Elena Kats-Chernin
is one of Australia’s foremost contemporary
composers. Of recent times she has enjoyed
an unusually high media profile for
someone of that idiom.
A most informative
documentary about this composer was
shown recently on ABC television; this
was followed several weeks later by
an excellent one hour interview on ABC
AM radio. In the Sydney Morning Herald
newspaper, Oct 15, 2005 journalist Jacqui
Taffel complemented these with further
insights into the composer’s astonishing
creativity and prodigious work ethic.
Apparent through all this is an engaging
openness that is reflected in her music;
Kats-Chernin is as refreshing as her
music.
The review disc, "Wild
Swans" was nominated in the classical
division of the 2005 ARIA (Australian
Recorded Industry Awards). Even cursory
listening suggests that its strength
is not appeal to the "conservative
establishment" the preferences
of which ultimately have a major influence
on the outcome of this award.
Born in the Uzbekistan
capital, Tashkent, Elena received her
musical training in Yaroslavl and Moscow
before migrating to Australia in 1975.
She studied composition with Richard
Toop and graduated from the NSW Conservatorium
of Music in 1980. Aided by a DAAD fellowship
she then studied with Helmut Lachenmann
in Hanover. Among her favourite composers
are Kurtág and Scelsi: "Kurtág
for his willingness to return to basic
elements of scales and common chords
while at the same time opening up new
kinds of sound words; Scelsi for his
intensely concentrated writing often
beginning with a single note."
Kats-Chernin’s range
of works is enormous and includes symphonies,
operas, cabarets, concertos and music
for film, ballet and theatre. She also
composed music for the opening ceremony
of the 2000 Olympic Games and the 2003
Rugby World Cup.
One of the most exciting
and enjoyable aspects of her music is
that one never knows quite what to expect
next. The composer hates the idea of
being predictable; every piece is a
challenge to surprise her audience.
Her approach is to anticipate what is
expected and then do the opposite. The
orchestral piece "Mythic"(17)
is a case in point. Several years after
returning to Australia she accepted
a commission from the Tasmanian Symphony
Orchestra. The resultant work "Heaven
is Closed" is quick, energetic
and rhythmically driven. In response
to a request from the Orchestra for
a second work, she instinctively decided
on something totally different; the
direction hitherto unexplored by the
composer incorporated a sustained and
slow dark mood to see where it took
her. Eventually the work developed into
a kind of hymn with variations; sometimes
almost romantic, making exhaustive use
of the orchestra’s brass section.
Wild Swans (2003)
is the result of a collaboration for
the Australian Ballet with choreographer
Meryl Tankard. The story derives from
Hans Christian Andersen. The young girl
Eliza is driven from her home by her
wicked stepmother who turns Eliza’s
eleven brothers into wild swans. To
break the spell she must knit eleven
coats of stinging nettles, find the
swans and dress them in their jackets
all the while keeping silent, as the
months turn into years. As one may anticipate,
music with a lightness and clarity would
ideally suit the fairytale world of
the story and the music does just that;
but it also has a bittersweet quality,
and many of the episodes employ a single
soprano voice among the instruments
resulting in a profoundly haunting effect.
A highlight of this
composition is "Eliza Aria"
(2) a combination of soprano voice and
orchestra which is hauntingly memorable.
Those who may have heard the delightful
"Concerto For One Voice" by
Saint-Preux (b.1945) (Avan-Guard, Stec
LPB 85) will again be reminded how effective
and versatile this combination can be
in a contemporary context. If the imagination
is allowed an unrestrained and fertile
moment, there are even echoes of "Bachianas
Brasileiras No. 5" in "Aliza
Aria". Common threads of hauntingly
beautiful melodies and effects pervade
all three compositions endowing them
with a "once heard never forgotten"
quality
In the same vein as
Kats-Chernin’s approach to the composing
of "Mythic", the "First
Piano Concerto" written for Stephanie
McCallum, influenced the structure of
the "Second Piano Concerto."
The former is strongly rhythmic and
percussive in nature, and the composer
set out to compose a more lyrical and
unashamedly melodic work for pianist
Ian Munro whose playing had always captivated
the composer with its poetry.
Unlike the "First
Piano Concerto" which commences
with a bang, the new work has a more
atmospheric and reflective start not
unlike an earlier work " Purple
Prelude". The second movement incorporates
very brief motifs based on Chopin waltzes
and other of his works that are fashioned
into a blues-like interlude. This movement
is dedicated to the composer’s mother
who, very passionate about Chopin waltzes,
was diagnosed with terminal illness
during its composition. The third movement,
more of an "in your face"
cabaret style, short, loud and fast,
is less harmonious than the previous
two. The piano is mostly in strenuous
disagreement with the orchestra.
Performances by the
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Jane Sheldon,
and Ian Munro are very enjoyable and
complementary to the quality of these
compositions.
With the passage of
time future listeners will, on initial
exposure to this recording, wonder how
music of this interest and quality could
possibly have escaped their attention.
But then among composers of calibre,
Elena Kats-Chernin is not alone in suffering
this malady.
"Wild Swans"
is highly recommended listening.
Zane Turner
Jane Sheldon, soprano (1-12); Ian Munro, piano
(12-16) 
for
details
