A new twist

Mixed media on panel, 10 X 10 inches

Dawn Upshaw & Golijov's Ayre

I heard two SFCMF concerts that featured this year's artist in residence, Dawn Upshaw. I have always been a big fan of Upshaw, in part because of her support of new music, like this. The song cycle, Ayer, was written in 2004 by the Argentine composer Osvoldo Golijov. This is a extraordinary collision of Jewish klezmer, Arab, Sardinian, Christian & Sephardic folk music. It is full of verve, drama, complex rhythms, lament and surprises. The soprano vocals are demanding & wide ranging, from soft lyrical singing to bloodcurdling cries. Upshaw did a remarkably dramatic and genuine performance. This was the first time that I have seen tears in the eyes of the musicians at the end of a performance as they joined the enthusiastic audience in applauding Upshaw.

Christopher Rouse: New Music? Not!

I attended a "New Music" program at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, including this season's headliner commission, Christopher Rouse's String Quartet No. 3. I do not share many people's aversion to new music, in fact, I have commissioned new music. However, Rouse's work was not "new", rather it took us backwards 40 years to the academic compositions of the 1970's that we all had to suffer through. How many different screeching sounds can a violin or cello make? Apparently quite a few, to my horror. In the composer's words: "something akin to a schizophrenic having a grand mal seizure." There was no emotional content or meaning (1970's callling!) One might consider it an intellectual exercise, but there was little intellect involved. Is this 2011 or 1971???