Behind the Score, cont. from p. 17 Josefowicz and Pintscher, cont.
Koh and Mazzoli, cont.
So how did a solo piece evolve into a work for full orchestra? “Basically by building a resonance chamber around the soloist,” the composer explains. “The orchestra doesn’t ‘accompany’ her; it forms an acoustical space that she walks through, sending out signals, colors, timbres, gestures. And the space, as a flexible wall of sound, may accept or reject them. After working with her over the past 10 years, seeing her respond to the moment, I’ve drawn up materials and textures that allow her to be spontaneous, almost like an opera singer moving freely onstage. I lay out the path, but she is free within certain parameters to make detours and step outside.” The piece, Pintscher says, is filled with a “a new concept of virtuosity” summarized in a single episode: “In one section, the strings of the orchestra calm down and try to completely simulate Leila’s playing, aiming for complete unison, shaping the line like a plainchant for orchestra.” It was a moment clearly borne from pandemic lockdown. “You finally have a chance to think about what you do as an artist,” he says. “And I think I found a new simplicity, the ability to leave stuff out, all the details and ornaments that you know you don’t really need but never had the courage to abandon. We all know intellectually that less is more, but to apply it in art and life is a completely different story.”
soloist as a leader of rituals. Opening with a spiraling processional, the soloist guides the orchestra through an expression of dance mania (the soloist being something of a Pied Piper figure), then a comforting hymn, then a medieval spell intended to cure broken bones. Mazzoli’s major concern, she says, is Koh’s technical prowess. “Jenny can play pretty much anything, which is a dangerous situation for a composer,” she explains. “I mean, I want my works to be done again and again, by different soloists all over the world. So even if Jenny says a certain passage is fine, I have to ask, ‘Yes, but is it possible for normal humans?’” A chief concern for both composer and soloist is changing the very definition of virtuosity. “Jenny’s not looking for the flashy cadenza,” Mazzoli says. “Nor am I looking for ‘faster-higherlouder.’ I love taking certain things from our rich musical tradition, maybe even in a nostalgic way, and then turning them on their head.” One section of Mazzoli’s concerto employs natural harmonics in an arpeggiated pattern that accelerates to the brink of playability. Another section is a study in stillness, with prolonged double stops on the violin. “Both of us are working purely in the service of the music,” Mazzoli says. “It’s not about making us look good at any given time. The music itself makes the rules.”
CSO In Your Neighborhood
House, LaSoupe, the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, Paddlefest, Crown Jewels of Jazz, Black Family Reunion, the City of Forest Park, Civic Garden Center, Cincinnati Metropolitan Sewer District, West End Community Garden, West End Brach Library, ARCO/ Price Hill Will, and Seven Hills Neighborhood Houses for their dedication and support.
CSO In Your Neighborhood partners with local artists, residents, and community organizations to bring live music to Cincinnati neighborhoods in public parks and community spaces across the region. This past summer, CSO In Your Neighborhood ensembles performed at various locations, including the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Findlay Playground, Serpentine Wall, Cincinnati Women’s Club, Lick Run Greenway, and more. A host of partners makes all of this possible, and we thank the Harriet Beecher Stowe
Look out for upcoming CSO In Your Neighborhood events to be announced soon! CSO In Your Neighborhood is generously supported by Kroger and the George and Margaret McLane Foundation. At left: Members of the CSO Brass Section at the Civic Garden Center in September 2021. Above: Diversity Fellow Amy Nickler and trumpet player Ricardo Chinchilla perform at the 60th Anniversary celebration of the West End Branch Library in October 2021. Credit: Tiffany Cooper
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