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Musical smorgasbord
The Tampa Bay Composers' Forum ends its season with a mix of jazz, classical and cutting-edge sounds.
By JOHN FLEMING, Times Performing Arts Critic
© St. Petersburg Times
published June 20, 2002
It's safe to say that high on any composer's wish list is the chance to write a string quartet, in the great tradition of Beethoven, Bartok and Shostakovich, and hear it played. To that end, the Tampa Bay Composers' Forum has an annual string quartet concert, for which it has little trouble rounding up new works.
Friday's concert at the Palladium Theater, has six quartets, including his debut in the form by forum executive director David Manson. It's a three-movement work, running about nine minutes, called Forces in Motion.
"It's a tribute to Anthony Braxton," Manson says, referring to the jazz saxophonist, composer and musical theorist. "Part of what inspired me was his idea of pulse-generated music, what he calls Ghost Trance Music. What that means in terms of hearing the piece is it's very contrapuntal and very layered and rhythmically oriented."
Also on the program are quartets by forum members Lennie Naeyaert, Marshall Ocker, Joseph Ierna, Troy Lennerd and Peter Blauvelt. They'll be performed by an ensemble of Myra Lin and Kim Padgett, violins; Beth Argiro, viola; and Elle Retzer, cello.
Manson acknowledges that six new works on one program will test the musicians. "It's not easy performing contemporary music, so we're very thankful that we have good players who want to do it."
Friday's concert winds up the season for the composers' forum, whose programs include the New Directions classical series; the Festival of Living Music, a competition of new chamber music works; and the Emit series of free jazz, improvisation and cutting-edge music.
Emit is producing a compilation CD of some of its best performances, including bass player Peter Kowald, saxophonist Sam Rivers, vocalists Pamela Z and Amy Denio, and shakuhachi flute player Phil Gelb. "I think the CD will really bring some recognition to the series on a national level," says Manson, who started Emit in 1995.
There is not a great deal of audience crossover between the Emit and the classical concerts.
"Maybe 20 percent of our audience will go to both," says Manson, who thinks the terrorist attacks hurt Emit attendance. "It was really bad this past year after 9/11. People just went into some kind of protective culture where they didn't leave their homes."
Audience support for new music of any kind is always fragile. Emit drew its largest crowds during the four years it had concerts at the Salvador Dali Museum, but the museum dropped the series. This past season, forum concerts were at a variety of venues, from St. Petersburg College to the Gulf Coast Museum of Art to Budious Maximus. Manson hopes to return to the Dali for some concerts in the future, and he's optimistic about the forum's relationship with the Palladium Theater.
"Next year we're doing eight concerts at the Palladium," he says. "We're very happy that the Palladium has become a really committed co-sponsor of the composers' forum."
Manson, 46, a trombonist and member of Bogus Pomp, the Frank Zappa repertory band, and the jazz group Shim, has played in many premieres. He kept the musicians in mind when composing his string quartet.
"I've been listening and studying and talking to string players," he says. "As a performer myself, I want other performers to be able to actually realize the music and make it sound good. I've played trombone in a lot of performances of new music over the past 30 years, and the ones you enjoy are the ones where you can actually sound good on your instrument. The ones that you don't like so much are the impossible ones."
PREVIEW
The Tampa Bay Composers' Forum annual string quartet concert is at 8 p.m. Friday at the Palladium Theater in St. Petersburg. Tickets: $8 and $10. (727) 822-3590.
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