A Flypast of Musical Minimalism

24 March 2019, 14:30
A Flypast of Musical Minimalism

The piano recital by the chief conductor of the Brno Philharmonic Denis Russell Davies and his wife the pianist Maki Namekawa yesterday in Besední dům offered three works by three significant figures from American minimalism. The concert included minimalist works by Steve Reich in the shape of Piano Phase, the composition Hallelujah Junction by John Adams and Four Movements for Two Pianos by Philip Glass.

For a number of years musical minimalism has been unusually popular with listeners. This trend can be taken as the clear antithesis to the extreme heritage of expressionism, dropping the period’s musical approach and setting out on its own path of short repetitive motifs branching out into broader passages of gradually changing music. The early form of musical minimalism reflected the desire of composers in the fifties and sixties for radical change not only in the composition process itself but mainly for the way music was perceived in general. A minor change in the motif, which many would have not noticed, here becomes the centrepiece of the work. The meditative, and even hypnotic character, of these works stands in contrast to the musical production of the time. As composition developed however this revolutionary approach began as a result of becoming interwoven with the original musical culture to change and develop. For many contemporary composers the original concepts of minimalism often function as a springboard that gives rise to the synthesis of several different musical styles and compositional approaches. The wisely assembled programme for Saturday’s concert tried to illustrate this compositional development chronologically with the works of the leading composers of American minimalism.

Reich’s piece Piano Phase from 1967 is from what was still the early phase of American minimalism. The introductory motif drawn from a twelve-tone series is first played by one pianist and then by the other, who however after a short while imperceptibly speeds up. This then leads to a “phase shift”, which can also be found in others among Reich’s works. The concept requires an unbroken rhythmic precision from both interpreters, since the uniqueness and complexity of the musical structure arises precisely from this constant shift in both piano lines. Denis Russell Davies and his spouse Maki Namekawa have great experience with minimalist compositions and so were able to sustain the constant melodic shifts completely without difficulty. While Reich’s Piano Phase his built on an almost monotonous repetition of short musical motifs, they managed – especially Maki Namekawa – to introduce to the work elements of lyricism and personal expression. Subtle, yet noticeable in the little things, the phrasing supplied the work with a significant new musical dimension.

The following work Hallelujah Junction by John Adams showed a newer face of minimalist music. In comparison with the uncompromising pulsing composition by Steve Reich it came across as much more traditional, even though it contained within itself a sharp minimalist ostinato. It was in Adams’ piece that the synthesis of the old and new musical worlds was most apparent – the stretching hypnotic musical passages alternating with unexpected melodic and harmonic twists and the dialogue between the two pianos offered space for a wide variety of compositional techniques. Dennis Russell Davies and Maki Namekawa brought the lyricism and toughness of the work to the surface – especially in the sudden contrast between aggressive utterances and the unexpectedly fragile and romantic entry in pianissimo which were brilliantly mastered by the pianists and were highly suggestive in their effect. Dennis Russell Davies generally chose a rather moderate approach, while Maki Namekawa went for a more exposed one. It should be added that this was what was required by her part.

The closing piece of the evening was the composition by Philip Glass Four Movements for Two Pianos, which the composer wrote for the couple in 2008. Glass does not only work with so-called “classical music”, but in certain places draws inspiration from popular music. This dichotomy is clear in Four Movements for Two Pianos, where the harmonically more colourful parts swap with classical chains of cadences ending clearly on the tonic, all accompanied by arpeggios. However it would be short-sighted to assess the value of the piece only on the basis of harmonic complexity. Glass’ work despite its flirtation with popular culture remains on the territory of classical music. The listener could be convinced of the possible colour and expressive shades that can be found in Glass by the performance of Maki Namekawa. The pianist skilfully passed from jubilant runs and attacked the milder parts of the romantic lyrical, expressive interpretation changes propped up by excellent work with dynamics. Dennis Russell Davies chose, as in the preceding composition, rather a more mumble, less emotionally expressive approach, which created a pleasant contrast to the other piano part.

This exceptional concert for the Chief Conductor’s Series very briefly outlined the development of American minimalism from its beginnings to more or less its current shape. However it would be wrong to think that this is the only form of musical minimalism. There also exist other more extreme musical experiments, hidden in the shadow of the better-known faces. Nevertheless, it is commendable that the Brno Philharmonic under the leadership of new chief conductor has offered this opportunity and enriches the cultural life of the city of Brno also with popular works that are rarely performed locally.

STEVE REICH Piano Phase

JOHN ADAMS Hallelujah Junction

PHILIP GLASS Four Movements for Two Pianos

Maki Namekawa Piano

Dennis Russell Davies Piano

Photo by Vojtěch Kába

Comments

Reply

No comment added yet..

