29 minute read
Lucinda Childs
from The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center Spring 2011 Press Book: Select Previews and Reviews
by umd_arhu
LUCINDA CHILDS: DANCE
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Maryland Community News Online
Thursday, April 21, 2011
A second chance to 'Dance'
Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center doing choreography with Lucinda Childs
by Topher Forhecz | Staff Writer
The only thing minimal about the resurgence of Lucinda Childs' performance piece "Dance" is its style.
Between praise from publications like The New York Times and a steady touring schedule since its New York revival two years ago at Bard College's SummerScape art festival, the three-act piece is receiving as much attention as it did when it debuted in 1979.
Premiering tonight at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, "Dance" combines Childs' choreography with the sounds of composer Philip Glass and the visuals of artist Sol LeWitt.
The foundation for "Dance" was laid in the wake of Glass' "Einstein on the Beach," a 1976 opera Childs helped choreograph and performed in. That show marked the first time she had worked with a composer and the success of the show inspired the two to continue collaborating.
"Dance" would provide another first, as Childs had never worked with a conceptual artist like LeWitt, best known for creating unique structures and geometric patterns.
"Philip knew him and I knew of him," Childs recalls. "He's a visual artist who took a lot of interest in what was going on around him."
Photo by Sally Cohn Revived in 2009, "Dance" is the product of a collaboration between composer Philip Glass, visual artist Sol LeWitt and choreographer Lucinda Childs. The piece debuted in 1979.
recordings were projected onto a large screen behind the dancers on stage. The final effect featured LeWitt's larger-than-life dancers moving along with the live entertainers.
With the choreography, Childs hoped to break the era's trend toward narrative dance pieces and get rid of any sense of story. Most choreographers at the time liked to show off their vocabulary and knowledge of dance technique, she says. In contrast, "Dance" showcased how challenging the simplest movements can be.
"It's like little ballet steps ... but they're reduced way down. However, how those dancers are having to execute the steps is very difficult because their relationship to each other and their relationship to the music and everything is very precise," Childs says.
Paul Brohan, director of artistic initiatives at the Clarice Smith Center, says Glass' composition matches the stripped-down tone of the piece.
"It's repetitive, it's mesmerizing and it's informative," he says. "It's amazing to me how ... the choreographic work that Lucinda has done and the creative musical composition that Philip has done [meld] so perfectly together and reflect and complement each other so strongly."
Upon its release, "Dance" received mixed reviews from critics. The show's recent success has surprised Childs.
"Some people sort of dismissed it 30 years ago as being strange, as something that was not really involving much skill ... At Bard, they certainly wanted to see it again. I didn't realize from that revival almost two years ago that there would be so much interest. We're still continuing to tour with that same revival from two years ago," Childs says.
Brohan had heard of Childs and "Dance" at the time of its debut, but did not see it. He hoped to bring the show to the center not only because of Childs' status in the dance community, but also because of buzz the resurgence had stirred up.
"To bring a piece back that was from an entirely different nexus of their creative career or their creative focus and bring it back at this point and time, and still have it be of incredible relevance, is really quite a strong statement about what they have been able to create and the contribution they have made to American culture and American art," Brohan says.
The only difference between today's "Dance" and the original production is a re-mastering of images captured on LeWitt's 35 millimeter camera and of Glass' soundtrack to a digital format. The choreography and score remain the same, but Brohan notes that it's interesting to compare the subtle differences between the techniques of dancers past and present.
"I'm absolutely fascinated in seeing contemporary dancers and the evolution that has occurred in dance technique and in dancers' bodies," he says.
Currently, Childs is working on both new and revived productions, including another staging of "Dance" in France. For her, "Dance" is one show in a long career that gets a second act.
tforhecz@gazette.net
The Diamondback > Diversions
Dancing with themselves
By Andrew Freedman Tuesday, April 19, 2011
It seems that some artists run in vicious cycles. They use their material, run out of ideas and then do it all over again. Even then, that's only when it's a safe bet.
