in ways not seen for many years.

First off, this was the debut of the Orchestra of the League of Composers. That in itself is a cause for celebration, especially in light of today's economic situation. Indeed, Miller Theatre was just about filled, which is not something you would see at League concerts past (even a couple of years ago). Some 40 performers, including the conductor Louis Karchin and soloists Kate Lindsey (mezzo-soprano), Robert Ingliss (oboe), Alan R. Kay (clarinet), Patrick Pridemore (horn), and Timothy Cobb (double bass*), are some of the top musicians around. (Note: Ingliss and Kay were also in the orchestra when not performing in a solo capacity.) Karchin is one of the more precise conductors I've seen. Lindsey voice is supple, her diction is always clear (thank you, Ms. Lindsey!), and her interpretations intelligent and musical.

The music itself was a microcosm of what LoC/ISCM is all about. Here's the program:

Benjamin Britten: Fanfare for St. Edmundsbury
Christopher Dietz: Gharra
Alvin Singleton: After Choice (World Premiere)
Elliott Carter: In the Distances of Sleep, with Ms. Lindsey

(Intermission)

Igor Stravinsky: Fanfare for a New Theatre
Julia Wolfe: Vermeer Room
Charles Wuorinen: Synaxis (World Premiere), with Messrs. Ingliss, Kay, Pridemore, and Cobb.

For obvious reasons Britten and Stravinsky didn't make it to the concert, but all of the other composers on the program were there, including centenarian (!) Elliott Carter. (I sat 2 seats away from Carter and had a nice, brief chat with him before the concert started.) Each of the attending composers were interviewed briefly by (WNYC Radio host) John Schaefer.

The rest, you are forewarned, is personal opinion: The Britten, which calls for 1 trumpet on stage and two elsewhere (in this case on opposite ends of the balcony), is satisfying. The Stravinsky (with 2 trumpeters together on stage), not so much. (It was the music more than the, ahem, theatricality of the Britten that I liked more than Igor's fanfare.) Dietz's Gharra, the winner in the 2008 League Composers Competition was interesting (in the best sense) and professional; it just didn't move me (others were much more affected). I loved Singleton's work (my first time hearing anything of his); he was a great choice for the first-in-a-long-time LoC/ISCM commission. Julia Wolfe, who just joined the NYU faculty, writes music that--if Vermeer Room is any indication--grabs you by the ears and makes you listen. I look forward to hearing more of her music. Another thing I noticed was the use of tonality--or at least tonal centers--as part of the fabric of the Singleton and the Wolfe works.

The remaining two works were for me the biggest surprises. Carter's career has been built on writing music so intelligent and complex that sometimes it could leave the average listener behind. No listener was left behind here. Based on six poems by Wallace Stevens, this cycle for mezzo and large chamber ensemble (or small orchestra, take your pick), written just 3 years ago, was still ever so intelligent and, yes, complex, but there's a real straightforwardness and clarity to it as well.

Charles Wuorinen's career has been built on a more aggressive and unforgiving attitude toward audiences. It was his earlier works, among others', that led the Village Voice reviewer at the time, Kyle Gann, to dub that sort of aural art as "N.E.A.R. music"--"North-Eastern American Rationalism." So color me surprised when I heard Synaxis and realized there was a lyricism to it I never would before have associated with C.W. Don't get me wrong, his music still demands you come to it, but it's worth it.

All in all, a rather satisfying concert. True, I'm on the Board, but the bulk of the work was League President David Gordon's and conductor Louis Karchin. Congrats, gentlemen, for a job well done.