The concert with subtitle “Comradeship, Cooperation, Subversion and a Big Battle at the End”, directed by the Brno Contemporary Orchestra (BCO), offered a remarkable programme of contemporary music. It consisted of three Czech and one world premiere, performed at the Besední dům on 27 February under the baton of the tribal conductor Pavel Šnajdr. The choice of the concert hall was anything but random. The Besední dům is celebrating 150 years since its opening this year, and the ensemble held an annual community concert to mark the important anniversary.  more

Last year’s album Morytáty a romance by Brno singer-songwriter and TV dramaturge Ivo Cicvárek scores points in annual polls beyond the pure folk genre. Ivo recorded his big project with his renamed band, which he now calls Živo, and a number of guests. In the interview he explains what is behind the songs of the album and talks about his future plans.  more

Naloučany is a small village on the Oslava River in the Vysočina region. The village has its own photographer, and his portraits of the village locals have found their way to the American Library of Congress and have become part of the largest collection of this medium since its beginnings. This is naturally a source of pride for nearly two hundred of the village’s inhabitants. That’s why they all joined forces to give their native photographer an event that would be remembered not only by them and by the photographer himself, but also by all the other visitors who took the trip through the snowy rolling landscape to the village’s community centre.  more

Folklore enthusiasts from all over Moravia met in the reconstructed hall of the largest Czech Sokol Hall on Kounicova Street in Brno. The traditional seventy-first ball was organised by the Slovácký krúžek Brno Club on Saturday 21 January. Two associations with a deep First Republic tradition were thus connected, and it seemed that they had shared a natural common bond all that time.  more

Drama, philosophy, and an interestingly outlined psychology of works was offered up by the most recent big concert of the Brno Philharmonic at the Janáček Theatre. The listener-friendly programme, aptly titled Ancient Nordic Tales, was staged and performed with the orchestra by Danish conductor Michael Schønwandt (*1953), currently chief conductor of the Orchestra of the National Opera Montpellier. His fondness for promoting contemporary composers is reflected in the dramaturgy itself. In addition to well-known works by Edvard Grieg and Jean Sibelius, the audience had the opportunity to get acquainted with Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen (*1952). American soprano Nicole Chevalier also introduced her works to the audience.  more

Martin Kyšperský and Aleš Pilgr recently celebrated twenty years of cooperation in the Květy (Flowers) group. While the bandmates and instruments around them have changed over the two decades, the two have remained a constant force in one of Brno's most essential bands of the century. This constant force, however, has been a dynamic one, as the two protagonists alternate between different instruments and approaches. Martin switches from the guitar to other instruments, and Aleš has gone from being a drummer to a double bassist and will be a drummer again from 2023. This context is then also important for understanding the new album Duo, which Kyšperský and Pilgr recorded as, well, a duo.  more

The latest addition to the concert series organized by the Brno-based Ensemble Opera Diversa is a chamber recital by violinist Milan Paľa and pianist Katarína Paľová entitled “Repentance”. The program, which took place on Sunday 30 October at Villa Stiassni, presented works by composers Valentin Bibik and the recently deceased Roman Berger, whose Adagio No. 2 "Repentance" (Pokánie) inspired the title of the evening.  more

Lidověk is the first solo album by Matěj Metoděj Štrunc, a young actor, singer and musician originally from Brno, frontman of the band Ateliér, and son of dulcimer player Dalibor and violinist Katerina Štrunc from the bands Cimbal Classic and Javory. The apple really did not fall far from the tree, but at the same time it came closer to other trees and colored itself with original colors.  more

The Brazilian singer-songwriter with (not only) Japanese roots Luiz Murá first appeared in Moravia five years ago, when he performed at the Folk Holidays in Náměšt' with his then international band Miramundo. This summer he came to Brno. Not as a musician, but as an organizer of club concerts in Barcelona, where he has been living for the last few years. As an official foreign delegate he participated in the two-day Central European Jazz Showcase at the Husa na provázku theatre. During his stay in Brno, we asked the likeable world traveler, who is still first and foremost a musician, a few questions. Not least because Luiz's previous stay in Moravia was reflected in his latest solo album.  more

The Latvian instrumental band Very Cool People recently released an album with the long title 50 Years of Influence + 30 Years of Cool Equals 13 Years of Music Hooliganism. In a few days they will come to Brno to present it – they’ll play on 17th September in Music Lab club. And besides the songs from the aforementioned album, you’ll also get to hear the complete new songs from the yet-to-be-released projects. The band, led by guitarist Elvijs Grafcovs, who answers our questions, has plenty of them.  more

“We did it as a session, sitting opposite each other, so that the viewer would have the experience of coming to a rehearsal,” says singer Dan Bárta, describing how his current album, In One Breath (Jedním dechem), was recorded together with the jazz Robert Balzar Trio and Hungarian trumpeter Kornél Fekete-Kovács. The jazziest album in Dan Bárta’s rich discography was released on the Brno label Bivak Records and was recorded in the Brno studio of Czech Television.  more

After a covid break, the streets of Brno were once again filled with costumes from various parts of Moravia as well as other European countries. On the first day of September, the International Folklore Festival Brno began. Like the vast majority of festivals and regular events that could not take place in the last two years, the IFF also had a break due to government measures. And that is why this year’s festival chose the telling subtitle “We Live”. This time BROLN provided the opening concert in the courtyard of the New Town Hall, and there were two special reasons for this.  more

