Woodwinds is strong opening for concert series
Sammy Gradwohl
Issue date: 9/23/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment
|
The concert began with Robert Muczynski's Duos for Flute and Clarinet. Performed by Nicole Rabata (flute) and Director of Band Activities Eric Thomas (clarinet), this piece displayed a necessity for extreme skill and dexterity. Each movement was drastically different-the first, third, and fifth movements were full of soaring lines and beautiful harmonies, while the second, fourth, and sixth parts skipped about playfully or flew through rapid-fire exchanges. Before beginning, Thomas noted that the piece contained "difference tones," or passages in which, if the audience listened hard enough, they might hear extra notes, as if there were more than two performers. Indeed, this happened several times, and in some cases, it sounded like not only a third or fourth note, but a different instrument entirely, had joined the duo.
Michael Albert (oboe) and Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Yukiko Sekino (piano) joined Rabata and Thomas for the second piece, Philip Fournier's Fantasy on a Candlemas Chant. It began slowly and mysteriously, featuring a clarinet melody backed by simple piano chords. Occasionally, the piano line became more pronounced, the wind parts more complex. The sounds were slightly exotic, especially from the oboe, and long, held-out chords from the piano exemplified this feature. After dying away, the flute took over with a smooth, almost nostalgic line, the piano still flowing underneath. Oboe and clarinet spun their own versions of the tune in turn, each wind instrument skating through its ranges with grace and a sweet sadness. After a pause, the mood changed instantly-Sekino pounded out chords on the piano, and the wind players rushed through intense running passages with frantic speed. If a fantasy can contain a nightmare sequence, this section was it-the dramatic tension was almost palpable. Just as suddenly, though, the musicians returned to a slower, calmer theme, ending as softly as they'd begun.
The quartet all remained onstage for their final number before intermission, Darius Milhaud's four-part Sonate. Part one opened with a smooth oboe line echoed by the flute and piano, followed by the clarinet's feature and a new, contrasting piano line. Some interesting dissonances gave way to an increase in intensity, and the middle section was full of mounting tension, under which the original theme occasionally reappeared. It ended with the theme taking on several minor changes, the last words coming from the flute. Part two was much faster, but still tense. The piano rapidly rolled notes up and down and pounded out chords, and the music was full of extreme dynamic and expressive contrasts. Near the middle, the lines slowed down but remained indecisive, finally becoming slower, smoother, and more definitive at the very end. Part three was loud and fast-fingers flew across keys and passages rapidly exposed the entire ranges of the instruments, ending abruptly with a final ascending line. The fourth and final section was slower, softer, and much darker. The music shifted from relatively calm to nearly explosive and back again, with a contrasting, more relaxed middle section in which the instrumentalists passed various ideas around their circle. The piece ended with chords at the extreme ends of the piano's range.
Be the first to comment on this story