Steve’s Stuff

Whether you believe “Inland Empire” is a great film filled with mystery, or a meaningless assemblage of unsettling scenes, you can’t deny that it has a great soundtrack. Sound design has become so important to Lynch that all of his films since “Lost Highway” feature a constant extra-diegetic sound source of some sort. In “Lost Highway”, there were obvious musical selections separated by ominous rumblings and barely audible industrial sounds. Now in IE, the distinction between what is “music” in the traditional sense and what is ambient sound is almost totally blurred. Not all music has melody, and not all ambient sound is without melody - even if only in an abstract sense. While I’m disappointed that Angelo Badalamenti didn’t collaborate, Lynch seems to have taken on the task himself with great success.

In many ways, this is an interesting companion to the film. It appears that Lynch created lengthy selections, which he subsequently cut and arranged to work with the editing and flow of the film. Now, we’re able to hear them in their entirety, as Lynch originally conceived them. To me, it’s a fascinating window into his creative mind.

Beyond Lynch’s original material, there are some interesting selections ranging from Beck to Penderecki’s intense modernist works. The big disappointment for me was the curious omission of the music from the burlesque club scene. It was a great subversion of sleazy stripper jazz into something atonal, but still groovy.

Finally, many speculate that a lot of the film is explained in the lyrics of “Polish Poem”, and this is an easy way to hear it. There do seem to be some answers, but as is typical for Lynch, they’re clouded in vague, poetic language and end up raising more questions than they answer.

This is an excellent soundtrack. Even if you were not a fan of the film itself, the music stands on its own. It’s different from the popular “Lost Highway” soundtrack, but I think it’s equally good.

Triadic Memories is my absolute favorite Feldman piano work and probably ranks up there with my top five Feldman works of all time (the others include his Piano and String Quartet, Rothko Chapel, King of Denmark, and Crippled Symmetry). Solo piano works so well for Feldman’s music for a number of reasons. Works such as “Why Patterns?” can sometimes sound a bit shrill if the musicians have not made good sonic choices. Anytime you have flute and orchestra bells as two thirds of an ensemble, you’re bound to risk a lot of high-frequency irritation. By contrast, the piano has a wonderful range that is never grating on the ears. (I should point out though that I do like “Why Patterns?” when it’s performed well)

I’ll comment first on the work itself and then on the interpretation.

There are some reviewers here that claim the work is “boring”. This could be for a variety of reasons. The most obvious is that they’re inexperienced with 20th century modernist art music. But, I’ll give these listeners the benefit of the doubt and address these criticisms anyway. There is no perceptible form at work here. You can’t follow it as you would a sonata. There is either very little repetition or quite a lot - it’s difficult to say which. Sometimes I feel like I’ve heard a certain section before, but other times it feels through-composed. That is all to say, there are valid reasons for not enjoying Triadic Memories.

Additionally, as with all extended-length Feldman, if you don’t happen to enjoy the mood and texture of a particular work, you’re probably not going to like it. “For Philip Guston” does not appeal to me because I happen to not like the small idea that Feldman expands into a nearly four-hour work. On the other hand, I like the sounds of his second String Quartet, which is even longer.

Ultimately, I would suggest listening to Amazon’s 30 second previews. They give a very representative sampling of the work. It’s as simple as this: if you like the preview, you’re in for a treat because it’s more of the same for about 93 minutes. If you don’t think it sounds good, then you’re not going to like the work.

These are all subjective perspectives anyway. Personal taste aside, this is one of Feldman’s strongest works. It perfectly realizes his delicate, haunting aesthetic and induces the type of meditative listening experience that he typically requests of his listeners. Beyond that, he finds variety with simple ideas. The broken chords of Triadic Memories, if stacked vertically, would form more-or-less normal triads, but Feldman arranges them into major and minor seconds that destroy any chance of triadic consonance. It’s beautiful stuff, really.

Marilyn Nonken provides a terrific interpretation of this difficult work. After listening to it around ten times, I cannot find any faults or errors. Her tempo is slow, but not too slow. Most importantly, she maintains excellent rhythmic integrity. For those who have had the chance to examine the score, you know that Triadic Memories is rhythmically complex - deceptively so, I might add. Nonken is able to convey this accurately and avoids the pitfall of making the notes seem like a random cloud of pitches.

Overall, I can’t recommend this recording highly enough. The only question for Feldman fans is whether to buy the double CD or the DVD-Audio version.

This is a review I put together for Amazon under the nom de plume Steward Willons.

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Iannis Xenakis is one of the most original and unusual composers and theorists of the 20th century. His music has a remarkably small connection to previous music, as if it arrived from some distant galaxy. His ideas are important and influential - he made music unlike anyone else. To go one step further, I believe that his music was never more powerful than when he wrote for percussion. His works are brutal, severe, intricately conceived, and expertly notated. This collection is an awesome testament to the raw power of his percussion music.

