Jacob Hammonds

Contemporary Music
Broberg

Nova Concert, Nov. 17 2014

I have seen Resonant Strands performed before and I enjoy this work greatly. I thought this
performance was more together than the last one, and the performers seemed to be communicating
better. It is always a treat to see some of my fellow classmates perform as well. I wont speak much
about the composition because I'm positive the reader is familiar with the work, but the piece it's self is
very engaging and visceral and I enjoy the sound world the composer creates as well as the means used
to create it. There is always a thin line regarding extended techniques. Extended techniques can be very
effective if used with taste and the composer uses the piano with extreme taste. I enjoyed the
performance of this piece greatly.

I've never heard 'Windswept Peaks by Chou Wen-Chung before this concert and I aways enjoy
hearing new music live. I feel like it makes a stronger impression when I can see physically what goes
into the performance of a particular piece of music. It takes bravery to use space in the way the first
two pieces do. I feel as if Chou Wen-Chung's piece used space less effectively than Broberg's. I felt as
if the content of the musical blocks, often didn't have enough momentum to carry my ear through the
silence. The parts of the work that were more sonically full seemed somewhat messy to me. It seemed
as if the work had coherence with repeated gestures, but personally I prefer more obvious architecture
to music. I felt myself struggling to stay engaged in this work.

Terzainum by Ursula Mamlock features flute and violin. I don't normally enjoy duo's very

much. I feel like its an incredibly risky move of the composers part to write a work for only two
instruments, especially ones whose ranges lack bass frequencies. When the composer only has a limited
sonic area in which to write it limits the overall sonic shaping he/she can do. The musical content of the
piece was beautiful. I enjoyed the pieces use of counterpoint to create interesting dyadic relationships.
It seemed like the composer was using early counterpoint devices such as tiny cannons. I didn't hear
much separation between the movements, and the piece seemed to meander on without really changing
much.

I was excited to hear fromQuartet by Stevan Wolpe after the three previous pieces. The first
three songs in the concert I would classify as soundscapes or sound-worlds, and my american
programming left me wanting some good old fashioned rhythm. I found the instrumentation interesting,
and because I am more comfortable with the jazz idiom, I felt it was easier to look past the timbres and
listen more for content. I liked the abstract jazz quotes and the way the piano and percussionist
interacted. I felt as though this song like the previous two lacked a sense of overall clarity and narritive.

Friction by Panaylotis Kokoras caught my attention with the first note it was also funny to see
David and Cassie performing together. This piece was more visceral and seemed to move more
naturally. I like music that uses textures and this piece seems to be a string of evolving textural
elements. The bass clarinet's warbling gestures reminded me a bit of Mahler. This work seemed to
borrow and repurpose many textures and elements from romantic to minimal music in an abstract way.
It seems a if the composer was looking to transcend idiomatic textures and twist them into new shapes.
I found this interesting and feel like the composer exhibited much control while writing this work.

The program it's self was effective. I liked how thw first and last pieces seemed to fit together
making the concert seem more cyclical. This concert was a little quieter than I prefer, but for what it

was I though it was successful. I liked hearing Resonant Strands' performed again, I feel as if my ear
had more to grab onto this listen. I was impressed, as always by the skill of the musicians in the
performance, and I enjoyed the concert overall.