Dirty Music and Other Delights! (1/19/19)

A concert of music by Richard Pearson Thomas, featuring Amy Gluck,
Naho and Alberto Parrini, and Friends

Landscapes for Cello and Piano – Winter: Two Medicine; Perseid; Hi-Line – Alberto Parrini, cello; Richard Pearson Thomas, piano
the star to every wandering bark (theme and variations) – RPT, piano
Driving at Night – Naho Parrini, violin; Alberto Parrini, cello; RPT, piano
All Bets Are Off; Sonja; Winter Song (World Premiere) – Amy Gluck and
The Band
Dirty Music – Concerto for Amplified Violin and Burlesque Band –
Naho Parrini, violin, and The Band

Well. That’s a mouthful. Here’s the lowdown. The first half of the program was contemporary classical music composed by Mr. Thomas. All three of the classical pieces were interesting, if a little esoteric. A lot of it was blended, as in I couldn’t quite grasp the form and shape of the various phrases and their interrelations. My notes include things like very approachable and easy to listen to, and relatively simple theme, and a little atonal—a bit new age-y—and long. Not glowing, I’ll grant you, but at least it was listenable.

After a pause (no real intermission), Ms. Gluck arrived onstage with Mr. Thomas at the piano, and a six-piece band—clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, bass, and drums—and we were off to the races.

All Bets Are Off was a fun, up tempo, jazzy song, Sonja had a subtle Latin beat, and Winter Song was wistful. While the first two were straightforward in the use of the band as accompaniment, though with moments to shine on their own, the third began with just piano and voice, and then the band slowly joined in, player by player. It was a subtle and effective technique that served the song very well.
Ms. Gluck was solid as a vocalist and the songs and sounds made me feel almost as if I were in an upscale cabaret. A cocktail would have been pleasant but, alas, there’s no eating or drinking allowed in the Bruno Walter auditorium at the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts.

For Dirty Music, Ms. Parrini came onstage in a silvery flapper-style dress.
(Ms. Gluck had worn a tasteful off-the-shoulder black gown). No movement names or numbers were given for the concerto, so my take on the piece might not be ‘official’. For the record, the amplified violin was just that—electronics were attached to the violin that allowed the player to make some interesting, and almost eerie, sounds. The first movement was jazzy and had a fun section with pizzicato string playing backed up by muted trumpet and trombone. And there were also bluesy hints and some klezmer stuff. I likened it to listening to the all-girl band in Cabaret. The second movement was a quasi-lullaby, but for a jazzy baby! The third seemed to be a welcome to New Orleans. After a piano and band opening, the violin joins in and takes over, leading to a bona fide stomp, with a boop-boop-de-doop ending. Fun stuff. The final movement had the feel of a Charleston, and included really fleet fingers for piano, bass, and violin, and the piece ended with a real romp. So, even though the concert was called Dirty Music, if they’d led off with it, the other delights would probably have paled by comparison. This tale of two musical styles was a great way to start off the new year at LPA.

ConcertMeister