Present Music Ends the Season with ‘Honest Music’

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Photo by Samer Ghani via Present Music - Facebook

Present Music's ‘Honest Music’

Present Music's ‘Honest Music’

“Honest Music,” the finale of Present Music’s 2023-24 season, gave violist/conductor/presenter Nadia Sirota free rein to curate a program to play and conduct. I would be interested to hear more concerts done in this style; as she pointed out in her introduction, in contrast to the assumed value and genius of most standard classical repertoire, evaluation of contemporary music is a matter of personal taste. Thus, why not let veteran players and composers of new music take a stab at their dream playlist?

The experiment worked out quite well, with Sirota offering a program of appealing music with an emphasis on rhythmic drive and contemporary approaches to counterpoint. She made an excellent host for the night, with fun anecdotes especially regarding the music of Nico Muhly, her former classmate at Juilliard.

The opening piece, Duet by Steve Reich, filled the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Windhover Hall with lovely string patterns from a violin duo (Ilana Setapen and John Bian) against a small ensemble. The music had all the hallmarks of Reich’s style, both grooving and meditative. 

Frequent Present Music collaborator John Orfe got his moment in the spotlight with the piano piece Imaginary Pancake by Gabriella Smith. As the program note relayed, this was inspired by a hazy memory from summer music camp where a pianist played something with both hands at the extremities of the piano, folding over “flat like a pancake.” Smith’s work was a perpetual motion gauntlet for the pianist, with extensive use of the highest and lowest registers. After a while the tinkling high notes started to sound like a different instrument next to midrange chords. The composer sculpted the material from raw, primitive gestures into something noble. A later section of stopped piano strings came through clearly with the benefit of amplification. Through all of this, John Orfe brought a fearless, sparkling interpretation to the music.

Sensitive and Incisive

Nadia Sirota joined Orfe for Nico Muhly’s Drones and Viola. This music occupied a unique psychological space, moving from a restrained and autumnal opening to successive movements of increasing worry and uncertainty over hypnotic drones, alternating between viola and piano. Sirota had a rich tone in the brief moments of full lyricism. Elsewhere she was a sensitive and incisive collaborator. Orfe was also great, authoritative when leading and still bringing out details when in the background.

The sextet Ligare by Marcos Balter was a study in timbre. I liked hearing microtones in the ensemble; alternate tunings present so much potential that composers are continuing to exploit. Stylistically, the dissonance and abstraction made it a bit of a dark horse on the program, but the droning sounds fit in. The final build crackled with tension. I could almost imagine Sirota in rehearsal saying “No …even bigger!”

Sirota made a continued case for Gabriella Smith with Tessellations. This served as a fun palate cleanser after Ligare. Hand slaps on instruments, rhythmic breathing, and high-energy grooves abounded. The music turned quasi-Baroque at times, living up to the “Vivaldian shimmer” mentioned in the program note. The ensemble gave a tight, committed performance.

Nico Muhly’s Honest Music, the namesake of the program, again featured the violin duo of Ilana Setapen and John Bian with an ensemble. They really dug into the music, with Setapen particularly affecting in her big romantic solos. This music gave way to moments of deep emotion and power. Sirota’s conducting helped to elicit the maximum vigor from Muhly’s work.

Winning Results

As a closer, Sirota presented a piece I thought I would never get to hear live: Andrew Norman’s Gran Turismo for eight violins. Inspired by both Italian futurism and the titular racing video game, this is dizzyingly virtuosic music. But the group rose to the challenge and delivered a thrilling rendition. I noticed a new detail in this performance, when a quieter moment of cluster chords humorously evoked a sour Italian accordion. While the amplification throughout the concert was the best choice to keep a uniformity of volume, here I wish I could have heard the piece acoustically. The mics gave it some extra hard edges.

Another note about sound: Windhover Hall is a very live space, and stray sounds pop more than usual. Specifically on the right side of the aisle, at times the audience could clearly hear the livestream producer whispering directions to cameramen. For future concerts at the Art Museum, perhaps they can work on a better setup that doesn’t distract from the music.

Nadia Sirota’s residence at Present Music brought winning results. She was a great communicator and showed excellent musicianship, and she made a wise decision to omit an intermission and keep the program moving. The music was all so compelling that I didn’t want to take a break.