But the Lucinda Childs Dance Company, who will be performing at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center tomorrow and Friday, aren't working with a remake. Their performance of choreographer Lucinda Childs' 1979 work, Dance, is a revival.
That doesn't mean there isn't any creative risk involved.
"I think when we originally performed it [in 1979], it was controversial. There were people who felt that it was not a good work. It was criticized," Childs said. "We, of course, didn't feel that way."
Dance mixes three mediums: the choreography of Childs, the music of composer Philip Glass and a film by artist Sol LeWitt. The live dancers on stage are accompanied by video footage of dancers performing the choreography.
"I was very pleased that there was interest in reviving it because it was very exciting for me to be able to work with Philip Glass and Sol LeWitt," Childs said. "For me, that's the best possible combination of artists for a project like this."
CSPAC Executive Director Susie Farr believes the relationships between the different art forms are extremely effective.
"The most powerful part is the relationship between the live dancers and the physical bodies and the film dancers who, in some sense, are reminders of the past and a little ghost-like," she said.
Despite being a revival, the new tour of Dance has a few tweaks compared to the show almost three decades ago.
"Originally Sol LeWitt decided to work in film with black and white 35 mm," Childs said. That was for the image to be balanced against natural dancing of the dancers on stage. Because of the lighting and whatnot he wanted both aspects of the production to be well balanced. So now, with this revival, we've transferred over to digital format, hi-definition. That means that the … quality … [is] at the best possible level. That's been exciting, and it's been exciting for me to train a new group to do the work."
The soul of the performance, however, is still in place as Childs works with experimental choreography.
Photo courtesy of Sally Cohn/Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
This focus on the artistry is one reason that Farr thinks students will enjoy the performance.
"One thing I hope students will understand and embrace when they come to it is that there is no particular story here," she said. "There is nothing they have to get. They can just come and enjoy pure movement and music."
Having worked for years in alternative spaces, such as churches, gymnasiums and rooftops, Childs is very happy with how the collaboration of artists in a theatre has worked out.
"Ultimately what we decided is that the décor should be the dancers," Childs said. "So I felt very happy with the result, not just the idea but the actual execution of the idea with using film and using the décor with the idea that the décor is the dancers and the dancers on film are synchronized with the dancers on stage."
Also unchanged is the actual choreography, though the dancers — many of whom weren't even born when the original work debuted — bring new skills to the performance.
"I think that the dancers of today are more versatile," Childs said. "Many of them have come from very different backgrounds while in the '70s we all had our own group working in our own way."
While CSPAC is only one of many stops on the tour, Childs finds it particularly important that students experience Dance, as well as other performances.
"I find, particularly in the dance world, that it's important for the students to be exposed to professional situations as much as possible," Childs said. "Some of my dancers now have just graduated from NYU, and I'm very pleased to have very young dancers because we're not in such easy times for the performing arts. I feel students need to be encouraged and be given challenges to prepare them for the outside world."
Besides the study of dance, Childs believes her collaborators' work are powerful experiences that may pique the curiosity of various audiences.
"I'm assuming that they come because they're curious about what kind of collaborations are going on and certainly Sol LeWitt and Phil Glass are certainly two of the major artists in individual arts and in the musical composition," she said. "That in and of itself is something exciting to explore."
Farr pointed out there is something for everyone to explore, whether it be choreography, visual arts, theater or music.
"I don't think this is just something for arts majors," she said. "I think this is a piece that really could be enjoyable for a larger audience."
Overall, the show has been much better received by audiences than it was in 1979, according to Childs.
"People have been very positive," Childs said. "It seems that there's been a really warm reception for the piece, which is different from the reception we had 30 years ago."
For Childs, reviving Dance and touring with a new group of dancers has been a positive experience, and she is very happy to have it touring once more.
