Classical music: are you a beta tester, or beta blocker?

Alan Kozin forwards an interesting concept in a recent New York Times piece. It examines the tug-of-war between the needs of composers and performers to present new works, and the audiences' desire to remain with the tried-and-true.

Most of the complaints I get during my show, "Gamut," have to do with "modern" works. Why can't I play more beautiful music I'm asked. Well, I put that word modern in quotes because some of the offending works were written as far back as 1930 -- often making them older than the listener calling in! But the other part if it is that the judgement of a work's beauty is something that evolves over time.

Many people thought Wagner virtually unlistenable when his operas were first staged -- yet his "Ride of the Valkryies" have become part of our common musical culture. Ditto with Beethoven, who pushed the boundries of classical music. Now his symphonies and string quartets are considered masterpieces, but contemporary audiences thought they were just a mess.

And that's Kozin's point. All of those tried-and-true works had to be premiered. And sometimes they needed a champion to keep them before the public until the audiences grasped what was going on with the works. As Kozin writes:

Listeners who dislike new music, either because they disdain contemporary musical languages or because they simply want to hear what they already know and love, might argue that musicians should do this sifting on their own and perform only the works that they can say, hand on heart, are masterpieces. And that sounds reasonable, to a point. But where new works are concerned, musicians are, to borrow a term from the computer world, beta testers. The problem is that in music, beta testing necessarily involves listeners as well.

So you'll still hear the unfamiliar on "Gamut," (and a lot of our other classical music shows) for a reason. Because this is music that needs to be heard. And we value your feedback, because that's an important part of being a beta tester -- pointing out what works and what doesn't with the item being tested.

But don't ask us to stick with the same-old-same-old. As great as the basic repertoire is (and there's a reason why those works achieved that status), there's always room for one more on that Olympian peak. And the only way to discover those works is by exploring. As Kozin points out:

If the great masterpieces of the canon were determined entirely by the opinions of the musicians and listeners who first played them and heard them, J.C. Bach would be far more beloved than his father, Johann Sebastian. Salieri would be the star and Mozart the footnote, and Hummel would be the great icon of the early 19th century.

 (Although, come to think of it, we air J.C. Bach, Salieri, and Hummel with some frequency, too.)

In any event, I'll continue to air music of this era (as well as that of the past), in search of that next new masterwork. And be sure to call into the station when you think you've heard it!

Career-spanning chamber music

Daren Hagen
Complete Piano Trios
Finisterra Trio
Naxos 

The four piano trios on this release come from two distinct phases of Daron Hagen’s career. The first two, written in 1984 and 1986 respectively, are works by a young composer just finding his way. The first trio, the “Trio Concertante” was written while Hagen was studying with David Diamond, and reflects the older composer’s style (at least to my ears).

“J’etands,” Hagen’s second trio, was inspired by Nadia Boulanger’s final words. Like the first, it leans more towards atonality, but in the longer melodic lines you can hear Hagen’s individuality beginning to emerge. He has the instruments toss ideas and motifs back and forth in a masterful fashion that always keeps the music moving forward.

Fast forward fifteen years to the creation of the third and fourth piano trios.  Both of these works are based on American folk melodies. By this time Hagen’s fully developed as a composer, and uses these tunes in a way that shows he’s comfortable with his abilities and doesn’t need to prove a thing to anyone.

He embraces a more tonal style for these last two trios, without sacrificing originality. In Piano Trio No. 3, “Wayfaring Stranger,” the tune forms basis of second movement played more or less straight. In the other movements, different aspects of the melody chopped up and rearranged. The tune makes a reappearance at the end of the fourth movement (Aubade and Variations), tying the entire composition together.

The final trio, “Angel Band” uses the Appalachian gospel song as a starting point. As with the third trio, the tune is reduced to its primary musical elements, which are then used to create new sonic structures. While the listener never gets a straight-forward statement of the original melody (save at the conclusion of the work), it clearly drives the structure and direction of the piece.

If you’re looking for something a little more substantial than Americana tricked out in classical garb, I can highly recommend this disc. All four trios are solidly constructed, and have enough depth to reward repeated listening.

A kinder, gentler Beethoven

Ferdinand Ries: Piano Concertos, Volume 4
Christopher Hinterhuber, piano
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra; Uwe Grodd, conductor
Naxos 8.572088

Ferdinand Ries is best remembered today (if at all) as Beethoven's personal assistant. Although he served that role well - securing performances, publication deals and more - that wasn't originally why their paths crossed. Ries came to Beethoven in 1803 to study composition. Like his mentor, Ries was a piano virtuoso as well as a composer. His piano concertos were written primarily for his own use, to provide material he could use in performance - a standard practice of the day for any touring virtuoso.

Naxos has released four volumes of Ries' concerti, the most recent featuring two of these works plus a shorter fantasia for piano and orchestra. So what does Ries' music sound like? Sort of like a kinder, gentler Beethoven. His works have the same general structure, with some of the same harmonic turns that Beethoven favored. You'll also hear big orchestral chords hammering away at important cadence points. But there the similarities end.

Ries is more concerned with tuneful melodies than delivering pronouncements from on high. His motifs are light and appealing. While the solo piano part is challenging technically, it's more about taking the listener along on a thrilling melodic journey rather than fully exploring the potential of either the instrument or the motifs.

Stylistically, Ferdinand Ries straddles the late classical and early romantic era. The Introduction et Rondeau Brillant Wo54 which appears on this release, is a good illustration of that. While not entirely free of Beethoven's influence, Ries' work seems more Schubertian in its free-form development.

Pianist Christopher Hinterhuber turns in a top-notch performance on this recording (as does Uwe Grodd and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra). His playing is light and fluid -- perfectly suited to this material -- yet it has power when it needs to. Hinterhuber really makes the cadenzas sparkle, and gives the impression that Ries' music is actually fun to play.

An appealing collection of works for piano and orchestra!