Spring Break
Studies become serenades
by Wei Huan Chen
Staff Writer
Arts | 4/21/09
Posted online at 12:04 AM EST on 4/21/09
Brandeis graduate students performed last Saturday, conveying the subject of their studies to Slosberg Recital Hall. The concert consisted of eight musicology grad students bringing music from classical and contemporary composers to life. The performers, who study the nature, structure, and historical development of music, range from Masters students to Ph.D. candidates in musicology.
The event was marked by its older listeners, whose quiet chatter died down as they were thanked for coming to the recital. When the first performer, Alexander Lane, entered the stage and took his seat at the notable Recital Hall organ, the audience greeted him with formal yet delighted applause.
Lane's piece, Chorale Prelude: Drop, Drop Slow Tears by Vincent Persichetti, began with him pressing the pedals of the organ with his feet and producing low, majestic tones that resonated throughout the Hall. Once Lane started using his fingers, the organ bellowed out an array of dissonant chords and leaps until a consonant, major chord would slip in, if only for a second. The composition of the piece was riveting, yet the most impressive part of Lane's performance was probably seeing his hands move swiftly between keys and knobs while the organ breathed out strange combinations of notes.
Another piece of note was Trio for flute, cello, and piano, H. 300 by Bohuslav Martinu with Sarah Caissie on flute, Laura Schechter on cello and Erin Jerome on piano. The blend of the three distinct voices in the piece's three movements was cohesive if not, similar to most of the selections in the concert, dissonant. As the first movement, Poco allegretto, entered a fiery staccato section, all three musicians played unison runs involving augmented leaps and chromatic steps. The piece ended with a long, but rewarding Andante movement that exchanged the melody quickly among the three musicians.
Vocal-piano duets were also highlighted, beginning with Gil Harel, tenor, and Alexander Lane on piano performing Ruckert Lieder by Gustav Nahler, a German lied with a somber melody. Amanda Gadrow, mezzo-soprano, and pianist Erin Jerome followed with Cabaret Songs by William Bolcom. As Gadrow leaned back on the piano and smiled while she sang, it was apparent that the piece was meant to be fun and lighthearted.
The final showcase by the musicology graduate students was Brahms' Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 40, featuring Georgia Luikens on violin, Alicia Kaszeta on French horn and Erin Jerome on piano. Although the piece was a worthy finale to the concert, it was apparent that the performers were first and foremost scholars of music and only play instruments as a way to enhance their studies in musicology. Kaszeta, for example, had only recently begun playing the horn after a 10 year hiatus. Regardless, all three performers demonstrated superior skill as they played complicated, range-stretching runs with relative ease.
The concert, aptly named "Musicologists Making Music," was produced with the help of the Brandeis Music Department and the coordination of Shawna Kelley and Sarah Mead.
The event was marked by its older listeners, whose quiet chatter died down as they were thanked for coming to the recital. When the first performer, Alexander Lane, entered the stage and took his seat at the notable Recital Hall organ, the audience greeted him with formal yet delighted applause.
Lane's piece, Chorale Prelude: Drop, Drop Slow Tears by Vincent Persichetti, began with him pressing the pedals of the organ with his feet and producing low, majestic tones that resonated throughout the Hall. Once Lane started using his fingers, the organ bellowed out an array of dissonant chords and leaps until a consonant, major chord would slip in, if only for a second. The composition of the piece was riveting, yet the most impressive part of Lane's performance was probably seeing his hands move swiftly between keys and knobs while the organ breathed out strange combinations of notes.
Another piece of note was Trio for flute, cello, and piano, H. 300 by Bohuslav Martinu with Sarah Caissie on flute, Laura Schechter on cello and Erin Jerome on piano. The blend of the three distinct voices in the piece's three movements was cohesive if not, similar to most of the selections in the concert, dissonant. As the first movement, Poco allegretto, entered a fiery staccato section, all three musicians played unison runs involving augmented leaps and chromatic steps. The piece ended with a long, but rewarding Andante movement that exchanged the melody quickly among the three musicians.
Vocal-piano duets were also highlighted, beginning with Gil Harel, tenor, and Alexander Lane on piano performing Ruckert Lieder by Gustav Nahler, a German lied with a somber melody. Amanda Gadrow, mezzo-soprano, and pianist Erin Jerome followed with Cabaret Songs by William Bolcom. As Gadrow leaned back on the piano and smiled while she sang, it was apparent that the piece was meant to be fun and lighthearted.
The final showcase by the musicology graduate students was Brahms' Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 40, featuring Georgia Luikens on violin, Alicia Kaszeta on French horn and Erin Jerome on piano. Although the piece was a worthy finale to the concert, it was apparent that the performers were first and foremost scholars of music and only play instruments as a way to enhance their studies in musicology. Kaszeta, for example, had only recently begun playing the horn after a 10 year hiatus. Regardless, all three performers demonstrated superior skill as they played complicated, range-stretching runs with relative ease.
The concert, aptly named "Musicologists Making Music," was produced with the help of the Brandeis Music Department and the coordination of Shawna Kelley and Sarah Mead.
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