"The tour has been going really, really well … it's probably one of the best situations I've had," Childs said. "I have a wonderful group of professionals and dancers working with me right now, so it's great."
The Lucinda Childs Dance Company will perform Dance in the Ina and Jack Kay Theatre of CSPAC at 8 p.m. tomorrow and Friday. Tickets are $35 for the public, $9 for students.
afreedman@umdbk.com
MUSIC
Thebreadthofmusicalofferingsthisspring–jazz,classical,operatic and more –wasfullyrepresentedinmediacoverage.Additionally, wemadeinroadsintoseveralmediaoutletsthathad notpreviously coveredourprogramming.
TheCenter’srichrelationshipwiththeKronosQuartethasincluded Kronos ’ sworkwithstudentcomposersfromtheSchoolofMusic, and theirannual publicreadingof studentworksattracted notice thisyearfromleadingcriticslikethe Baltimore Sun ’ s TimSmithand the Washington Post’ s AnneMidgette.Alt/jazzartistSachal Vasandaniwaswidelyreviewed,includingapieceinthenewmedia outlet Capital Bop.PianistAnthonyDeMarereceivedattention for hisSondheimproject,whichwasco-commissionedbytheCenter. And School ofMusicpresentationsin operaandclassicalmusicwere coveredbyoutletsasdiverseasTheGazetteand DMVClassical.
SACHAL VASANDANI QUARTET
Interview | Sachal Vasandani: Hard work, drive and an open mind
Posted on March 10, 2011 | 1 Comment
Singer Sachal Vasandani performs on Sunday at the University of Maryland. Courtesy ptcentrum
by Giovanni Russonello
This Sunday, the University of Maryland’s Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center presents something that’s never been very easy to find in jazz: a talented male vocalist. On the bill is Sachal Vasandani, a master of the shades between dark and light whose hazy presentation is coated in what might as well be a trumpet mute. Vasandani uses swing like honey in his tea – a tested and comfortable way of adding some pep, but by no means a necessity. And so it’s no surprise that he professes to being a committed eclectic, arguing that musicians ought to “look everywhere” for inspiration.
For backing, Vasandani is as fond of a plucked acoustic guitar as he is a classic piano trio. Even when using the latter, the singer might wade in a modern, propulsive groove rather than a classic 4/4 swing feel. I caught up with
Vasandani, who’s based in New York City, for a phone conversation yesterday; he talked about people who have influenced him – from his grandfather to Ella Fitzgerald to the contemporary Brazilian vocalist Seu Jorge – and gave a preview of the band he’ll bring to College Park this weekend.
CapitalBop: What are some of your three, four, five top influences musically throughout your life that you’ve aspired to live up to?
Sachal Vasandani: There’s been a lot over the years. If I had to boil it down to five people, first iw ould probably say Ella Fitzgerald and then as a young man I would probably say Charlie Parker. In college, I might say Miles [Davis] – I mean it’s pretty generic. But more recently, I might say someone like Keith Jarrett, and then I might throw a wild card in there like Seu Jorge from Brazil. Ella always figures pretty high on the list brcuase she’s the person that got me into singing jazz.
CB: What was it that was so special to you about Ella?
SV: You know, prior to hearing her for the first time I had been really interested in instrumental jazz, and I hadn’t maybe taken a lot of note of singers, and when I did it just didn’t seem like they got at what instrumental jazz music was able to do. I was just so enamored with improvising and that kind of freedom. And when I heard Ella, she could tell a lyric, she could improvise, she could swing at any tempo – it was like, “Oh, this can be done by a voice.”
It was really eye opening, and a pretty spiritually amazing experience, to hear her sing. And then I learned to appreciate slow tempos, and I learned to appreciate lyrics, and I learned to appreciate all the joys of being a singer, which I didn’t quite get at that time.
CB: So let’s go 80 years fast-forward. Now you mention a name, Seu Jorge, who’s that incredible Brazilian singer. Is there any commonality between those influences, the way they treat a tune?
