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Pianist Sarah Cahill's recital of minimalist and post-minimalist works was impressive both in programming (again justifiable over-programmed) and in performance.  Cahill took command of each of the pieces and performed with astonishing musicality and dazzling technique.  With a repertoire list of ten pieces, it was actually the John Adams and Terry Riley pieces, the two "big names," that were the least successful. 

The opening piece, Harold Budd's short version of Children on the Hill from 1981 veered dangerously close, but never crossed, into New Age territory with its the chorused piano effect.  Hans Otte's No. 10 from Das Buch der Klänge was an astounding display of sixteenths in moto perpetuo fashion.  Cahill's flutter pedal technique deserves lavish praise; her foot was moving nearly as fast as her fingers for the duration of the piece. The shifting chords reminded me of Stephen Montague's Paramell series and left me wanting to hear the other members of the set.  The world premiere of Eve Beglarian's Night Psalm was enthralling.  It was a simple construct of descending and ever-expanding arpeggios performed with an increase in tempo at each repeat.  By the end of the piece, Cahill's fingers were blazing over the keys.  The piece is an ecstatic display of virtuosity and deserving of a place in the modern repertoire. 

Meredith Monk's St. Petersburg Waltz was suitably dark, brooding, and modal.  It was as if Tori Amos or Fiona Apple had a musical love child with Shostakovich.  Cahill demonstrated some amazing right-hand single-note tremolos. Julia by Bunita Marcus was a post-minimalist take on the John Lennon song reminiscent of Liszt's operatic piano transcriptions.  The performance of John Adams' China Gates was a serviceable rendition even with a slight mistake by Cahill.  Harold Budd's long version of Children on the Hill from 1982 followed the Adams.  In contrast to the short version, the additional sixteen minutes seemed to drag.  The long version's middle section consisted of glorious trill, runs, and arpeggios reminiscent of Debussy's Sunken Cathedral.  Unfortunately, they were too prominent and their beauty became banal. 

Elodie Lauten's short Adamantine Sonata was like an effervescent sorbet for the ears after the overwrought Budd.  Cahill's performance of the Mamoru Fujieda's "The Begonia in My Life" from Pattern of Plants marked its first performance outside of Japan.  It was an inconsequential piece, performed delicately-lyrical, non-abrasive and instantly forgettable.  Cahill's wonderful recital concluded with a slightly lackluster piece by Terry Riley.  Be Kind to One Another is a fair piece; it was just out of place after all the previous brilliance.  Beginning with Riley typical optimistic minimalist sound it devolved into rag rhythms and left me wanting more Riley and less rag.  It was humorous though and left audience members with smiles on their faces, although I'm sure most were still smiling from the overall effect of the entire performance.

Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral probably did not know what it was in store for when Charlemagne Palestine was slated to perform there. The first performance of Schlingen-Blängen in America in forty years was a spectacular music experience complete with Palestine's altar of stuffed animals and brandy sniffer.  Beginning with one single pitch, Palestine keep pushing the organ's limits, slowing adding pitches and holding down keys with wooden slats.  With the availability of Grace and Holy Trinity's four manuals and variety of stops, Palestine was able to gloriously shape the sound.  The mass of overtones was head-spinning.  As the audience was encouraged to walk through the space and up into the organ loft, the listening experience was different throughout the space.  By the time Palestine added the pedals into the mix, the sound was already massive and became chest-rattling and mind-altering.  There was a brute physicality to the sound that I've rarely experienced.  After flooding the spectrum with sound, the piece ends with the organ being turned off and back on again.  To hear the mechanics stop and roar back to life was astounding.  This performance was transformative and I will remember it for the rest of my life.

The final concert of the conference was Dennis Johnson's legendary November.  Reconstructed from a less-than-ideal recording and score fragments by Kyle Gann, this was the first performance of the piece since 1962.  Lasting nearly 5 hours Kyle Gann and Sarah Cahill switched off performing duties.  The ambient piece had its glorious moments especially before the recapitulation of the beginning materials at about four hours in.  It certainly was an endurance marathon for the performers and audience and only the stalwart few were in attendance.

REVIEW:
2^nd International Conference on Music and Minimalism Concerts 3, 4, and 5
Sarah Cahill, Charlemagne Palestine, Kyle Gann
Friday, September 4 - Sunday, September 6
All Souls Unitarian Church, Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
http://2ndminimalism.org

By Lee Hartman

Traditional and New Classical Contributor

Lee Hartman holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (D.M.A., M.M.) and the University of Delaware (B.M.). At the University of Delaware, he received a Dean's Scholar position enabling him to pursue an individually designed academic program combining music education and composition. At the University of Missouri-Kansas City he served for three years as the Assistant Director to Musica Nova, the conservatory's new music ensemble, while teaching a variety of composition classes.

In 2007 he was invited to both the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavík, Iceland and the Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu, China to give lectures and master classes in composition.  In the summer of 2009, Hartman served as an orchestra manager for the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble and Aspen Opera Theater Center for various performances.  He serves on the National Executive Committee of the Society of Composers, Inc. as Submissions Coordinator.  His primary composition instructors include James Mobberley, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Paul Rudy, John Beall, and Jennifer Margaret Barker.  He currently teaches music theory at the University of Central Missouri having previously taught at UD (2007–08) and UMKC (2006–07).

Comments(1):

1. Shostakovich love child

   After reading this piece, I'm dying to hear the Meredith Monk St. Petersburg Waltz! I love the description. I hope someone has recorded it for consumption.

   Saturday, September 12, 2009 Megan