he Canyonlands New Music Ensemble, based at the University of Utah, is a premiere performance ensemble of 20th- and 21st-century compositions. The organization, formed in 1977, has been under the direction of Morris Rosenzweig since 1988. It consists of some students, faculty and other local musicians. Performing at least once a semester, the presence of such an organization in this institution of higher learning has provided substantial and remarkable performances in this area that are unparalleled and unprecedented.

The performance Friday night was of the highest caliber in both the scope of modern works and the interpretations thereof. The program was profound, consisting of works by Lou Harrison, who passed away this year, Milton Babbitt, Pierre Boulez, György Kurtag and faculty composer Miguel Chuaqui. Every piece varied in its style as well as the performance forces employed. This variety provided an engaging atmosphere that without which the audience would have been left behind.

Flutist Carlton Vickers and percussionist Glenn Webb performed Lou Harrison’s piece First Concerto for Flute and Percussion (1939). The interplay between the lyricism of the flute and the rhythmic repetition of the percussion was an honest and accessible opening for the concert.

The difficulty of liking the music of Milton Babbitt became almost surmountable by the stellar and highly emotive performance of the said composer’s Soli e Duettini for Violin and Viola (1990). The daunting task of performing a work whose very title consists of contradiction was done handily by Lynette Thredgold with the violin and Jennie Outram with the viola. Nevertheless, a Babbitt recording does not yet demand a purchase.
To close the first half of the concert was a performance of the quintessential Sonatine for Flute and Piano (1946, rev. 1949) by Pierre Boulez. John-Paul Ownby hammered, caressed, pounded and tickled the ivories while Carlton Vickers displayed the incredible acrobatic acts of both technique and passion. Considered a benchmark in the modern flute repertoire, the ensemble’s two hours-twice-a-week-for-several months rehearsals were adequate for such display of virtuosity and emotion.

Chilean-born composer and faculty member Miguel Chuaqui presented a piece that is both timely and highly personal. En Santiago de Neuvo (2002) reflects the mixed feelings of the composer regarding the coup d’etat that toppled the socialist government of President Salvador Allende on Sept. 11, 1973. The piece takes the listener on a journey through the streets of Santiago to significant places where the great misfortunes of torture and tragedy took place. The ensemble consisted of violin, cello, clarinet, piano and a soprano vocalist. Sung in Spanish, Professor Julie Wright-Costa did an outstanding job that brought to life the pain that was suffered that day. It is a first-person dialogue that describes the blindfolded and gagged journey through the streets that led to the National Stadium where thousands were tortured. Eventually, the journey ends at a cemetery where engraved upon a wall of stone are the names of the victims. It was a display of a piece of history often unknown to those who aren’t familiar with Latin-American history. Yet knowing now brings more to light the suffering that all nations have undergone at one point or another under the auspices of terror and tyranny.

The Hungarian composer György Kurtag is relatively unknown and little is played of his music. The performance of his Stsenï iz romana, Op. 19 (Scenes from a novel) shed more light on the fact that his music isn’t played enough. Performed by soprano Rebecca Hample, violinist Joe Evans, bassist Corbin Johnston and with Igor Iamchimciuc at the cimbalom, this 15-episode piece proved to be a composition yet to be reckoned with. Although each short movement is highly individualistic, the overall feeling of unrequited love and, to put it bluntly, depression, is prevalent throughout the work, which is set to the poetry of Rimma Dalos. There was something exotic and intoxicating about the performance. It could be attributed to the use of the voice mixed with unique instrumentation, especially the cimbalom. The cimbalom is a stringed instrument played by small hammers and is oftentimes plucked. It added an element of percussion against the glissando strings and the lamenting voice. The performance was picturesque and slightly jolted by the sarcasm and cynicism of an unloved soul. “From first meeting to parting, from farewell to waiting, that’s been my lot as a woman” are the concluding words of the piece.

From the simplicity of folk to the complexity of serialism, Canyonlands provided a wealth of musical diversity as well as intrinsic unity. That unifying factor is the individualistic voice that is found so ubiquitously in the modern era of composition. An ovation goes out to the effort and success of this important performance organization and its place in the world of music performance.
christian@red-mag.com