Reviews

Four compositions premiere at VCME concert

By Jim Lowe Times Argus Staff - Published: February 8, 2009

MONTPELIER — Although four out of six works were premieres at Friday's Vermont Contemporary Music Ensemble concert at the Unitarian Church, there was very little similarity among the pieces. (The concert was repeated on Saturday at Saint Michael's College in Colchester.)

Most contemporary feeling for its traditional tonality with an underlying edge was "Eventide," written in 2006 by Dennis Báthory-Kitsz. This very talented Northfield composer has written a great deal of music that requires almost as much work to listen to as it does to play. This work is the antithesis of that.

"Eventide" is an eight-movement work — seven of them pithy, one not — for the odd combination of piccolo, small clarinet and contrabassoon. Only one of the movements seemed overlong, one that had the instruments sliding all over the place chromatically. The other succinct and compelling movements ranged from solemn and hymn-like to jazzy to joyful. Throughout Báthory-Kitsz's unusual sonorities proved-fresh-sounding and beautiful.

Laurel Ann Maurer on piccolo, Steven Klimowski, VCME's artistic director, on clarinet, and Jonathan Ranney on contrabassoon proved convincing in this premier performance, with a well-blended sound and real passion for the music.

Thomas "Larry" Read's "They that Will Times Oast," for clarinet, violin, bassoon and cello, was almost retro. Of course, it was origi-nally written in 1960 when Read was a student, revised in 1987, and premiered on this concert. Unlike "Eventide," the tonal lyrical part was within a knotty 12-tone exterior. Still, our ears have adapted to more tonally complex music over the years, and this youthful work — successfully interspersing atmospheric and conversational qualities — proved attractive and compelling.

Read, on violin, joined by Steven Klimowski on clarinet, Rachael Elliott on bassoon and Bonnie Klimowski on cello proved sympathetic players.

In a world of its own was Barre composer David Gunn's rousing "Cyan Aura" (get it?), heard here in its second performance. The jaunty romp ranges from a driving force to a deep sonorous lyricism, all with moments of obvious humor. Pianist Paula Ennis led the ensemble which included just about everyone, with Bonnie Klimowski playing some pretty expressive solos, in what proved to be the crowd-pleaser.

Commissioned by the VCME, Vermont composer Alex Abele's "Paws and Stripes Forever" was dedicated to his late cat and the music reflected a certain feline restlessness without ever getting carried away. Flutist Maurer, clarinetist Klimowski and bassoonist Elliott delivered this feline quality in this premier performance.

The program opened with a work by Joshua Morris, a 15-year-old home-schooled St. Albans resident, the first movement of a yet-to-be finished piano trio. The work proved imaginative, often ebullient, and with a Romantic side spiced by some modern harmonies. Morris is part of the Vermont MIDI Project, a statewide student composition project.

The concert also included a brilliant performance by Maurer and Bonnie Klimowski of the 1988 short "Enchanted Etudes" by Elliott Carter, celebrating his 100th year and still composing.