SV: That’s a great question. You know, I’m always searching for good music, and I’m a big believer that it could come from today, it could come from any part of the world, it could come from yesterday. I’m not hung up on it being from yesterday, but frankly I’m also not hung up on it being from today. There’s a lot of garbage out there today, and there was a lot of garbage back then too. So I think it’s just important for each of us, on our individual journeys, to find what we like, and don’t be opposed to going outside one genre or the other. So for me, Ella, I really, really loved her voice and I loved what she taught me about what the voice can do. With Seu Jorge, it’s actually a similar thing: I love his voice, and he puts his voice into a number of different settings and his music has a strong pulse to it. All these people influenced me, and I try to share that with people by being a sum or a synthesis of all those influences.
CB: You’re one of a huge amount of jazz musicians nowadays who aren’t just jazz musicians. You talk about Esperanza Spalding, who just won the Best New Artist Grammy; she’s a jazz musician, if you had to use one genre, but she’s just a musician, really, who does a lot of different things: sings, plays the bass, is influenced by a lot of chamber music and pop. The pop cover is now a huge part of jazz, and you are one of a number of jazz musicians who does the pop cover really well, and also draws on the influences of rock and R&B. Did you ever have a moment when you realized – you said, “Huh, there is a reason why we go outside these boundaries,” or something like that?
bold, I mean, I think there’s a lot of posers on all sides of the spectrum. And the truth is, there shouldn’t have ever been a time – and I don’t think there’s ever been a time – when people haven’t been looking for expression from outside of one thing: jazz. I love being called a jazz musician. It’s an honor, I feel like it’s a blessing. Esperanza’s a great example, but if you look even just at the jazz category of the people that were nominated, the amount of diversity within the jazz category really gets you questioning, “Well what is this label?” …
I mean, look at the Best New Artist. You had Drake, you had Esperanza, you had Justin Bieber, you had Florence and the Machine. They represented so many different styles, so many different perspectives…. So on the one hand, for me to not look outside of jazz for sourcing material or for inspiration would be disingenuous. I believe that we have to look everywhere…. On the other hand, we also have to be picky, so just because I listen to something and maybe even enjoy it doesn’t mean that it’s going to find its way into my music. I have to know what I do, and I have to see how that prism evolves.
CB: You’ve said that your grandparents were your role models when they were alive. Tell me about what you learned from them and how that affects what you do.
SV: I’m glad you asked that. You know, there’s a couple different things about my grandparents and just family in general. One thing, my grandfather was a singer; he was a singer of Indian classical music and really knew nothing about jazz. But he did know something about Western classical music and kind of more importantly, he instilled in the whole family a love of the arts, a love of music. And it was a passion for him; he was an amateur singer who had another profession, but he had studied enough singing to know how serious you had to be to do it correctly. It’s also the way that he conducted his general life, and that’s the second thing: The idea of discipline he kind of carried with me.
I feel like he didn’t have a lot of fun while pursuing his discipline, and I’m a little bit different that him in that way…. I’m having a lot of fun. But what he instilled in me is, if I’m going to bite off this thing called jazz, anything that takes this much craft just to get to a level of artistic statement or freedom, there’s going to have to be a lot of hard work; a lot of blood, sweat and tears; and a lot of discipline. So he did that in his whole life, but I think he had enough respect for the music that he sang for me to unerstand that if I was going to sing this music I would have to kind of work.
CB: That notion of, it is hard work. You’re on the road a lot, and that can be a grind. My next question is, do you like being on the road? Because I know that you’ve said that you wrote most of your compositions that are on “We Move” while you were on tour. Is that setting something you enjoy, and is it something you feed off, and is it a motivation to you?
