Network For New Music plays Michael Hersch (1st review)

According to his biography, Michael Hersch never even considered a career in music until the age of 18, when his brother played him a recording of the Beethoven Fifth Symphony, whereupon he instantly decided that he would become a composer. Now a boyish-looking 39, Hersch has evolved into a fascinating and immensely talented artist, with a remarkable clutch of prizes under his belt, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Rome Prize, the Berlin Prize, and the Charles Ives Scholarship. His music has been performed by many major American orchestras.

Another interesting measure of his success can be observed by the attention of fellow composers. At last weekend's Network for New Music concert of Hersch's new work, A Forest of Attics, I recognized nine professional composers, and I'm sure there were others I wasn't aware of. That's pretty impressive for a space— the Ethical Society— whose seating capacity is only about 180.

So what is all the fuss about A Forest of Attics? This nine-section chamber work is consistent with the few other works of Hersch that I"'ve heard: It's complex, ferocious and disturbingly dark. In this current era of art music, when ebullient tonality is all the rage, this kind of writing is extremely refreshing.

Jocular horn

Not that this music is cerebral and overly abstract. Quite the reverse; Hersch writes with an emotional honesty that leaves him naked. In this unusually scored work for seven musicians (clarinet, horn, violin, viola, cello, double bass and percussion), Hersch finds a painterly depth of texture with prismatic highlights and original timbre blending.

The use of the horn was especially effective, and was superbly played by guest artist Jamie Hersch, the composer's brother. The writing for the horn featured some of the rare jocular moments in the music, expressed in jazzy figurations— and then, just as suddenly, the horn part descended to a guttural blare, sounding like the call of the angel of death.

For the most part the music was rapidly paced and highly contrapuntal, but there were a few reposes where things slowed down— usually in rich, low tones, including a haunting passage for bass clarinet and double bass, evoking a profound melancholy that conjured Shostakovich slow movements.

The Hersch piece was commissioned by the Network For New Music as part of the group's 25th-year celebration. The theme of the concert was music inspired by words (as opposed to actual setting of words for voice). Hersch's muse was the Polish writer and illustrator Bruno Schulz, whose intensely evocative words were echoed with deep resonance in this work.

Whimsical work

Stephen Jaffe also had a commissioned piece on the program: Light Dances, inspired by the writing of Brian Peterson. As the name suggests, this is a jaunty, even whimsical work, a three-movement neo-classical chamber concerto. The percussion added a driving beat to the outer sections, and the pop veneer was enhanced by rhythmic foot shuffling and snapping fingers.

Both the Hersch and Jaffe pieces responded well to the prompt of the commissions, with language that moved in conversational patterns.

By contrast, Lines From Poetry, an earlier work by Ronald Caltabiano for solo violin, seemed more theatrical, even operatic, its title notwithstanding. It was still a good outing, almost overflowing with interesting ideas, and delivered with great color and panache by Hirono Oka, despite a bit of erratic intonation.♦


To read another review by Tom Purdom, click here.