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Friday, November 14,2008
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Classical Music
Classical Music
The Quartet for the End of Time, his most famous chamber work, was presented by Frankly Music last week in two sold-out performances at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.
Frank Almond, an articulate and interesting speaker, began with remarks about the piece. Messiaen composed it as a French prisoner of war in Germany. The first performance was by captives on a frigid winter night before an audience of fellow prisoners, with German soldiers listening to civility and culture juxtaposed into the harsh circumstances.
Composition and religious faith were Messiaen’s psychological freedom in confinement. Messiaen’s subject is from the Book of Revelation: A mighty angel trumpets the end of time. The extraordinary impact comes from epic events depicted for a small ensemble of the four instruments available to the composer. This strange and wonderful music was given a colorful, thrilling performance by Frank Almond (violin), Joseph Johnson (cello), Todd Levy (clarinet) and Gloria Cheng (piano). The atrociously difficult “Dance of Fury,” with its unison mad dash through a million notes written with no time signature, was a highlight of terrific ensemble playing.
Olivier Messiaen
Music for the End of Time Few composers are true innovators. Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) certainly fits the description.The Quartet for the End of Time, his most famous chamber work, was presented by Frankly Music last week in two sold-out performances at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.
Frank Almond, an articulate and interesting speaker, began with remarks about the piece. Messiaen composed it as a French prisoner of war in Germany. The first performance was by captives on a frigid winter night before an audience of fellow prisoners, with German soldiers listening to civility and culture juxtaposed into the harsh circumstances.
Composition and religious faith were Messiaen’s psychological freedom in confinement. Messiaen’s subject is from the Book of Revelation: A mighty angel trumpets the end of time. The extraordinary impact comes from epic events depicted for a small ensemble of the four instruments available to the composer. This strange and wonderful music was given a colorful, thrilling performance by Frank Almond (violin), Joseph Johnson (cello), Todd Levy (clarinet) and Gloria Cheng (piano). The atrociously difficult “Dance of Fury,” with its unison mad dash through a million notes written with no time signature, was a highlight of terrific ensemble playing.
Despite its technical and musical difficulties, this quartet is ultimately about tone, due to the prevalence of slow moving and long-held notes. Levy, in the solo movement “Abyss of the Birds,” repeatedly created a long, gradually louder note that took my breath away. Cheng’s deep sense of tone informed the many pages of slow chords that could sound dull in a less talented touch. Johnson’s “Praise to the Eternity of Jesus” movement was a powerful meditation.
This music gets to me in ways I cannot explain. Before the concert I worried about finding myself overcome with emotion in public during the finale for violin and piano; it has happened to me before. Almond’s rich, soulful playing (revealing the astounding depth of tone in the Stradivari violin he recently began playing) took me to the earnest, transcendental place that was Messiaen’s intention. Writing this, days later, I get choked up remembering it.
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AP - The chief executive officer of failed insurance conglomerate AIG acknowledged Wednesday that the company's multimillion-dollar bonuses were "distasteful" to many and had provoked a firestorm of wrath. "I share that anger," Edward Liddy, chairman and CEO of the American International Group Inc., said in testimony prepared for Congress.
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