He also told us that a friend told him a joke about an
elephant, and that led to the composition of the piece that opened the concert,
The Elephant and the Clown. This orchestral work lasts about eight minutes and
features an array of percussion and lines that might be described as jazz riffs
played by different sections of the orchestra, especially the strings. This is
upbeat, optimistic music, which presents a sophisticated, improvised style to
larger forces.
“The Journey”, Rice and Beans Concerto followed. This
was utterly original in that it featured a quintet of soloists, playing
percussion, piano, cello, harmonica and clarinet, the latter played by the
composer himself. This combo of soloists played in concerto fashion alongside
the orchestra in the piece that mixed Cuban rhythms with jazz, with classical
forms, with African influences, and even the sounds of Chinese music, since one
of the piece’s movements was inspired by a visit to a Chinese barrio in Havana.
Antonio Serrano played harmonica and Pepe Rivero piano. Yuvisney Aguilar
clearly had wonderful time on percussion, while Guillame Latil made light of an
incredibly demanding and significant cello part, originally played in the work’s
premiere by Yo-Yo Ma.
Overall, the three sections Beans, Rice, and The Journey
made a spectacular impression on the audience, with again apparent jazz riffs
regularly racing through the scoring. But this was not “light” music. There are
really challenging sounds in this score, and many quotational references, both thematically
and texturally to the concert hall repertoire of the twentieth century.
An encore was inevitable. Another short orchestral
piece by Paquito D’Rivera filled the bill perfectly. Personally, I have never
heard his music before this concert and this experience will surely have me thoroughly
explore his works.
The other half of the contrast, in theory, came in the
shape of the Symphony No. 3 of Aaron Copland. Could this be further from the
riffs and improvisatory style of the first half? Surely this is one of the twentieth
century’s major works…
And it was here that the stroke of Josep Vicent’s
artistic direction emerged, because repeatedly in this score Aaron Copeland
uses jazz like patterns in the strings. They are not as fast, not as
advertently virtuosic as those that Paquito D’Rivera had written, but they were
there. And, well, Paquito D’Rivera might be a Cuban, but he has spent much of
his artistic life in the USA, effectively importing an émigré style and
presenting it to an American audience. But we must remind ourselves that Aaron Copland’s family were themselves emigres from Russia. So this quintessentially
American music might just have its roots elsewhere!
Copland’s Third Symphony is itself an optimistic
affirmation of individuality. Just like jazz. And by the time the theme of The Fanfare
for the Common Man appeared in the last movement, having been regularly
suggested throughout the previous three, the effect is totally symphonic. The
music seems to grow, with an idea that is bigger than its own sound.
But it is never secure in its affirmation. Modal
harmonies see to that, always suggesting a major key, but always refusing to
forget the possibility of the minor. There is always somewhere else in mind.
Both Aaron Copland and Paquito D’Rivera remind us that we are all in the mix
together, influenced by many cultures and sharing the same world.
Shostakovich’s Waltz from the Jazz Suites came as an
encore. Its surreal use of a minor key for the dance’s main theme always
surprises. Paquito D’Rivera also felt a certain surprise when the second encore
offered Happy Birthday to him to celebrate his seventy years on stage.
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