Sequenza21/The Contemporary Classical Music Weekly

Four From Harvard, Including s/21�s David Salvage

Monday 5.16.05 � The Harvard Club, New York City; in hallowed Harvard Hall - a concert of New Music by four recent alumni of Harvard University including Anthony Chung, Richard Whalley, Alex Ness and S/21�s own Managing Editor, David Salvage.

In this rather stately, yet comfortably informal and intimate, setting--composers present--Cheung and Salvage talked a little about their pieces before they were performed. A short talk or program note adds a welcome dimension to concerts of new music and is a good way to give the audience a little insight and bring them further into the listening process.

Anthony Cheung�s �Sonata for Violin and Piano� opened the concert. The work, a one-movement scherzo, incorporated pianistic post impressionist harmonic sonorities and tight virtuosic phrasing between the piano, played by Cheung and and violinist Jeff Leigh. There was a nod to jazz, with some extended harmony and a riff from the tune �Invitation� that served as a resting point several times. There were also some impressively tight stops and starts.

Cheung�s piece for cello and electronics �Partial to Partials� followed with brilliantly realized nuances of harmonics and overtones incorporated into difficult passages, played by cellist Peter Anderegg with the cello�s low fundamental tones processed by a computer, deconstructed and amplified into the room. Interesting concept with deft and inventive cello writing and playing but I thought the electronics end took a little time to really develop and capture my attention and imagination. It did get interesting about two-thirds through the piece.

Richard Whalley�s piece �Missing Jen� for piano played by Cheung was a work of ruminating intimate flashes and emotional turbulence all digressing in the synapses of memory and a time gone by. The work seemed a little unfocused at one or two moments but the intimate passages were effective and so personal that they were almost voyeuristic to listen to.

David Salvage took the aforementioned �note before the piece� idea a step further and handed out a sheet that explained (in no uncertain terms) the parts of his 21 (conincidence?) part, �Pieces for Violin, Cello and Piano� (played by Leigh, Andregg and pianist Kimbal Gallagher) and how the segments related and referred to (or did not) other segments. Salvage animatedly explained the idea behind the piece and the program notes which one could use, or not, to keep track of things as they developed.

This concept of a program with program music was a first for me and an innovative way to give the audience clues to key things to listen for and relate back to and-- taken to its logical end--a primer on new music concepts and techniques as well as a way to sort through the events of a piece. Listening for the things that Salvage mentioned in his talk and notes made for an interesting and informative listening experience. The writing was clear and concise and the passages clever, even humorous, in their description and realization.

Alex Ness' �Movement for Violin� came next and it was remarkable and brilliant--inventive and modern with excellent interpretation and execution by Leigh. The silhouette of phrasing, range and dynamic profile had the faint trace of a Bach violin partita but was totally its own work.

Salvage�s six part song cycle �Rossetti Songbook� ended the evening. Delivered with sensitivity and poise by mezzo Jessica Bowers, accompanied by Gallagher, it was an intriguing set, with lyrics and sonorities of wonder and serene harmonic enchantment. Cheers to our Boy Wonder.

If this concert is any indication, we have great things to look forward to from these four young composers from Harvard. And the instrumentalists deserve tremendous credit for all of their performances. They really did let fly and were comfortable doing so.

posted by Duane Harper Grant 5/19/2005