Steven Schick is one of the preeminent interpreters of Xenakis’s music and thus it is fitting that he should produce this first collection. I can think of no one more qualified to perform these works. There ARE other excellent records of certain works (namely “Psappha” and “Rebonds”) by Sylvio Gualdo, Gert Mortensen, and others, but these artists haven’t recorded as widely as Schick. Red Fish Blue Fish, the resident percussion ensemble at the University of California, San Diego (where Schick teaches) provides interesting interpretations of the ensemble works, which I will comment on later.

The collection begins with Persephassa convincingly performed by RFBF. This is a very clean recording of an enormously difficult work. There is much attention to details and excellent sonic choices all around. The stereo mix is not the correct format to experience the work due to the placement of the six percussionists who encircle the audience, but the individual musicians are nicely panned, so the listener gets broad soundstage. Unfortunately, many of us don’t have access to a 5.1 system, so this is the next best thing. Interestingly, RFBF decided to overdub extra parts at the very end of the work. Xenakis notates clouds of note densities from each instrument class. Thus, RFBF used a take for each and then layered them, providing the first technically “accurate” realization of the score. This seems surprising, but it IS effective and I wouldn’t consider it cheating because I have seen them perform the work live without the help of overdubs to great effect.

Psappha is one of the trademark works from Schick’s repertoire (along with Bone Alphabet, Rebonds, and Toucher) - he seems to play it a lot, as well he should. It’s significant that he has never recorded Psappha until now, especially since he’s released Rebonds multiple times. His interpretation differs from the European predilection for large, low drums as his interpretation uses smaller drums and very clear, distinct sounds. After seeing Schick perform Psappha in concert numerous times, I’m a little surprised with this recording. Parts feel almost lethargic. His tempos seem to be much more conservative here, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. This is, without a doubt, the most precise realization of Psappha that I’ve ever heard. Each stroke seems to be in the exact correct place. This work presents enormous difficulty for the performer, but Schick manages to execute it with almost clinical precision. However, that is not to say that his interpretation is overly analytical - it is alive and vibrant to be sure. This is an interpretation that stands well on its own, but it will also be quite useful for performers wishing to study the work simply because of its accuracy and clarity.

Dmaathen is an intense work for percussion and oboe. Again, Schick realizes a remarkably difficult score without making it seem difficult. The performer is often required to play both vibraphone and marimba simultaneously, a largely physical challenge, but Schick breezes through these sections as if they were one instrument. I’m not quite as taken with Jacqueline Leclair’s oboe performance. I have heard more spirited performances, but considering the unusual extended techniques required, it’s still a solid performance.

Pleiades has taken some time to get used to. I still maintain the Percussions de Strasbourg recording as my reference because it is somehow a little more exciting. Also, I prefer the sound of Strasbourg’s Sixxen (an instrument Xenakis created that each ensemble must build themselves) to the RFBF set. It’s true that Xenakis didn’t want a 12-note scale and the RFBF set are definitely more microtonal than the Strasbourg set, but they sound weaker some how. The main benefit of the RFBF recording is the amazing clarity. Every part is performed with excellent precision.

Since Schick has recorded Rebonds previously, and each recording is special, but not wildly different. He turns in the typical amazing performance once again. I’m not as familiar with Okho for three djembes, but it is also a successful, exciting performance.

The remaining works are available for the first time in this collection. There may be previous recordings on vinyl or on small international labels, but as these are not widely available, this is essentially the first chance many will have to experience these works. My favorite is Komboi for harpsichord and percussion. Aiyun Huang provides a stellar interpretation. Incidentally, she is a very promising solo artist that I’m sure we will be hearing more from very soon. What’s more impressive though is the harpsichord performance. Komboi means “knots” - as Xenakis says, knots of rhythm, knots of harmonies. The harpsichord part is unbelievably complex sometimes indicated on up to 4 separate staves. The unlikely combination of harpsichord and percussion is actually extremely effective. Although it lasts a solid 20 minutes, it never gets tiresome.

Oophaa is also for percussion and harpsichord, but I didn’t find it quite as exciting as Komboi. Similarly, I didn’t enjoy Kassandra as much as the others, but they are well performed and interesting works. All the works are well recorded with an amazing dynamic range, nice spatialization, and great sonic clarity. Mode Records should be commended for backing this project.

The only negative comment concerns the packaging. The set comes in a cardboard case which holds three cardboard sleeves and a trilingual booklet. The cardboard sleeves fell apart almost immediately. They are no meant to last and that is a shame because this set will clearly be on people’s shelves for a long, long time. This is the same problem I have with Mode’s release of Feldman’s 5-disc String Quartet No. 2. Mode should invest in better packaging. They create amazing releases, so why not put them in a hard case?

Overall, this set is essential for an percussionist, any fan of 20th century music, and many others. Xenakis can be difficult to listen to, but his percussion works are arguably the best introduction to his world. You need this set. Buy without hesitation and enjoy!