Sunday evening, after a not too inspiring first half, those in the audience who stuck it out were rewarded with two pieces for solo instrument and ensemble:
Ron Ford: Versus for solo violin and ensemble (2006)
Poul Ruders: Psalmodies for guitar solo and nine instruments (1989)
Versus, by Ron Ford, was a world music premiere, commissioned by the TMC with support from the Paul Jacobs foundation. The ensemble consists solely of winds with the exception of two double bases, which contrasts nicely with the violin, which has a quite melodic part. The soloist, 21-year old Russian born Yevgeny Kutik, a resident of neighboring Pittsfield where his mother Alla Zernitskaya is a music teacher, is a Fellows of this year's Tanglewood Music Center. He played the part beautifully! Googling found that he has won various prizes, and most likely has a promising career ahead. And so has the conductor Kazem Abdullah, another TMC Fellow. He is the founder and conductor of the Aspen Mozart Orchestra and the University of Cincinnati Community Orchestra, and has been assistant conductor of the Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra and the Cincinnati Contemporary Music Ensemble. In the fall he will become assistant conductor at the Los Angeles Opera. I saw him several times, and he conducted “Hin und Zurück”.
In contrast, the
soloist in Poul Ruders ' (more on him) Psalmodies was David Starobin, a renowned classical guitarist, proponent of contemporary music, and founder
of Bridge Records. Psalmodies
was written for him and premiered in 1990. Tomasz Golka, another TMC Fellow, was the conductor. The piece
consists of eleven movements, beginning and ending with the solo guitar. The other movements vary in the number
instruments playing. The interactions between the guitar and the ensemble are a
bit difficult to describe, all I can say is that it was very enjoyable. The descriprion of the numbers can be found on this CD:
Ruders: Psalmodies, together with two other works by Ruders, Vox in Rama for violin, clarinet & piano, and Nightshade, for 10 instruments.