At the penultimate concert of its tenth year jubilee staged in the Fresco Room of the Comenium Elementary School, the Olomouc Baroque Festival presented an evening with the Musica Florea ensemble. The musicians, conducted by cellist Marek Štryncl, performed a selection of compositions by forgotten classical and early romantic composers Karl Kohaut, Jan Ladislav Dusík and Johann Nepomuk Hummel. The choice of composers was not random – this year it is 210 years since Dusík’s death and 185 years since Hummel’s death. Performing with the ensemble’s core members – violinist Magdalena Malá and Simona Tydlitátová, violist Lýdie Cillerová, cellist Marek Štryncl and bass player Ondřej Štajnochra – was Petra Matějová on the fortepiano.  more

The album Zavrzlama by Bosnian band Divanhana is so far in continuous sequence, the second best world recording of 2022 according to the panel of radio publicists of World Music Charts Europe. Divanhana will perform as part of the Lednice-Valtice Music Festival on 26 August in Hlohovec and a day later in Břeclav – Charvátská Nová Ves. The band’s pianist, Neven Tunjíč, is here to answer our questions.  more

On 18 and 19 August, the tenth anniversary edition of the Olomouc Baroque Music Festival included a unique dramaturgical treat in its program – one of the most historically important Czech operas which, however, does not appear much on the stages of opera houses or music halls. This is Dráteník (The Tinker), the first original Czech opera composed by František Škroup to a libretto by Josef Krasoslav Chmelenský. It was directed by Kateřina Křivánková, with costumes and set by Sylva Marková and music by Marek Čermák, and performed by the Volantes Orchestra, the festival’s resident ensemble. Singing roles were taken up by Matúš Šimko (Dráteník/Škroup), Lenka Cafourková Ďuricová (Růžena), Vincenc Ignác Novotný (Vojtěch), Zuzana Badárová (Liduška), Aleš Janiga (Květenský), Jiří Miroslav Procházka (Lána), and Martin Vodrážka (Kůl). The purely dramatic roles of Chmelenský – the aforementioned author of the libretto – and Hranatý the guard were played by Martin Mihál. The reviewer visited the premiere performance.  more

Editorial

In the new single Magnum, the big band B-Side Band tackles the hectic pace of everyday life. The clip also features actors Michal Isteník and Jakub Uličník alongside the musicians. The as yet untitled album will be released in autumn this year. The band will start touring in early 2024.  more

Dialogues (Dialogy) is a mini-festival of the Brno Philharmonic; it will take place at the Besední dům and the Janáček Theatre. Tomorrow, Yumi Hwang-Williams will present William Bolcom’s Violin Concerto in D major under the baton of Dennis Russell Davies, and a concert entitled From America to the Czech Republic will take place on Thursday and Friday. Next week, Milan Paľa will appear as soloist in Alfred Schnittke’s Fourth Violin Concerto.  more

Singer Bára Basiková celebrated her 60th anniversary a few days ago. The director and choreographer Martin Dvořák from the ProART group is preparing a multi-genre stage adaptation of her 1980s novel called Conversations with Escapemore

The British group The Subways are back on club stages. As part of their European tour for their latest album “Uncertain Joys”, the band will also visit the Brno club Fléda.  more

The Brno City Theatre (MdB) is holding an audition to complete the ensemble (offer of engagement) and to perform the main roles and company of the musical The Addams Family.  more

The international audiovisual project Fusion by singer and composer Zuzana Mikulcová continues. The multi-genre musical fusion with Dan Bárta, Barbara Mochová, Lara Abou Hamdan, Petr Lipa, Jakub König, and Beata Hlavenková will be complemented this year by a seventh single and video called “Blind Tomorrow”, linking the Slovak and Irish scenes with an emotive duet between Mikulcová and Irish musician Graeme Mark “Grank” Donaldson. The clip was created in the Brno club Music Lab, where Mikulcová has also performed several times.  more

After a long time, the Brno Contemporary Orchestra returns to the Besední dům to celebrate its 150th birthday. For their 11th season, they have put together a special concert programme especially for the Besední dům. The upcoming concert, led by conductor Pavel Šnajdr, will feature three Czech and one world premiere.  more

The annual meeting of UNESCO Cities of Music is currently taking place in Norrköping, Sweden. The host city is the cultural capital of the Östergötland region, 130 kilometres south of Stockholm. Like Brno, Norrköping has been a UNESCO Creative Cities Network City of Music since 2017.  more

For the fourteenth year now, the space under the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul comes alive with productions from the Brno Municipal Theatre (MdB). This year, the MdB will start its summer performances at the beginning of June and will stage a total of 29 performances of seven different titles in the Bishop’s Court. The traditional summer stage will open with the world premiere of the original production Crocodile from Svratka or Mozart in Brno by Stanislav Slovák, Jan Šotkovský, and Petr Štěpán.  more

The Brno cultural newsletter brings you an overview of events and opportunities in the coming period concerning theatres, clubs, festivals, and cultural events in Brno.  more