Eighth Blackbird: Fred
CML call number: CD/CLASSICAL/Rzewski
Allan Kozinn wrote in the New York Times: "[T]he six musicians of Eighth Blackbird … have … identified the thread that runs through [Frederic] Rzewski's work: an almost organic current of narrative tension. … And theatricality is a component of all three works the band plays on 'Fred.' … The newest, 'Pocket Symphony' (2000), was written for Eighth Blackbird, and if it thrives on interplay of different kinds … it also leaves room for improvisation in the cadenzas for each player. … Two oldies catch Mr. Rzewski in his Minimalist period. The skeleton of 'Les Moutons de Panurge' (1969) is a single 65-note melody. The work borrows moves from Philip Glass, Steve Reich and John Cage. The melody is built gradually by adding notes on each repetition … but Mr. Rzewski counted on at least one musician to make a mistake … so that the unison line would move out of sync … creating a web of intricate counterpoint. In 'Coming Together ' (1971), the musical backdrop is a brisk ostinato, heard first in the piano line … But the spotlight is on the narration, drawn from a letter of Sam Melville, a prisoner at Attica who was killed in the 1971 uprising there."
Allan Kozinn wrote in the New York Times: "[T]he six musicians of Eighth Blackbird … have … identified the thread that runs through [Frederic] Rzewski's work: an almost organic current of narrative tension. … And theatricality is a component of all three works the band plays on 'Fred.' … The newest, 'Pocket Symphony' (2000), was written for Eighth Blackbird, and if it thrives on interplay of different kinds … it also leaves room for improvisation in the cadenzas for each player. … Two oldies catch Mr. Rzewski in his Minimalist period. The skeleton of 'Les Moutons de Panurge' (1969) is a single 65-note melody. The work borrows moves from Philip Glass, Steve Reich and John Cage. The melody is built gradually by adding notes on each repetition … but Mr. Rzewski counted on at least one musician to make a mistake … so that the unison line would move out of sync … creating a web of intricate counterpoint. In 'Coming Together ' (1971), the musical backdrop is a brisk ostinato, heard first in the piano line … But the spotlight is on the narration, drawn from a letter of Sam Melville, a prisoner at Attica who was killed in the 1971 uprising there."
posted by casemusic at 3:34 PM
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