BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – With two of Charles Ives' brash, puzzling and prophetic “Ragtime Dances” starting off an Alabama Symphony concert Thursday, an Alys Stephens Center audience received its first clue that was this Classical Edge concert would turn into a wild ride. “Crazy” was how conductor Justin Brown described it.
Even for those listeners whose musical tastes are already attuned to modern sounds, these dances (Nos. 1 and 4 were performed) can be shocking more than 110 years after they were composed. Polkas, waltzes and hymn tunes converge simultaneously in a prescribed, uniquely American cacophony that foreshadows the most adventurous composers that followed.
And follow they did, in one of ASO's most creative concerts since 2008, when music by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood, a Paul Lansky premiere and a Poul Ruders overture garnered national attention. The biggest difference? That concert was sold out. On Thursday, only a smattering of devoted and highly appreciative listeners attended.
Vivian Fung, a composer whose name recognition is on the rise, was on hand to present two works. First came “Aqua,” an evocation of a wavy, curvilinear Chicago high-rise, composed in 2012. If music can dance about architecture (to paraphrase a well-worn quotation), this is it. Fung takes the orchestra, through massive glissandos and colorful sound waves, on a five-minute tour that vividly evokes the tower's unique shape. The final moment is particularly effective, the strings rising in pitch to near silence as a percussion instrument called a waterphone emits eerie, high-pitched sounds.
Justin Brown, conductor
Bridget Kibbey, harpist
Thursday, Feb. 13, Alys Stephens Center
Music of Ives, Fung, Haas, Debussy and Schnittke
Bridget Kibbey, a rising star among harpists, soloed in Claude Debussy's “Sacred and Profane Dances,” giving a buoyant, at times enchanting, rendition of this groundbreaking work for the modern harp. Its technical challenges were met with second-natured ease, Brown and the orchestra forming a cohesive blend.
The concert's centerpiece was the world premiere of Fung's Harp Concerto. A co-commission by ASO and orchestras in Germany, New York, Washington, D.C., and California, it crosses music boundaries by blending eastern elements such as Indonesian gamelan and Asian modes with a broad palette of dissonant tonalities, percussion effects and colorful orchestration. Fung has gained a clear understanding of the solo instrument, challenging Kibbey both technically and tonally, effectively using every bit of the instrument's range and possibilities. At one point, she turns it into a percussion instrument, inserting paper in the strings and knocking on the instrument's frame. In the final movement, a “Dysfunctional Tango” duet between Kibbey and concertmaster Daniel Szasz plays out with wry humor.
Tying into the tango theme was “Polyphonic Tango,” a work that brought out Alfred Schnittke's rhythmic invention and wit, further inviting more hearings of the late Russian composer's works.
The sparse attendance was unfortunate. Though possibly brought on by recent weather events, there really were no excuses on Thursday night. The truly remarkable aspect of this concert was the Alabama Symphony itself. Few orchestras could pull this demanding program together after losing one of its three scheduled rehearsals to a winter storm. Credit ASO's talent and resilience, and Brown's ability to quickly and efficiently shape these works, for one of the most satisfying new music experiences in recent years.