FEATURE REVIEW by Colin Clarke · 2014. 5. 30. · Related Articles Issue 37:1 Sept/Oct 2013 Feature Articles Colin Clarke SCHWENDINGER CENTAUR Chicago C Musicians Duo46 Listen to

Related ArticlesIssue 37:1 Sept/Oct

2013

Feature Articles

Colin Clarke

SCHWENDINGER

CENTAUR

Chicago C Musicians

Duo46

Listen to Audio Samples

Brian Dykstra: Neo-Ragtime

Carmen Maret and AndrewBergeron: Tango and Snow

Duo Sonidos: Duo Sonidos

Florestan Duo: Beethoven for Cello &Piano

Hillary Tann: Here, The Cliffs

Jonathan Little: Polyhymnia

Laura Schwendinger: CollectedWorks

Luisa Guembes-Buchanan:

FEATURE REVIEW by Colin Clarke

SCHWENDINGER High Wire Act.1

Nonet.2 Rumor.3 Sonata for Solo Violin.4

Two Little Whos5 • 1BrightMusic; 2ChicagoChamber Musicians; 3Christina Jennings(fl); 3Greg Sauer (vc); 4Katie Wolfe (vn);5Duo46 • CENTAUR 3098 (59:04)

I like Barnaby Rayfield’s description of LauraElise Schwendinger’s music, in his featurearticle in Fanfare 36:4 as “not girly music.” Iwould go further and add an emphatic this is “sonot girly music.” Punchy, imaginative, subtle,stirring, evocative—all these terms apply. Shestudied with John Adams, which doesn’t seemto have harmed her much. Schwendinger’smusic is worth more than anything Adams haschurned out so far.

The 2002 piece High Wire Act was inspired bythe circus figures of Alexander Calder. There arefive movements. The first, also called “HighWire Act,” is remarkably effective given thecareful depictions given by the composer aboutwhat the music actually represents—not only theartists themselves but also (in the high stringharmonics) the sounds of the trapeze apparatusitself. The performance itself is acrobatic

Fanfare Magazine Archive of CD Reviews: SCHWENDINGER... http://www.fanfarearchive.com/articles/atop/37_1/3710203.aa_...

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Laura Schwendinger, Composer

NOTABLE WOMEN: C'e la Lu…

1 The Lincoln Trio; Desirée R…

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1. NOTABLE WOMEN: C'e la The Lincoln Trio; Desirée Ru

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2. 3 WORKS: Esprimere for Matt Haimovitz, vc; Madison

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7. 3 WORKS: Chiaroscuro AMatt Haimovitz, vc; Madison

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8. 3 WORKS: Waking DreaChristina Jennings, fl; Unive

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9. HIGH WIRE ACTS: High BrightMusic; Christina Jenni

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10. HIGH WIRE ACTS: High BrightMusic; Christina Jenn

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11. HIGH WIRE ACTS: High BrightMusic; Christina Jenn

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12. HIGH WIRE ACTS: NoneChicago Ch Musicians;M He

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Beethoven in D, E. T. A. HoffmanSonatas / Robert Schumann

Kreisleriana, Late Beethoven

Melba: Benaud Trio, The RomanticClarinet, The Virtuoso Piano Music of

George Frederick Boyle, The Art ofNance Grant, Arcadia Lost, Elan Ballet

Music from Operas of Saint Saëns,RAKHMANINOV: Leslie Howard,

WAGNER: Das Rheingold, WAGNER:Die Walküre, WAGNER: Siegfried,

WAGNER: Götterdämmerung,FERDINAND HÉROLD: La

Somnambule

Michael Antonello: Collected Works

Open Goldberg: Open GoldbergVariations

Rick VanMatre: Gray Then Blue

Tod Machover: Resurrection,Hyperstring Trilogy, Vinyl Cello, ...but

not simpler...

Univ of Houston Wind Ensemble:Flagello & Rosner

Ursula Bagdasarjanz: Mozart &Schoeck

Wayne Leechford: Works of Art

William Grant Still Society: STILL:La Varsoviana

Ysmael Reyes: Incanto:Contemporary Venezuelan Music

indeed,and

4. 3 WORKS: Chiaroscuro AMatt Haimovitz, vc; Madison

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High Wire ActsAUDIO CDCentaur

High Wire ActsMP3 MUSIC

Centaur Records, Inc.

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MelbaMichael Antonello

beautifully managed. It stands on its ownperfectly without a priori knowledge of theprogram. The frozen second movement (“TheRope Walker”), finds stasis perhaps representingthe hesitancy of the walker. The writing for theinstruments is expert. The third movement, “TheAerialist,” is a love song for flute and viola, hereplayed by a real-life husband and wife (the two,love song and marriage, aren’t exclusive inAmerica yet, are they?). A shimmering trappedbird features next, fighting for its freedom:wonderfully written, wonderfully played. Thevery brief finale uses rhythmic unison used togood effect.


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The Nonet (2003), played here by its dedicatees,the Chicago Chamber Musicians, is a tribute toBach’s Brandenburg Concertos and Stravinsky’sDumbarton Oaks, specifically a tribute to thoseworks’ “exuberant tutti style writing.” The linkto Stravinsky is particularly apparent in theacerbic language and pithy use of motifs. Thecentral slow movement presents needed calm,along with the occasional nod to Copland.Jasmine Lin’s solo violin is particularlynoteworthy here, miraculously pure andexpressive. The finale is less outgoing than onemight expect from what has been heard so far,while keeping the Stravinskian links intact. Theflute and cello duet Rumor of 2004 intrigues notonly in the combination of instruments, but inthe counterpoint, which the composer herselfdescribes, aptly, as “sinewy.”

Lasting a full 15 minutes, the Sonata for SoloViolin (1992) is a work of some substance.Schwendinger sets out her expressivecredentials in the opening Lullaby, beautifullyplayed by a close-miked Katie Wolfe. Thecentral Arioso takes the lyricism and effectivelyinteriorizes it still further. All credit to KatieWolfe’s bow control and sensitive phrasing here,not to mention her perfectly judged stoppings.Her playing is simply mesmeric. The first twomovements are perfectly counterbalanced by theshow of the finale (marked Con bravura). Thefinal piece we hear, Two Little Whos (2006) isanother reference to marriage (the title is takenfrom E. E. Cummings) and is played by anotherhusband and wife team, Beth IlanaSchneider-Gould and Matt Gould. The dialogbetween the players is often complex,sometimes confrontational. There is aparticularly effective use of a repeated gesture of


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pizzicato violin in tandem with guitar that ismost endearing.

In short, a most fascinating disc of chambermusic by a composer who I hope to hear moreof. Colin Clarke

This article originally appeared in Issue 37:1(Sept/Oct 2013) of Fanfare Magazine.

Related ArticlesIssue 37:1 Sept/Oct 2013

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Colin Clarke

SCHWENDINGER

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Chicago C Musicians

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FEATURE REVIEW by Colin Clarke · 2014. 5. 30. · Related Articles Issue 37:1 Sept/Oct 2013 Feature Articles Colin Clarke SCHWENDINGER CENTAUR Chicago C Musicians Duo46 Listen to