Grand Band (9/7/14)

The final concert of the Rite of Summer series on Governors Island was music played by
six pianists. Usually there are six grand pianos on the stage—we heard six electronic keyboards, so the grandiosity was somewhat diminished. Still, the performers played
well, enthusiastically, and interestingly. The performers: Vicky Chow, David Friend,
Paul Kerekes, Blair McMillen, Lisa Moore, and Isabelle O’Connell.

The program, titled “A Bigger Picture”:
Ode to La Bruja, Hanon, Czerny, Van Cliburn and little gold stars...(or, To Everyone Who Made My Life Miserable, Thank You (2014)* – Michael Gordon (b. 1956)
Wither (2014)* – Paul Kerekes (b. 1988)
Six Pianos (1973) – Steve Reich (b. 1936)
A Road You Can Go On (Variations On A Theme From Mario Kart (2014)** – Ben Wallace (b. 1989)

*New York premiere; **World premiere

Mr. Gordon spoke and gave a bit of background on his composition, referring back to his piano lessons as a child. Of course, he called his teacher a witch (bruja), and Hanon and Czerny led to no end of fingering exercises, and Van Cliburn won the Tchaikovsky competition a couple of years after Mr. Gordon was born; therefore, his mother was convinced that piano studies were de rigeur plans for her son. In fact, the piece sounded like a piano lesson run amok, though it had a good range of dynamics, tempos, and virtuosity. At times, it was almost like a train barreling through. After a while, though, it seemed slightly hypnotic in a not-so-interesting way; indeed it ended up seeming like a one-trick pony.

One of the aims of Mr. Kerekes’ piece was the decay of sound and using that to pass the musical sounds from player to player. That was mostly lost here, due to the electronic keyboards and the (necessary) amplification involved in an outdoor setting. It was, in general, a play on a variety of rhythms in choppy little phrases, of the avant-garde/minimalist genre. There was a contrasting sustained section that I found fairly appealing, and then the piece sort of just ended.

The Reich was truly minimalist, with repetitive phrases repeated over and over and over. Then a new riff entered into the mix, over and over and over. If there was an overall arc to the piece, I wasn’t able to discern it. One little kid got up and ran in place very, very quickly—that sort of says it all. (And I heard another little kid say, “Hey, mom, let’s get the hell outta here!”)

The final piece was a bit more varied, including harmonica-like keyboards, a xylophone, rattles, and other hand-held percussion instruments. Based loosely on some of the themes from the Super Mario video game, it had a ’70s and ’80s vibe, with a hint of bossa nove and other Latin music styles. It was playful and interesting, if a little bit too long.

So, I’m glad I heard six pianos—I hope to hear the real McCoy someday instead of six electronic keyboards. Still and all, a free hearing of Grand Band was well worth the trip to Governors Island on a pleasant Sunday afternoon. Kudos to Rite of Summer. I hope to hear more of their programming next year.

ConcertMeister