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 leading role, Mark conceived of the theme for the November 10, 2021 concert, which was “Whole Lotta Whole Tone”.

What is a whole tone, you might ask?  It consists of two semitones, or half steps, and an entire scale of six whole tones can be formed from those six tones alone, without help from any other musical element.  Actually, there are really only two different whole tone scales, given the total tone content of the six tones you choose, if you are the composer of any kind of piece, be it a piece of classical music, or jazz, or pop.  Although that statement would make it seem that there is a very limited range of possibilities when using whole tones, or the whole tone scale, but that is definitely not the case, as was very definitely demonstrated by Composers Concordance on their November 10th concert.  

Leading off that extraordinary evening was none other than Mr. Kostabi himself, who, in addition to his duties as host of the concert at Kostabi World, very excellently anchored, from his newly acquired Steinway 9-foot concert grand, a most extraordinary sextet.  In addition to Kostabi, on piano, there was Peter Jarvis, on glockenspiel; John Clark, on French horn; Gene Pritsker, on electric guitar; Gerry Brown, on drums; and Paul Nowinski, on acoustic bass.  Mr. Kostabi said a few carefully chosen words about his piece, Embracing Eternity, and then the group launched into it with the most professional aplomb.  So expertly they guided the listener into an exciting world of whole-tone possibilities!  One moment when I was listening to Kostabi’s magnificent composition, I allowed myself to step outside of the ”purely musical plane” (to quote from Aaron Copland’s What To Listen For In Music) and I imagined the following scene:   two lovers sitting under a moonlit sky, seeing the heavens unfold and giving themselves up to the scene as they embrace.

Next we heard from Alon Nechushtan, as guest artist, who is, in addition to being an outstanding composer, is an outstanding pianist in his own right, and his composition, Fantasy for Solo Piano, was literally peppered with courageous virtuoso utterances.  But these utterances were not just to show off, they belonged to a plan underlying the piece.  There were also many telling moments of quietude, and Nechushtan’s piece ended on such a note, which made a profound impact.

Following Mr. Nechushtan, we heard Eugene McBride present his Whole Tone Rose, a duet for electric guitar and piano.  Mr. McBride is, in addition to being a very serious and soulful composer, a very skilled and sensitive pianist, whose performing and recording credits include being one of the pianists involved in the New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, as recorded on Nonesuch Records.  Mr. McBride’s work is stunning and original.  The title “Whole Tone Rose” appears to echo the Julie Styne song, “Second Hand Rose.”  And that title also appears to include a pun on the word “rows” - so serial techniques might be at play here - to magnificent effect!  Ultimately though, McBride’s piece works successfully as a fitting memorial to Rosemary Calabrese, whose role in the lives of composers, as one of the administrators of the American Composers Alliance, is a story too little told.

The overall plan of the concert was to feature the work of modern composers, and with two noted exceptions, all the composers were present and discussed so expertly their own creations.  And these performances were all premieres.  The first exception being Lee Morgan (1938-1972), the noted jazz trumpeter and composer whose work was presented.  Morgan’s Our Man Higgins was definitely beebop meeting whole-tone, with a really lilting, jazzy, happy feeling.  Gerry Brown, an extraordinary expert on drum set, whose credits include work with Stevie Wonder, led the way with his perfectly bouncing and compelling beebop beat, and the other members of this expert ensemble followed.  Alon Nechushtan was the pianist at the Steinway grand for this selection, and he showed himself to be versatile:  not only is he an excellent serious modernist, but an exceptional jazz performer as well.  Also it was Gerry Brown’s night to be specially honored, since it was his birthday, and another regular Composer Concordance member, none other than Robert C. Ford, who is known as the Wall Street poet, presented Mr. Brown with a birthday cake at the very end of the concert.

The next composer on the program was Claude Debussy (1862-1918).  It was a great idea to intersperse three performances of Debussy’s piano pieces with the more recent contemporary works!  And these three were:  Voiles (from Book I of Debussy’s Preludes); Cloches a travers les feuilles (bells among the leaves from Images) and Jardins sous la pluie (gardens in the rain from Estampes).  What a brilliant idea to sample three different great collections of Debussy’s piano music!  They were all given quite powerful and beautiful renderings by virtuoso concert pianist, Magdalena Stern-Baczewska.  And these powerful performances perfectly conjured the magic created by Debussy’s use of the whole tone scale.  The most magical of the three Stern-Baczewska presented was Jardins sous la pluie, where literally the howling of the wind accompanying a rainstorm is suggested at one point.  Stern-Baczewska brought that moment to life, along with many other features of these remarkable pieces, in a beautiful, powerful and loving way.

Next we heard Bliss by Gene Pritsker.  This is a duet for glockenspiel and electric guitar.  It is also a trio (adding an English speaker), since there ingeniously is space in the score for the words of Robert C. Ford (inspired by Joseph Campbell) whose poetry inspired this piece.  Its use of the whole tone scale perfectly reflects that title, and these two fine instrumentalists, Pritsker and Jarvis, also have a couple of recordings out, as the Pritsker Jarvis Duo.  These discs are recorded on the Composers Concordance label, an affiliate of Naxos.  And these two musical superstars did not disappoint!  They are superb performers of the first order and projected that specific use of the whole tone scale perfectly.  This work also gave the listener a different aspect of these two notable musical personalities.  Gone is the hard rock-inspired drumming of Jarvis and the avant-garde jazz-inspired electric guitar of Pritsker.  Something new and different is afoot!  And, as a hint of things (possibly) to come, Ford was on hand to read the very words that inspired this piece!