SV: Yeah. This is just a disposition thing, and I talk to other musicians, and maybe stages of their lives [affect this] too, but because I love to perform I think I just naturally at a young age took that to understand that you travel to perform. And so I haven’t really questioned it at all. I know that a lot of folks don’t like to travel. Maybe that changes; I know some guys who are just a bit older … than me that used to like to travel and now they’re like, “Hey, I’m done with this and I want to be at home more.” So who knows, maybe that will come, but I sort of have this appetite for it. I love it so much that it doesn’t really wear on me. And in fact, if I sit around New York for a while I get a bit restless. So I want to be out there performing.
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something like I used to do in the old days … and you said, “Stay put, but you perform every night,” that would be the same for me. It’s just the reality of where we are right now where that kind of stuff doesn’t happen. You have maybe four or five nights if you’re lucky, but it’s a lot of one-nighters. And it’s just fine with me. That’s just the way it works, and until that game changes I’m cool, because I just want to be performing all the time.
CB: Tell me about the band you’ll be performing with.
SV: David Wong is the bass player in my group, and he’s recorded all my records, and he is also, I think, the best young bassist that jazz has to offer right now. And that’s highly biased, but you know, take it from Jimmy Heath or take it from Roy Haynes, who’s used him in the band regularly at the Village Vanguard Orchestra, or Russell Malone, or Ron Carter or Peter Washington…. He’s the man. Young folks don’t really play the bass like he does. We talked about my grandfather; that kind of discipline around the instrument, but then hopefully youthful flexibility to go anywhere – on any journey that someone takes him on, including myself.
The guy playing piano is Jeb Patton, who you may know. He’s been out of that area for a while, but originally he’s from the D.C. area; he’s from Maryland, actually…. He’s a motherfucker. He’s also in Jimmy Heath’s band, he’s got his own trio, he’s got his own record out on Max Jazz. He’s one of my best friends because he gets who I am, where I come from and where I’m trying to go. And he’s sympathetic on the instrument like that. He’s patient when I need to express and idea but don’t know how; when I have ideas that I do know what I want he picks it up fast. He’s just a wonderful collaborator. His transcription skills are only outmatched by his playing skills. Young pianists that can play Art Tatum, I don’t know anyone better. Young pianists that know transcriptions of a Roland Hanna, I don’t know anyone better….
The final cat is Pete van Nostrand, who is the drummer. Pete’s been a friend and a great drummer since I’ve moved to New York…. Pete’s just one of those guys that learns the music so fast, and he’s so knowledgeable about the history of the drums and the history of the music. So that’s gotten him gigs with Kenny Barron, and I think he’s playing with Natalie Cole tomorrow, so he’s just a cat. And very, very astute, because my music and my shows tend to go in a few different directions…. Pete gets that and we can swing out with fun and integrity, and then we can do our other stuff and let it be fun and enjoyable.
DCist Preview: Sachal Vasandani Quartet
Jazz vocalists who write their own material is a relative rarity in today's jazz world. Audiences and record labels tend to favor singers who stick to the classic jazz repertoire from decades past. The singers themselves are partly to blame because such a small percentage are willing to take any real risks, which is antithetical to jazz's growth.
Sachal Vasandani is an artist who tries to balance all of the tensions that face a contemporary jazz vocalist, juxtaposing his original material and compositions outside of the jazz idiom with more traditional standards.
"It’s just a matter of making an over-arching statement," said Vasandani during a recent interview with DCist. "It can be all original or all standards, or in my case, I put my songs up against the standards and if they don’t make it within that arc, that's fine."
Vasandani, who was an investment banker on Wall Street in a previous life, will be in the area on Sunday for an evening performance at the University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Not a stranger to the area, he was a semi-finalist in the 2005 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition and also made regular appearances at Twins Jazz.
"They were so sweet to us but so overwhelmed with the crowd we brought out," Vasandani said of those gigs. "I remember one time some crazy guy, who was African-American, came up to our drummer, who is also African-American, called him out for not hanging around black people. We laughed about it afterwards."
