Thin Ice "The new music group Sequitur has released a CD of Concertos that offer reassurance, if not absolute proof, that the modern Concerto (as an art-form) is alive and well [Albany Records (2010) TROY 1181].
The CD includes fine works by Ross Bauer, Steven Burke, and Martin Matalon. All three are composers of exceptional talent and formidable skill, but the piece that stands out in my mind is Thin Ice by Ross Bauer.
Bauer's piece is a Concerto for cello and chamber orchestra. The work is elegant, precise, and razor-sharp in its execution of logical and dramatic form. Thin Ice draws me in, seducing me to listen to what the soloist and orchestra have to say. It's not a "one idea" work, but rather an extended multi-leveled narrative with an internal dialogue that promotes thought, excitement, and repeated visits to the CD player.
This Concerto, and the language Bauer has carefully honed over the course of decades of professional practice, resonate with me in ways that I can't fully explain. It's as if his music speaks for me, on my behalf, with a clarity and sentiment that I can fully relate to. It's so convincing that I'm solidly on board for the voyage, wherever it may lead.
Bauer's music is all about content; not novel gimmicks, sensational effects, or unusual devices. From the outset, Thin Ice presents a consistent and unified harmonic language that lays a groundwork for the progress that both folds and unfolds - not unlike the age-old practice of Japanese Origami in the hands of a master.
Lasting nearly 24 minutes and organized into four contrasting movements, Thin Ice enlists the extraordinary abilities and talents of the Violoncello soloist (Greg Hesselink). From a performance perspective, Hesselink performs acrobatics that truly push the envelope of what's possible on his instrument to the edge. At times, especially when he plays high in the stratosphere, we really do feel as if he is an Olympic skater performing feats of dazzling acrobatic wonder on ice. Working collaboratively, Bauer's writing and Hesselink's performance maintain our long-term interest and undivided attention. Although this is a sizable work, time passes quickly.
The sound of the chamber orchestra is not shabby either, and the members of Sequitur under the direction of conductor Paul Hostetter sound agile and confident in this recording. Sequitur, from their home-base in NYC, is led by co-Artistic Directors Harold Meltzer and Sara Laimon."
California-based composer, Ross Bauer"Thin Ice (2006), by Ross Bauer (b 1951), best fits our notion that a concerto is a multi-movement work for soloist with orchestra. This four movement, 23-minute piece is scored for solo cello with an orchestra of 14: woodwind quartet, brass trio, string quintet, harp, and percussion. I like Bauer’s brand of modernism; in a previous review, I said it is fascinating and superbly crafted with parts that place serious demands on the performers (Nov/Dec 2007). Ditto here, and these players are so good that you want to listen to them. Much of the piece has cellist Greg Hesselink playing long, impassioned lines and heading off in directions unknown. His lines are taken up and transformed by the ensemble.
The sound is abstract, but there is such beauty in the ensemble parts that I find myself listening as much to it as to the soloist. It’s a little like a relay race where someone takes hold of a phrase someone else started, runs with it for a moment, and then passes it to the next person. It all happens so quickly and skillfully that we have to concentrate to notice it. In the livelier passages, these players make difficult lines sound easy. In the slow ones (especially the very slow III), their tone qualities make very dissonant sonorities sound beautiful. The orchestra in
Thin Ice is the same as for Moving Landscape plus violinist Miranda Cuckson, oboist Leclair, and trombonist Ben Herrington."Ross Bauer’s Thin Ice for cello and chamber orchestra was composed as a collaborative effort with cellist Greg Hesselink. It’s a work where the cello leads but is primus inter pares with the other instruments. It’s distinctive because of Bauer’s creative orchestration – especially the percussion – and the integration of jazz elements into the four movement structure. The 23 minute work expresses moods – ‘Shadowy’ mimics the title by using percussive sounds. The 'Adagio' meanders searching for answers that the ‘Animato’ collaboratively resolves in a quiet ending.
The soloists on this disc play superbly and their colleagues in Sequitur accompany with panache and passion. This is a disc that is inviting, jazzy, creative, and lots of fun."
-- Robert Moon, Audiophile Audition
