News
A cold wet day did not deter a large audience from turning out for TCCA's (soon to be InConcert Sierra) Petite Panache concert on Sunday.
The annual Petite Panache has a special appeal since it features local instrumentalists and on this occasion also a local composer. So the audience was not deterred either by a unusual program: Two unknown composers, a world premiere for the unique combination of violin and piano four-hands, and a seldom heard piano four-hands arrangement of Debussy impressionist orchestral pieces.
The opener, a charming and sparkling Nocturne by Franz Doppler, contemporary of Brahms, introduced three newcomers. Nevada City flutist Kirsti Powell, Sacramento hornist Liz Barton, and violinist Richard Altenbach, local resident, composer, first violin of the prestigious LA Chamber Orchestra and leading Hollywood film score performer, were accompanied by pianist Ken Hardin. “Salon music,” Hardin suggested, a popular style of music in the 19th century, romantic, sentimental even, and wholly satisfying.
The centerpiece was Mark Vance's new “In These Uncertain Times,” a TCCA commission, played with its 2002 companion “The New Life,” a dazzling show-piece for Altenbach's virtuoso violin and piano-duettists Aileen James and Ken Hardin on top form. Both pieces enjoy a fast-slow-fast form, but could not be more different: “Uncertain Times” is uneasy, brittle, angry. Even the passionate tango and romantic schmaltzy waltz are unsettling as the violin and piano vie for supremacy. By contrast “The New Life” is confident and vibrant, full of harmonious interchanges and warm, hummable violin themes. An impressive and technically formidable work, impressively performed.
By contrast two of Debussy's orchestral Nocturnes arranged for piano-duet presented a different challenge: How to capture the subtlety of an orchestra and Debussy's ethereal effects with 16 fingers, four thumbs and one keyboard. “It ain't easy,” confirmed Hardin. The video-projection of James' and Hardin's hands revealed some of the complexities of duet-playing. The shading of “Nuages” (Clouds) was highly effective, and “Fetes” (Festivals) with its processional feel and military rhythm conjured up lively images.
The finale, Ballade, Pastorale and Dance for flute, horn and piano, by the contemporary American Eric Ewazen, was an ear-opener. Unquestionably modern but unashamedly tonal, Ewazen writes as if atonal music never happened. The music is rich, exciting, tuneful, and of course difficult to play – “One of the hardest pieces I have ever learned,” said hornist Barton. The Ballade was exciting, bravado-filled, beautifully blending Powell's flute with the richness of the horn and piano. Pastorale offered calm: Lyrical horn tunes, flute trills and warbles, rippling piano arpeggios. “Just lovely,” the woman in front of me whispered. “Here we go. Hold onto your hats,” said Hardin, in rehearsal, of Dance, a driving, non-stop, hornpipe with a fiendish piano part, carried off with exuberance, leaving audience and performers alike energized, and exhausted.
“I'm happily full,” said one contented concert-goer. Me too.
Charles Atthill lives in Alta Sierra. He had the inside story on this concert since he hosted the pre-concert “Meet the Artists” forum, a regular feature of TCCA concerts.
The annual Petite Panache has a special appeal since it features local instrumentalists and on this occasion also a local composer. So the audience was not deterred either by a unusual program: Two unknown composers, a world premiere for the unique combination of violin and piano four-hands, and a seldom heard piano four-hands arrangement of Debussy impressionist orchestral pieces.
The opener, a charming and sparkling Nocturne by Franz Doppler, contemporary of Brahms, introduced three newcomers. Nevada City flutist Kirsti Powell, Sacramento hornist Liz Barton, and violinist Richard Altenbach, local resident, composer, first violin of the prestigious LA Chamber Orchestra and leading Hollywood film score performer, were accompanied by pianist Ken Hardin. “Salon music,” Hardin suggested, a popular style of music in the 19th century, romantic, sentimental even, and wholly satisfying.
The centerpiece was Mark Vance's new “In These Uncertain Times,” a TCCA commission, played with its 2002 companion “The New Life,” a dazzling show-piece for Altenbach's virtuoso violin and piano-duettists Aileen James and Ken Hardin on top form. Both pieces enjoy a fast-slow-fast form, but could not be more different: “Uncertain Times” is uneasy, brittle, angry. Even the passionate tango and romantic schmaltzy waltz are unsettling as the violin and piano vie for supremacy. By contrast “The New Life” is confident and vibrant, full of harmonious interchanges and warm, hummable violin themes. An impressive and technically formidable work, impressively performed.
By contrast two of Debussy's orchestral Nocturnes arranged for piano-duet presented a different challenge: How to capture the subtlety of an orchestra and Debussy's ethereal effects with 16 fingers, four thumbs and one keyboard. “It ain't easy,” confirmed Hardin. The video-projection of James' and Hardin's hands revealed some of the complexities of duet-playing. The shading of “Nuages” (Clouds) was highly effective, and “Fetes” (Festivals) with its processional feel and military rhythm conjured up lively images.
The finale, Ballade, Pastorale and Dance for flute, horn and piano, by the contemporary American Eric Ewazen, was an ear-opener. Unquestionably modern but unashamedly tonal, Ewazen writes as if atonal music never happened. The music is rich, exciting, tuneful, and of course difficult to play – “One of the hardest pieces I have ever learned,” said hornist Barton. The Ballade was exciting, bravado-filled, beautifully blending Powell's flute with the richness of the horn and piano. Pastorale offered calm: Lyrical horn tunes, flute trills and warbles, rippling piano arpeggios. “Just lovely,” the woman in front of me whispered. “Here we go. Hold onto your hats,” said Hardin, in rehearsal, of Dance, a driving, non-stop, hornpipe with a fiendish piano part, carried off with exuberance, leaving audience and performers alike energized, and exhausted.
“I'm happily full,” said one contented concert-goer. Me too.
Charles Atthill lives in Alta Sierra. He had the inside story on this concert since he hosted the pre-concert “Meet the Artists” forum, a regular feature of TCCA concerts.
