ORCHESTRA OF A HUNDRED PREMIERES
And Now, Two More
<>
By Paul Hertelendy
artssf.com, the independent observer of San Francisco Bay Area music
and dance
Week of Jan. 10-17, 2012
Vol. 14, No. 36
SAN JOSE---The San José
Chamber Orchestra,
which recently completed its 20th year, brings forth the
sounds of
today in abundance. With its mostly-female string ensemble under
Barbara Day
Turner, it is the closest thing we have to the tradition of the
(defunct) Women’s
Philharmonic. The group is altogether unique: With 100
first-performances to
its credit already, the SJCO presented two more world premieres Jan. 8,
with
cellos at the forefront.
It has also
found its audience,
with a near-capacity crowd at the Petit Trianon concert hall
enthusiastically
participating---this, in a community where contemporary music
is shunned by most of the major performing
groups.
Elena Ruehr’s
new 16-minute “Cloud Atlas” is
inspired by the quasi-historical book of that title by David Mitchell.
Cello
soloist Jennifer Kloetzel introduces the main theme and adds glissandi
and harmonics,
moving on to dance rhythms from tango and syncopation. Ruehr moves on
to
slippery meters, as if sliding on ice, while the orchestra alternates
between
high divisi sections and dramatic
clashes of strings. Another recurrent four-note theme containing three
leaps
leads toward the conclusion, with the cello lyrically conveying veiled
messages.
The
other
premiere was Michael Touchi’s 12-minute “Tiento” (Fantasy), with the
orchestra “upside
down,” dominated by eight celli. It was inspired by Rossini’s aria “La
calunnia”
(Slander), fast-paced enough to suggest the speed at which slander
propagates. There
are superficial similarities in rhythms (and metric shifts) of Ruehr
and Touchi,
but the sound textures are totally different. The contrabass has a rare
moment
in the spotlight via Touchi’s cadenza, nicely rendered by Richard Worn.
Turner
had no problem leading the orchestra and conveying the score; far more
chancey
was trying to fit some 24 musicians onto the compact stage space, where
the
idle piano nearly had to be shoved off the edge. The performance was
smart and
animated.
Certain
musical works, like the Mendelssohn Octet for Strings or the
Villa-Lobos
Bachiana Brasileira No. 5 (1939, 1945) calling for unusual combinations
are not
readily paired in concert with other pieces. But Touchi’s opus linked
up neatly
here with the Villa-Lobos “Brazilian Perspectives of Bach,” which uses
just the
eight cellos, plus a lyric soprano. The cellos (led by Kloetzel) were
supple
and seductive in this beloved opus, the best-known classical work ever
to
emanate from Brazil,
brought to life by the wordless vocalize of the soprano. Less effective
was the
poetic text rendered unintelligibly by soprano Ronit Widmann-Levy, who
appeared
to be battling the ultra-bright hall acoustics all the way.
Also
inspired by poetry was local composer Anica Galindo’s intermezzo “A
Wintry Vale,”
a reflective piece with mellow string writing, offering an alluring
lyrical
theme spun out in an ardent romantic way. It’s a traditional
composition, with
the strings divided for added richness.
Brimming
with confidence, Kloetzel led off the evening all alone with the Bach G
Major
Suite---clean, workmanlike, on the brisk side.
San José
Chamber
Orchestra season under Barbara Day Turner at Le Petit Trianon, San Jose. For
info: (408)
295-4416, or go online.
<>
©Paul Hertelendy 2012
#
Paul Hertelendy has been
covering
the dance and modern-music scene in the San Francisco Bay Area with
relish
-- and a certain amount of salsa -- for years.
These critiques appearing weekly (or sometimes semi-weekly, but never
weakly)
will focus on dance and new musical creativity in performance, with
forays
into books (by authors of the region), theater and recordings by local
artists as well.
#
Return to main menu