SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Stahnke, Denyer, Berio, Leroux, Lunsqui: Talea Ensemble, Rose Studio at Lincoln Center, New York City, 14.10.2010 (BH)

 

Manfred Stahnke: Frankfurt Musicbox (2003)

Frank Denyer: Play (1973)

Luciano Berio: Sequenza VI (1967)

Philippe Leroux: Continuo(ns) (1993-1994)

Alexandre Lunsqui: Kineticstudies (2010, world premiere)

 

Talea Ensemble

Tara Helen O’Connor, flute

Rane Moore, clarinet

Andrew Kozar, trumpet

Alex Lipowski, percussion

Steve Beck, piano

Erik Carlson, violin

Elizabeth Weisser, viola

Andrea Lee, cello

James Baker, conductor

 

For an intriguing concert titled Kinetics, the Talea Ensemble drew a large, enthusiastic crowd to Lincoln Center’s Rose Studio, then proceeded to demonstrate why this is (if you’ll pardon the approaching oxymoron) one of New York’s most reliably adventurous young groups. Manfred Stahnke’s Frankfurt Musicbox was written for Ensemble Modern, and uses microtones to evoke the unstable pitch of an old music box, coupled with equally unsteady rhythmic patterns. Stahnke, who currently teaches in Hamburg, has created an entertaining work that can be perceived (as he notes) as either shrill or pretty, depending on the listener. Giving the piece their all were Erik Carlson (violin), Elizabeth Weisser (viola), Andrea Lee (cello), Alex Lipowski (percussion) and Steve Beck (piano), conducted by James Baker.

Microtones also figure in Play, by British composer Frank Denyer, who scored it for two woodwind instruments (flute and clarinet) and violin, using mostly scales with pitches three-quarters of a tone apart. As the winds begin in minimalist phrases, the violin eventually enters, but only briefly. Scarcely five minutes long, the piece ends on a bit of dry humor, as if the winds had told a joke but the violin was tapped to deliver the final punchline. Tara Helen O’Connor (flute), Rane Moore (clarinet) and Mr. Carlson played beautifully and looked slightly amused while doing so.

In a dramatic departure from the wry tone of the previous piece, Ms. Weisser dug into Luciano Berio’s Sequenza VI for viola, drawing on some inner demon to bring the score to harrowing life. Rather than traditional melody and harmony, Berio has the performer deliver violent tremolo bursts, separated by pauses, repeated over and over to the point of exhaustion, before the composer pulls out a surprise moment of serenity at the end. At times, Ms. Weisser seemed to be wrestling with Berio’s ghost, stamping her feet in restless agitation. Clearly moved, the cheering audience brought her out for three curtain calls.

After intermission came Continuo(ns) by Philippe Leroux, who recently moved from Paris to Montréal. According to program comments by Dominique Druhen, the title is a reference to the Baroque continuo, and its idea of “uninterrupted and obstinate pulsation.” But that concise assessment only partially describes Leroux’s voluptuous textures, created using rapid runs and slowly moving microtonal scales, all sensuously played by the Talea crew.

Brazilian-born Alexandre Lunsqui contributed the motion-happy Kineticstudies, a world premiere written for an octet (all of the superb players above plus Andrew Kozar on trumpet), led by Mr. Baker. Each of the work’s five sections is devoted to exploring varying rhythms and behaviors, or in the composer’s words, “...movement as something in permanent crisis.” Just savoring Lunsqui’s intriguing, hugely enjoyable score, the word “crisis” was the last thing on my mind.

Bruce Hodges