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News Article
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21st century chamber music, plus jazz
By Betty Ligon
If the first musical event in the El Paso Chamber Music Festival – Bach’s Lunch at the El Paso Museum of Art – was any indication of how local aficionados were salivating for Pro-Musica’s twentieth annual festival, it’s obvious we need to hustle our bustles for succeeding concerts if we want a good seat.
This year, it’s not your grandmother’s pinky-lifting tea party chamber music soiree of seasons past. After a thorough immersion in the festival’s opening night concert at the University of Texas at El Paso’s Recital Hall last week, I felt like the famous saying “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore!”
No, we’re in the 21st century and Pro-Musica’s creative honchos are hot to trot out the kind of music this and coming generations like to hear – without dumping beloved composers like Brahms, Beethoven, Mozart and Mendelssohn.
Not every piece of new music will delight our aural senses. I’m willing to give a piece another go and sometimes I find it’s not all that unlistenable.
The Thursday freebies, cleverly called Bach’s Lunch at the art museum, have become so popular the lobby was jammed with 250 folding chairs on the first day. I barely found a seat.
New chamber music festival musicians introduced themselves to the audience through Bach’s “Lute Suite” with guitarist David Leisner, and “Viola da Gamba Sonata No. 3” with well-known cellist Nathaniel Rosen and a dynamo pianist, Matt Herkowitz (b.1968).
Zuill Bailey, Pro-Musica’s artistic director, himself a recognized concert cellist, was part of Friday’s opening night world premiere. Commission of “Suite de Canciones y Danzas,” by composer Robert Sierra for cello and piano, was skillfully played by Zuill and Dena Kay Jones. She’s on the music faculty at UTEP, as is Zuill when he’s in town.
Sierra was in the audience, along with Stuart and Linda Nelson, philanthropists from New York City whose generosity provided for the commission. I sat across the aisle from them and they were obviously delighted with the five-movement composition, as were the rest of us in the audience.
I can’t recall attending a festival program where I hadn’t heard a single one of the pieces played before. I was right on the same page as the audience. The first two works were in standard classical mold. “Sonate No. 3” by Jean Marie Leclair was an 18th century romp and stomp, a little too shrill.
“Hungarian Peasant Songs and Dances” by 20th century composer Miklos Rozsa was sensuous and dramatic. Both were played by charismatic violinist Philippe Quint and hell-bent for leather pianist Matt Herskowitz. The instruments shared equal space with melodious twittering, finger picking, bow shuddering and florid rip-snorting passion.
Sierra wasn’t the only surprise. After intermission, the up and coming jazz/classical genius, Herskowitz fronted his “Jerusalem Trilogy” as a frenzied pianist with Elena Urioste, violin; Rosen, cello; Mat Fieldes, bass and David Rozenblatt, percussion.
Herskowitz bounced up and down on the piano bench, sometimes standing up, sending glissandos and runs racing across the keys.
Fieldes crouched over his big bass like he was trying to squeeze the life out of it. Violinist Urioste had no need to go to a gym to work out after her gyrations!
Rosen confessed he had never played in a quintet like this one, but said he was excited and invigorated. Drummer Rozenblatt never missed a beat! The whole work set my blood on fire. Herskowitz encored with a short teaser indicating the kind of jazz they would do at 2900 Cafe after this concert.
Saturday’s concert let us settle down to listen to David Leisner, the fine classical guitarist we heard at Bach’s Lunch. This time he showed off his incredible command of his instrument with seven sublime works by Heitor Villa-Lobos, as well as Bach’s “Chaconne” and “Sonata in B minor” by Wenzeslaus Matiegka (there’s a mouthful) plus the unique “Labyrinths” he wrote himself.
Sunday we were back in familiar First Baptist Church for a gleaming program – Mauro Giuliani’s “Serenade for violin, cello and guitar” with Quint, Rosen and Leisner, and Schubert’s “Trout Quintet” with Quint, Rosen, Fieldes, Jones and UTEP music professor violist Stephanie Meyers. Plus a high-octane collection of Gershwin songs you wouldn’t believe!
The incredible Herskowitz and his Mad Fusion wildcats, made up of piano man composer/arranger Matt, the bass player Mat and drummer David took five of Gershwin’s best known tunes, from “Someone to watch over me” to “I got rhythm” and turned them every which way but out!
If Matt was running the melodies it was hard to recognize them, but he kept the piano hammering away even when he reached inside and tickled the piano strings. The music crashed all over the sedate Baptist sanctuary without losing a note. Matt’s hands swept over the keys with runs and chords faster than lightning and left the astounded audience breathless before letting go to a pounding and stomping ovation.
We won’t forget that concert!
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