BMOP Collaboration Concert

[kenjari]

Saturday's BMOP concert program was built around the concept of collaboration between composers and performers. All the pieces were world premiers and all of them were written specifically for BMOP (and the soloists, where relevant).

The Conscious Sleepwalker Loops - Alejandro Rutty

I thought the "in media res" beginning was very effective. The piece consisted of a series of very disparate sections that nonetheless flowed quite well together, even when the transitions were abrupt. The orchestration was often wonderful, but it was occasionally murky or muddy. I thought the best parts of the piece were those influenced by tango music or by electronic effects (reverb, flange, etc.). I was particularly fascinated by a section in the middle which sounded exactly like a 1940s Latin jazz orchestra, but without being cheesy or out of place.


Clades, Concerto for Amplified Quintet and Orchestra - Derek Hurst

Angular and prickly, this was the most difficult, least accessible piece on the program. I was really impressed with the writing for the quintet. There was a wonderful hocketing device between the strings that recurred over the course of the whole work. In the last half, the bass clarinet played some truly nifty multiphonics. Hurst also created some very cool timbres in the orchestra. Unfortunately, I thought there were a couple of sections that really dragged on to the point of irritation.


On a Sufficient Condition for the Existence of Most Specific Hypothesis - Ken Ueno

Holy shit, this was an incredible experience, at least for those of us who have a fascination with throat singing, overtone singing, and all sorts of extended vocal techniques. Ken Ueno gave an amazing vocal performance, using an amazing palette of vocal techniques: throat singing, overtone singing, vocalizing on the inhale, and a bunch of things I'm not quite sure how to describe. The vocalization was contrasted with passages for the orchestra that were broad, timbrally saturated, and incandescent. This piece was not like anything else on the program, and pretty out there. Despite the strangeness, it's overall effect was extremely immediate and even intimate.


Double Violin Concerto - Lisa Bielawa

In the pre-concert talk, Bielawa cited Gypsy music as part of her inspiration for this concerto, and I think it did perfectly capture the wildness and longing of Gypsy music (at least, what I've heard of it). One of the soloists, Carla Kihlstedt, has developed the skill of singing and playing violin at the same time, and this was put to gorgeous use at the end of the first movement. The whole piece was rich and impassioned, and I loved it. I'm hoping for a recording so I can listen to it again.

Comments

[sylphae-minuo.livejournal.com]

I must say, I do like hearing your reviews. :)

[kenjari.livejournal.com]

Thanks! BMOP has one more concert this season, on May 23, if you want to join me.