Vasandani is touring in support of We Move, the 2009 follow-up to his debut release, Eyes Wide Open, which he put out in 2007. Sunday's program will feature tunes from both these albums, as well as new material from his forthcoming recording that will be released later this year. The songs will trace not only Vasandani's growth as a singer, but also changes in his outlook.
"I think the biggest contrast is that the last record was a look inward, a chance to strip away boundaries between artist and listener," Vasandani explained. "This one is more about sharing, celebrating and telling stories that are a little more general, in a good way. This has more of an outward trajectory."
While Vasandani has a fairly consistent line-up for his touring bands, scheduling conflicts are a reality all jazzers must suffer. Sunday's show will feature usual collaborators in area native Jeb Patton on piano and bassist David Wong. Drummer Pete Van Nostrand, who has played with Vasandani in past, will be subbing for regular Quincy Davis.
While his sound is very much true to the jazz tradition, Vasandani's easy-going delivery and smooth voice also make his music totally accessible. That link with the audience is something for which Vasandani strives.
"I want someone who is not knowledgeable about jazz to be hopefully as enriched as the person who is up and up," he said. "The idea of a live show is that you can connect emotionally, you can be entertained, you can find something to think about. With me it's a matter of connecting with people and not really worrying
Sachal Vasandani, photo by Raj Naik.
ANTHONY DE MARE: LIAISONS
Scoring Sondheim
Anthony De Mare brings a sneak peek of his project re-imagining Stephen Sondheim for piano to the Smith Center
by Doug Rule Published on March 24, 2011
Anthony De Mare prefers to know the score before seeing a show.
''[As a kid] I used to just go to the record store and go to the Broadway bin and see what was brand new and just buy it, cold, without knowing anything about it,'' he says.
De Mare, who grew up in Rochester, N.Y., discovered Stephen Sondheim this way, memorizing soundtracks to Sunday In The Park with George, Pacific Overtures and Company before he ever saw them on stage. Even now, as a contemporary classical pianist, Sondheim still draws him.
De Mare calls his current project, ''Liaisons: Re-imagining Sondheim for the Piano,'' a ''career realization.'' The project involves 30 composers, drawn from the realms of classical, pop, theater, jazz, even film, each picking a Sondheim song to adapt for solo piano. Next Saturday, April 2, at the University of Maryland's Clarice Smith Center, De Mare will play a sneak peek of 14 of the arrangements. A total of 36 will be performed next year in New York, accompanied by a recording.
Anthony De Mare
A major hurdle is that most people think of Sondheim as a lyricist and a composer. Sondheim's sophisticated lyrics often overpower his sharp music in people's imagination.
De Mare considers Sondheim ''one of the great American composers, right up there with Copeland, John Cage, Samuel Barber, Bernstein. ... I put him as one of the major forces of the 20th and 21st century.''
Sondheim has been surprised by the level of interest in this project among notable composers, including Milton Babbitt, William Bolcom, Ricky Ian Gordon, Steve Reich, Bernadette Speach and David Shire. ''He's very excited and humbled, if you will, by the idea that so many of these composers were interested in setting his melodies,'' says De Mare. De Mare solicited Sondheim's input on composer selection, and has kept Sondheim apprised as things develop. A couple months ago Sondheim stopped by De Mare's studio to hear a few of the compositions.
De Mare initially tinkered with making his own arrangements of Sondheim for piano. His first attempt in the mid-'80s was a piano arrangement of ''Children and Art." ''It was okay," says De Mare. "I wasn't that pleased with it..., [but it] was a good exercise in getting the project started.''
Of the 14 pieces completed so far, De Mare notes, ''I haven't received one I haven't liked. Even the producer has said, 'Gee, we're batting a good number here.'''
De Mare, who is gay and lives in New York's Chelsea neighborhood, is also on the faculty at the Manhattan School of Music and New York University. He struggles to balance all the work plus a long-time relationship -- and the couple's large Pomeranian. ''It seems like life revolves around walking the dog,'' he laughs.
