21C Music Festival is now in its 5th year, however this was my first taste of the festival which celebrates newly composed music.
I took in two memorable concerts during the week but as it is sailing season, declined the rest, tempting as they may be. Next year the festival will run in January and I'm planning to immerse myself in the full series. These few hours spent in the concert halls will translate to many more hours of listening pleasure as I continue to explore the artists online and in newly expanded playlists.
Kronos Quartet with Jherek Bischoff
What great selections! Each piece that followed the next was something entirely new. The string quartet opened with the Middle Eastern arrangement Zaghala (2017); followed immediately by "stop motion animation for a string quartert" by Canadian composer Lizee called Another Living Soul; Russian composer Sharlat's pencil sketch (which incorporated pencils as percussive instruments substituted for the bow). Other highlights were Kronos' interpretation of Janice Joplin's interpretation of George Gershwin's Summertime and Coltrane's Alabama. Jherek Bischoff made it a quintet with his bass guitar as the group played Pete Townshend's Baba O'Riley and then presented Bischoff's compositions: Stranger, A Semiperfect Number, and Flying River. Totally unexpected was when they played Jimmi Hendrix Purple Haze.
I have until now associated chamber music with string quartet's and classical music, this concert pushed the boundaries in an incredible way. At one point the musicians were tapping bells with their feet and bowing with fluorescent coloured foam. Emotional conjurors, spinning playful fun, then mournful yearning. Fully memorable.
Kronos' 50 for the Future is commissioning a collection of 50 new works – 10 per year for five years and includes works with Laurie Anderson and Tanya Tagak.
Anthony de Mare's Liaisons: Reimagining Sondheim from the Piano
This project invites composers to take a Sondheim tune from one of his many Broadway hits, and reinterpret and explore its musical dimensions in new ways. Between pieces we hear audio from the composers, and just after intermission watch an interview with Sondheim.
My favourite was Wynton Marsalis as he described how he'd applied the call and response approach to his interpretation of That Old Piano Roll, using ragtime swing and then New Orleans ragtime stomp. According to notes, "the basic stride of James P. Johnson is answered by the jagged, obtuse style of Thelonius Monk".
One of the pieces brought entirely new sounds to the piano strings. How were they getting those unusual clangs and bell sounds I wondered? This was Andy Akiho's interpretation of Into the Woods, "My goal in reimagining this prologue was to orchestrate each character's personality with the use of prepared piano - for example, dimes on the strings for the cow scenes, poster tack on the strings for door knocks and narrated phrases, and credit card string-clusters for the wicked witch." Fantastic!
The acoustics in Mazzoleni Hall were perfect for the piano, but not so much for the speaking voice. From my seat at the back of the hall I couldn't hear very much as Anthony de Mare spoke or played the audio excerpts; I ended up pulling out my binoculars to watch the video. The accompanying notes would have been helpful if it wasn't so dark and I had remembered my glasses. C'est la vie.
The entire project is accessible online.
As I was leaving the Kronos concert there was a group of women trying to shoot a selfie-video, so I offered to take their phone to catch everyone in frame.
Once in hand the group started laughing and saying Jane Bunnet and Maqueque, and that was when I realized I was filming one of my favourite ensembles. Didn't think fast enough to ask for a photo of me with the group, so this one will have to live in memory. They were scheduled to play at the Atlanta Jazz Festival a few days later.
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