“Fragments,” the multiyear project by star cellist Alisa Weilerstein, mixes the 36 movements of Bach’s solo cello suites with 27 newly commissioned works.
Much to the annoyance of my other half, I love wall text. Whenever we go to a museum, I reliably drag behind like an anchor, planted in front of every placard before granting myself permission to “really look.” It’s a bad habit I’m aware of and am working on, and it doesn’t suit the spontaneous consumption of art — nor the consumption of spontaneous art. Gimme interpretation.
“We want to create a space where you are in a state of listening, and allowing your own free associative process to occur while the music is happening,” director Elkhanah Pulitzer says inhanded just a single sheet detailing which composers we’d hear: Courtney Bryan, Gabriel Kahane, Matthias Pintscher, Missy Mazzoli and Paul Wiancko. But the sequence of the pieces and the identities of their composers were kept sealed behind the vault door of a QR code printed at the bottom.
Each of the contemporary pieces, anonymously strung like shaky rope bridges between the comparative terra firma of the Bach movements, struggled to cloak the rocky, inhospitable terroir of their respective origins. The peak of the coronavirus crisis yielded an overload of similarly well-intentioned miniatures concerning themes such as “connection” and “isolation”: hours worth of one-minute violin solos, 10-minute operas, musical “fragments” of every imaginable, commissionable form.
This meant that composers whose works I tend to enjoy — Wiancko, Mazzoli and Bryan, especially — were lost in the mix, possibly responding to Bach , possibly not. Several of the “fragments” relied more heavily on silence than sound, Weilerstein often whittling the music down to harmonic cries for help andIt’s worth mentioning that the theatrical element of “Fragments” was a largely successful reimagining of typical recital dynamics.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
There's an Embarrassing Explanation for Those 'Alien Fragments,' Researchers ClaimScience and Technology News and Videos
Read more »
Protein fragments ID two new 'extremophile' microbes—and may help find alien lifePerfectly adapted microorganisms live in extreme environments, from deep-sea trenches to mountaintops. Learning more about how these extremophiles survive in hostile conditions could inform scientists about life on Earth and potential life on other planets.
Read more »
Protein fragments ID two new 'extremophile' microbes--and may help find alien lifePerfectly adapted microorganisms live in extreme environments from deep-sea trenches to mountaintops. Learning more about how these extremophiles survive in hostile conditions could inform scientists about life on Earth and potential life on other planets.
Read more »
Titan Covered With Fragments of Obliterated Moons, Scientists SayScience and Technology News and Videos
Read more »
Mysterious Fragments of Glass in Australian Outback Have Cosmic OriginsThe Best in Science News and Amazing Breakthroughs
Read more »
Stellantis recalls nearly 285,000 Dodge, Chrysler cars over potentially deadly airbag defectSide airbags may rupture unexpectedly, potentially resulting in sharp metal fragments killing vehicle occupants.
Read more »