Via Ricasoli was next on the program, and this was Kostabi’s second appearance as composer this evening, showing that he can be a reflective whole-tone composer in a different context.  Via Ricasoli is a street in the center of Rome (where Kostabi resides), and besides giving Peter Jarvis a chance to rest, the quartet of Kostabi, on piano, Pritsker, on electric guitar, Paul Nowinski, on bass, and Gerry Brown, on drums, nailed Kostabi’s second piece of the evening, showing still another fascinating facet of Kostabi’s considerable compositional talent, as well as the perfect interpretational skills of Messrs. Brown, Kostabi, Nowinski and Pritsker.

All evening, on glockenspiel, was Peter Jarvis.  Words cannot adequately describe what a powerhouse of a composer, conductor, performer, professor of music, music editor, copyist and engraver, arranger, concert series creator and more - is Peter Jarvis.  He is one of the leading musicians of our day in the world, and it brings tears to my eyes just to contemplate the profound influence he has had on so many and how much we owe Mr. Jarvis.  I have been literally following Jarvis’ stellar career for decades.  As a composer, Jarvis is now the author of over 140 works, and they always elicit deep feelings and show that Jarvis is a man of many passions, and also of keen intellect.  The work of Jarvis that was performed, Act Two Scene 16, is no exception.  That work reveals another aspect to Mr. Jarvis’ most exemplary career, as film and television music creator.  Jarvis has contributed his magnificent talents to the television series Boardwalk Empire and Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom.

Next the fabulous French horn player and composer, John Clark, brought his “Whole Lotta Bad Attitude” to the fore.  This was another jazz inspired composition featuring an instrument that is one of the most difficult of all orchestral instruments to play, and also one that is still taking its place in jazz.  The late, great Gunther Schuller, of “Third-Stream” jazz fame, long before he became the President of the New England Conservatory, made a name for himself in jazz, while a member of the French horn section of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra!  Some of the Schuller jazz compositions used the French horn in a big band context.  John Clark goes one step further - using it in a small ensemble context - and with brilliant results!  Clark’s piece was perfectly scored for a quartet of French horn, electric guitar, bass and drums.  And the core group of the evening, minus Jarvis and Kostabi, brought the whole tone elements out brilliantly and we heard lots of “bad attitude” on the part of all these four extremely gifted players.

How can I adequately express my great gratitude for the great Gene Pritsker?  Mr. Pritsker’s wonderful electric guitar playing graced us all night in so many different ways.  Pritsker never fails to impress with his passage work - always finding riffs that are both elegant and funky!  And with these riffs, Mr. Pritsker compelled an outstanding performance from the sextet once again reunited on stage.  Gerry Brown, John Clark, Peter Jarvis, Mark Kostabi, Paul Nowinski, and Gene Pritsker rocked the house in the final number, Mr. Pritsker’s own The Whole World Blind.

Before closing, it must be noted that as of this writing, Pritsker is the author of over 800 works, all of which are influenced by so many different genres - from Renaissance madrigals to the songs that populate our social media today!  Pritsker has achieved in so many different ways one of the founding principles of our American democracy, as exemplified by the Latin motto e pluribus unum, meaning “and the many unite”.  And so Mr. Pritsker showed us this evening - with the final piece - entitled The Whole World Blind - inspired by a quote from none other than Gandhi - how it is possible to bring together musical elements that we cannot imagine being brought together - and it gives us hope that the disparate elements of America can be brought together in peace.  This as we celebrate the winter holidays, and pray for peace at home as well as abroad.

Also before closing, the most excellent work of bassist Paul Nowinski must be noted.  As co-anchor of this remarkable sextet, Nowinski unflinchingly performed in many different ways with an Atlas-like strength.  As the Greek god Atlas is known for holding up the world, so must a bass player be called upon to hold up the many musical worlds that populate an outstanding concert music performance, and so, from beginning to end - from the Kostabi, which envisions the entire universe, to the final Pritsker, which helps us to pray for peace on our tiny little portion of the universe, - Nowinski did a yeoman’s service, with many fine and passionate solos taken in between.

And finally, in closing, it is noted that in addition to being a fantastic composer and performer, Gene Pritsker is also a warm and wonderful master of ceremonies.  As Director of Composers Concordance with Director Dan Cooper, and with the support of Associate Directors, Milica Paranosic, Peter Jarvis, Debra Kaye, Seth Boustead, and Chairman of the Board, Mark Kostabi, Mr. Pritsker kept us laughing and enjoying ourselves.  Many people think of contemporary concert music as difficult music, but under Gene Pritsker’s leadership it is really very enjoyable and fun.  More power to Composers Concordance!  And many more concerts from Composers Concordance - which are all joyfully anticipated!

- Albert Howe