Reviewing the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Trio Mediaeval, and Mantra Percussion.
Boston Globe, November 14, 2011.
The headline is a little misleading—if I did my job, the main takeaway should be as much about how much BoaC veers from hardcore minimalism while still acknowledging it. But “Timber” really does hit the same happy place that, say, Music in Contrary Motion did when I first heard it. (And, especially in the Hub, when you see that many people walking out, a comparison to Four Organs has been duly earned.)
Hey, I’ve been really lax on linking to stuff, haven’t I?
Reviewing the Cantata Singers.
Boston Globe, November 7, 2011.
Reviewing the Discovery Ensemble.
Boston Globe, November 8, 2011.
Reviewing Mykola Suk.
Boston Globe, November 11, 2011.
Agreed with you about both works. At intermission I said that I thought Steel Hammer should have been half to two-thirds its length. Long pieces are fine but in this case the scale didn't match the material. Here I just felt like the record was skipping for no good structural reason.
Then came Timber, where ironically the material was much smaller but the large scale was perfect for it. I actually thought it could have been even longer; at the time it ended I thought we were around two-thirds of the way through it. Plus it would have been fun to see how many more people walked out.
http://lamejor-musicacristiana.blogspot.com/