SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Keys to the Future I: Marina Lomazov, Blair McMillen, Tatjana Rankovich and Joseph Rubenstein (pianists), Renee Weiler Concert Hall, New York City, 25.3.2008 (BH)

Louis Andriessen: The Memory of Roses (1974-1993)
Poul Ruders: Star-Prelude and Love Fugue (1990)
Joan Tower: Throbbing Still (2000)
John Fitz Rogers: Variations (2003, New York premiere)
Joseph Rubenstein: Romance No. 2 (aurora) (2008, World premiere)
Henry Martin: Preludes and Fugues, Nos. 7, 4, 9 and 13 (1990-1992)


Lucky audiences at Keys to the Future, the downtown festival of contemporary solo piano music, can usually expect to be surprised, and opening night showed the packed house a bit of the roller-coaster ride that they could expect for the three nights.  Festival organizer (and composer) Joseph Rubenstein kicked off the evening with a portfolio of Louis Andriessen's short pieces, collectively titled The Memory of Roses.  What I found most unusual is that the Andriessen I know from aggressive works like Hoketus and Workers Union is nowhere to be seen.  In his place is someone more like Schubert, or in one specific case John Cage ("Chorale"), at least from the gentle performance offered by Mr. Rubenstein. 

Substantially different was Star-Prelude and Love Fugue by Poul Ruders, a study in rapidly repeated figures and accents, and a "staccato vs. legato" death match, ending with a moto perpetuo that interestingly, seemed more minimal—more akin to what we usually expect from Mr. Andriessen.  Blair McMillen, one of the most prominent pianists on the new music scene these days, gave it every last bit of focus, but saved some for Joan Tower's Throbbing Still, a percussive blast able to send listeners reeling.  Its constant tension and barely contained energy brought McMillen to a sweat, along with (no doubt) a few members of the audience.

When the slender, Gauguin-esque Marina Lomazov took the stage and spread out her copy of Variations by John Fitz Rogers, I could tell from the density of the pages that Rogers had written something challenging.  As it turned out, expectations were exceeded by a staggeringly difficult piece, notable for Lomazov's touch and prowess in voicing, matching Rogers's gutsy writing.  Although some quiet moments appear here and there (most notably in a passage near the end), the title seems almost too cool for the brash spirit on display, often with Ms. Lomazov perched over the keyboard with the wingspan of a giant condor.  In an uproarious climax, a bizarre ragtime passage suddenly appears with rhythms sprouting up all over the place, interrupting themselves, then followed by a demented boogie—Art Tatum locked in a tiny room filled with heat lamps.

The second half belonged to Tatjana Rankovich (who teaches at Mannes College of Music), with the world premiere of Mr. Rubenstein's Romance No. 2 (aurora), a graceful exercise in legato simplicity occasionally diving into more complex pools.  Her introspection matched the composer's, whose inspiration seemed not far from say, Scriabin, but with tiny touches showing an introspective mind at work.  She ended the evening with four of Henry Martin's Preludes and Fugues, a set mirroring the layout of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier.  The slight acidity and irregular meters of No. 7 are followed by the delicate prelude of No. 4, which ends with a thunderous fugue.  No. 9 begins with a scherzo flirting with tango, and in No. 13, subtitled "A Slow Drag," the prelude's main theme combines with the fugue in a virtuosic finish.  These are hardly pieces for the timid or those without expert chops, and Rankovich seems to know them inside and out, always making Martin's voicing easily audible and playing with casual brilliance, lightness and humor.

Bruce Hodges


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