Klarinet Archive - Posting 000891.txt from 1995/10

From: RICK CUSTER <RICK@-----.COM>
Subj: Verdehr Trio Concert
Date: Tue, 24 Oct 1995 21:35:52 -0400

As some of you may be aware, one of the worthwhile things done with your
(US) taxes is to fund (in part) a chamber music series at the Library of
Congress. This series has been ongoing for several decades, and has
featured some truly first-class musicians and music. Admission is free.

I first started attending these concerts as a teenager. They are held in
the Coolidge Auditorium at the Library of Congress, usually every Friday
evening in the summertime. The Auditorium has been undergoing renovation
since 1993, and from what I overheard at the concert on Sunday, funding
problems have delayed its completion until 1997. For the past few years,
performance venues have varied, with many concerts at the National
Academy of Sciences auditorium.

Sunday's concert was at the Kennedy Center, and featured the Verdehr Trio
performing works by John Biggs, Libby Larsen, A. Arutiunian, David
Diamond, and Charles Hoag. Larsen, Diamond, and Hoag were in attendance,
sitting just in front of me. They commented on each other's music, and
obviously were very pleased with the performances.

The Diamond work was a world premiere, commissioned by the Elizabeth
Sprague Coolidge Foundation in the Library of Congress. The Larsen and
Arutiunian pieces were commissioned by Michigan State University for the
Verdehr Trio.

This was the program:

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Sunday Afternoon, October 22, 1995, at 2:00

The Library of Congress
James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress
presents the

Verdehr Trio
Walter Verdehr, Violinist
Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, Clarinetist
Gary Kirkpatrick, Pianist

John Biggs A Renaissance Bouquet
Gloria
Pavan
Chairs To Mend
Wounded Am I
Watkins Ale
Non Nobis Dance
O Dulce e Triste Memoria
In Sherwood Lived Stout Robin Hood
Preludium

Libby Larsen Slang

A. Arutiunian Suite
Introduction: Lento
Scherzo: Allegretto
Dialog: Adagio--Final: Allegro non troppo
Intermission

David Diamond Trio
Allegretto
Allegro vivo e veloce
Adagio assai
Allegro vivace
World Premiere; commissioned by the Elizabeth Sprague
Coolidge Foundation in the Library of
Congress

Charles Hoag TheSweetMelancholy(lostyourdolly)SlowDrag Rag

John Biggs (b. 1932, Los Angeles, California) was for many years the
director of a group that performed medieval and Renaissance music. The
piece, "A Renaissance Bouquet," incorporates tunes from Guillaume Dufay
(1400-74), W. Hayes (?-?), William Byrd (1543-1623), Luis Milan (c.
1500), Robert Jones (c. 1620), and Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625). The piece
is very unusual, combining contemporary sonorities with medieval
materials.

Slang, by Libby Larsen (b. 1950, Wilmington, Delaware) is a terrific
piece. I am unaware of any recording of this piece, and if anyone out
there knows of one, please e-mail me with the info. Larsen has written
other pieces for the clarinet (I vaguely recall a piece performed at the
Chicago ClarinetFest two years ago); she is also active in Orff
Schulwerk; a piece of hers will be premiered at the Orff meeting in
Dallas in November. Slang explores the idea that just as in speaking
language there is slang, so also there is a lexicon of musical slang--eg,
jazz, boogie, and even 20th century "new music." The piece incorporates
many different kinds of musical "slangs" and is technically very
demanding but very enjoyable.

I am unfamiliar with the work of Alexander Arutiunian (b. 1920, Erevan,
Armenia). He is noted as being "one of the best known and highly esteemed
composers of the former Soviet Union," according to the program notes.
His Suite was commissioned by Michigan State University for the Verdehr
Trio. I don't know quite how to characterize the piece; it was quite
lyrical in parts, and very rhythmic.

Trio, by David Diamond (b. 1915, Rochester, New York) is a brilliant
piece, and may become part of the standard rep for clarinet, violin and
piano in the future. Diamond's music is familiar to many clarinetists.
The Trio, written in a loose 12-tone style, reminded me very much of the
chromaticism of Reger in the Quintet. The third movement, Adagio assai,
is beautiful. The final movement featured virtuoso performance on the
piano (Gary Kirkpatrick is a phenominally gifted musician), but I felt it
went on 3 or 4 minutes too long--I didn't understand what the composer
was trying to do, most likely.
The piece was completed in April 1994.

TheSweetMelancholy(lostyourdolly)SlowDrag Rag by Charles Hoag (b. 1931,
Chicago, Illinois) is cute. Lots of glissandos and plays with ragtime
motifs. It was a very effective ending piece.

The Verdehr Trio is well known to most clarinetists. They have
commissioned many new works for Clarinet, Violin and Piano, and have
performed frequently throughout the world. Else Ludewig-Verdehr performed
at the ClarinetFest in Tempe, AZ last fall. She is utterly fearless in
her approach; this is both breath-taking to witness but also somewhat
intimidating. Perhaps it is the nature of so much contemporary music that
elicits this "scorched earth/take no prisoners" approach; I have not
heard the Trio perform any of the more familiar classical repertory, so I
really can't say. The concert was stunning and a great success. I only
hope that future generations will be able to go to the Library of
Congress and listen to a recording of this performance, along with the
many other concerts in this series. If we can only have the will and
commitment not to cut yet another part of this country's artistic
heritage . . .