University of Virginia Library

MUSIC

Speculum Musicae Intriguing, Challenging

By TERI TOWE

The Speculum Musicae, a
group of seven young New
York based musicians who
specialize in the performance
of twentieth century music
came to Charlottesville on
Tuesday and presented a
program of works by J.S. Bach,
Bartok, Kraft, and
Schoenberg. Their concert,
given under the auspices of the
Tuesday Evening Concert
Series, was intriguing, a
challenge to the listener, and,
with the exception of the
Bach, the music was well
played and interpreted.

I still can't figure out why
the Speculum Musicae included
the Bach Sonata No. 3 in G
Minor for Viola da Gamba and
Harpsichord, BWV 1029 on a
program that was otherwise
devoted entirely to twentieth
century music. Perhaps the
Sonata was included as a sop to
those in the audience who
don't care for "modern"
music, or its presence may have
been the result of a desire to
stress the relation between the
products of Bach's highly
theoretical mind and
contemporary music, most of
which is extremely complex in
nature.

In any event, the
performance of the G Minor
Sonata given by 'cellist Fred
Sherry and pianist Ursula
Oppens was the worst reading
of that work that I have ever
heard. I wish I could say
something nicer than that
since I have heard both Mr.
Sherry and Miss Oppens
before, and I was deeply
impressed by their
musicianship. They may just
have had a "bad night" on
Tuesday. Mr. Sherry's
intonation, particularly in the
outer movements, left much to
be desired. The tempo were
extremely fast, and the
interpretation lacked both
repose and breadth. Miss
Oppens had a tendency to
drown out the 'cello and her
attack was hard and "punchy"
throughout most of the work.
The Adagio, though played too
fast, had some lovely moments
in it, and Mr. Sherry displayed
some of the lovely tone one
customarily hears from him.

After the opening disaster,
the speculum Musicae's concert
took a decided turn for the
better, and the remainder of
the evening was most
rewarding.

Paul Dunkel and Richard
Fitz presented the world
premiere of Leo Kraft's Line
Drawings a five movement
work for flute and percussion.
A standard flute is used in
three of the sections and an
alto flute and piccolo in one
section each. Line Drawings is
extremely virtuosic and in
places unremittingly loud, but
the overall effect was
atmospheric and intriguing,
and I definitely would like to
hear it again. Messrs. Dunkel
and Fitz handled the technical
difficulties in the ease, and I
doubt that Mr. Kraft could
have had a more successful
premiere presentation for the
work.

Miss Oppens was joined by
violinist Eugene Drucker and
clarinetist Virgil Blackwell in
Contrast by Bela Bartok. It is
almost impossible to watch the
super recording of this work
made by the composer, Joseph
Szigeti, and Benny Goodman,
and, while the members of the
Speculum Musicae presented
an impressive reading, the
occasional mistakes, the
clarinettist's occasional tonal
difficulties, and Miss Oppens's
tendency to overpower the
violin and clarinet from time to
time prevented their
interpretation from joining
that of Bartok, Szigeti and
Goodman.

The balance between the
violin and clarinet in Contrasts
could not be faulted, and the
ensemble handled the difficult
rhythmic changes in the third
movement in a spectacular
fashion.

After intermission, the
entire Speculum Musicae,
under Mr. Fitz's direction,
performed Arnold
Schoenberg's remarkable song
cycle, Pierrot Lunaire. The
soprano, Merja Sargon, handled
the difficult, half-sung,
half-spoken vocal part
magnificently. The ensemble
gave her superb support
throughout, and Mr. Sherry,
the 'cellist, redeemed the Bach
debacle by his solo work. The
reading was cool, restrained,
and atmospheric as a whole,
making the climactic section's
even more compelling than
they usually are.

The audience's response to
the Kraft, Bartok, and
Schoenberg works was most
disconcerting. Charlottesville
and the University of Virginia
community claim to be
educated and intellectual, but
the display of bad manners
shown by members of the
audience on Tuesday evening
gave very little evidence that
the claim is valid. About half
the audience left at
intermission, which was its
prerogative since, at least,
those of us who chose to stay
were undisturbed by the noisy
departures of those who
decided midway through
Pierrot Lunaire that their
intellectual stamina was not up
to Schoenberg's demanding
score.

This town, as I've said,
claims to be an intellectual
community, but the poor
post-intermission attendance at
the Tuesday Evening Concert
Series events this year and the
shocking manners of those who
left in the middle of Pierrot