Concert Review: Low Key Chamber Concert #7

Concert Review:
Low Key Chamber Concert #7  
Lev 'Ljova' Zhurbin - fadolín & Gene Pritsker - guitar
Featuring poets Robert C. Ford & Erik T. Johnson
@ The Sky Vault
presented by Composers Concordance
October 30th, 2021

Set on Halloween eve at the Sky Vault in lower Manhattan you may ask what is a fadolín? Short answer: a variant of the violin. As played by Lev Zhurbin, who happens to have named the instrument and is a leading composer of caprices for it, this concert was most interesting.
Starting the program with a deeply reflective and introspective poem, Robert C. Ford provided us with his own “cycle of life” template. The interactive nature of the poem sat well with the audience.
Continuing Gene Pritsker's performances of pieces written during the pandemic last year, Gene and Lev collaborated brilliantly on Pandemic Dance #20 at once uplifting and uptempo, with even a country twang thrown in.
Lev’s three compositions on the program showed how he is expanding the repertoire of written music for the fadolín. As a leading fadolínist he demonstrated the wide range of notes that are capable of being played. Surely there is more to come from this skilled and innovative musician, who is one of the happiest performers you will ever see.
Erik T. Johnson's poems demonstrate the beauty of being able to interpret the artist as one sees fit, drawing upon one’s own set of life experiences, values and intuition. Truly something for everyone.
A newer composer, Carson Cooman contributed a piece that really brought out Gene’s skill as a guitarist.
Available on Facebook Livestream, this a concert worth viewing.
Special shoutout to Milica Paranosic for supplying Halloween masks for the in person audience.

- Thomas

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Album Review: 'Protest' by Gene Pritsker & Friends

  Album Review: Protest by Gene Pritsker & Friends Self Release As is often the habit of most artists and musicians to create their works inspired by hot button events, so does composer, Gene Pritsker, in his newly released album ‘Protest’.  With his multi-palleted compositions and large group of top notch musicians, Pritsker gives his unadulterated musical reaction to the fire and rage that defined the year 2020. Particularly the strife that came out of the murder of George Floyd. In concept, Pritsker tries to look beyond the rampage and observes the world more broadly.  This is apparent in his works ‘No Justice, No Peace’ and ‘Silence Is Violence’ which both have a steady groove, with an unsteady harmonic progression, maintaining a foundation with an awareness of the troubles that won’t go away.  Other works like “Braver” and the title track “Protest” are more straightforward, with a sense of ambition in accomplishing things despite the darkness. ‘What Matters’...
Read more

Concert Review: Whole Lotta Whole Tone

  Concert Review: Composers Concordance “Whole Lotta Whole Tone" Kostabi World, NYC November, 10th 2021 A very successful concert was held on Wednesday, November 10, 2021, at Mark Kostabi’s “Kostabi World”!  Kostabi World used to be located on the upper East side of Manhattan.  Now it has been relocated to the Chelsea neighborhood (on West 22nd Street) and it continues to be a force, and a “scene,” to be reckoned with.  Kostabi, in addition to being an outstandingly provocative and excellent artist, whose creations, in the media of painting and sculpture, populate the world and its leading art museums and galleries, is an excellent and talented musical artist, who is both performer and composer.  For the last several years, Kostabi has been active in the Composers Concordance contemporary concert music group, one of the leading groups of its kind at work today.  Kostabi is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Composers Concordance, and in keeping with his ...
Read more

Concert Review: Gene & The Brass

Gene & The Brass February 27th, 2022 Chelsea Table + Stage Wayne du Maine, Dennis Hernandez, Valery Ponomarev - trumpets B3+: Franz Hackl - trumpet, John Clark - horn, Jonathan Greenberg - bass trombone Gene Pritsker - guitar/conductor Charles Coleman - conductor  Composers Concordance is surely one of the best kept cultural secrets in New York City, and they proved this yet again with a stellar performance at Chelsea Table + Stage on February 27th. This concert featured Gene and the Brass. As you might expect, the show focused on compositions written explicitly for that class of instrument--with one fun exception. Performers included Wayne du Maine, Dennis Hernandez, Valery Ponomarev, and Franz Hackl on trumpet; horn player John Clark; and Jonathan Greenberg on bass trombone. The show opened with the world premiere of Joyous in a Surfeit of Distraction, written and conducted by Gene Pritsker. It began with  subdued motions, almost atonal, yet melodic--reminding me of a eu...
Read more