Before De Mare started the Sondheim project in 2006, he had become known as ''the speaking/singing pianist.'' He still performs De Profundis, the piece Frederic Rzewski composed for him with an oratorio based on Oscar Wilde's last letter from prison. He's also performed another piano piece incorporating spoken word drawn from Allen Ginsberg. He will not employ the technique for the Sondheim performance.
There is, however, one surprise on the bill, a piece by a comedic off-Broadway composer. ''I will just say that he's done something very unusual with one of the songs,'' says De Mare.
Maryland Community News Online
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Re-imagining greatness
Anthony de Mare to showcase Sondheim HOMES
by Topher Forhecz | Staff Writer
Business Politics Entertainment Opinions JOBS CARS
Anthony de Mare knows perfection can't be improved, but it can be re-imagined. This was the acclaimed pianist's thought process in the 1980s when he first conceived of a project that would reinterpret the works of celebrated lyricist and composer Stephen Sondheim.
On Saturday, the first batch of works from de Mare's "Liaison: Re-Imagining Sondheim from the Piano" project will be performed for audiences at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Each of the 14 pieces was reworked by composers de Mare asked to join the project.
For de Mare, the project's purpose is to honor a man whose lyricism in works such as "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" and "West Side Story" tends to be more widely acknowledged than his musicianship.
"So much emphasis has been put on his lyrics because he's so brilliant — such a genius at lyrical writing. I felt he was one of the most important American composers and I felt there should be emphasis put on his music lines and how he writes the songs," de Mare says.
A music professor at the Manhattan School of Music and New York University, de Mare began putting his plan into motion four years ago. He compiled a list of composers with backgrounds not just in classical music, but also theater, jazz and film. Sondheim approved all 36.
photo: Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center Fourteen of the intended 36 songs from Anthony de Mare's project "Liaisons:Re-imagining Sondheim" will beperformed this Saturday.
"He seemed very thrilled by the idea," de Mare says. "And humbled by the fact that so many composers would want to take his melodies."
The 2004 Pulitzer Prize winner in music, Paul Moravec was one of the composers de Mare asked to join his endeavor. The University Professor at Adelphi University says de Mare was very specific in his instruction that he didn't want the songs to be so deconstructed audiences couldn't recognize them.
Moravec chose "Losing my Mind" from Sondheim's 1971 musical "Follies."
"I've always admired that song as I think it's a perfect song," Moravec says. "It cannot be improved."
Although Moravec's reworking is strictly instrumental, the song's message of unrequited love and obsession was something he hoped to mimic. Moravec took a certain motive from the original melody and used it as the anchor of his piece.
"You hear the first verse of the song straight through with some arrangement. [It's] quite recognizable and then the motive comes back ...and then the piece loses its mind," Moravec says.
The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center also played a role in commissioning pieces and will be identified as the commissioner for all subsequent performances according to director of artistic initiatives Paul Brohan.
Artists commissioned by the center include Jake Heggie, Bernadette Speach and Kenji Bunch. Brohan says the center chose these three artists because of their range in style and popularity. Heggie, for instance, has been receiving buzz recently for his work on "Moby-Dick" with the Dallas Opera and Speach is considered more of an avant-garde composer.
"Kenji writes in a much more contemporary style that's probably a bit more idiosyncratic of what is happening in music now," Brohan says. "I think Jake has probably a little bit more — because of his strong base in composing for opera amongst other things — probably a little bit more of a melodic line."
On Monday, audiences can attend a discussion with de Mare, Speach and Moravec, elaborating on their roles and approaches to the project. De Mare plans to showcase all works from "Liaisons: Reimagining Sondheim from the Piano" in April 2012 with a special three-concert event in New York City's Symphony Space.
While those participating in "Liaisons: Re-imagining Sondheim from the Piano" will add their own touch to the music, the common factor is a composer who has proven in his more than 50-year career that he knows what a good showtune sounds like.
tforhecz@gazette.net
