American Mavericks
San Francisco Symphony;
Michael Tilson Thomas
SFSMedia SFS 0056
The lion’s share of this captivating disc of American music is devoted to two major works by the innovative Henry Cowell (1897–1965), an early proponent of what came to be known as “World Music” and a pioneer of new sounds from his own instrument, the piano. His fascinating 1930 Synchrony for orchestra was originally titled Synchrony of Dance, Music, Light and was intended as a vehicle for the American dance pioneer Martha Graham, who unfortunately lost interest in this multimedia project. There is undoubtedly a scenario behind this work which might help explain its episodic character. Unfortunately the very meagre program notes leave us in the dark. Cowell’s rather more conventional three-movement Piano Concerto was also composed in that year, with the composer himself the pianist for the premiere performances. Both scores make prominent use of Cowell’s trademark “chord clusters” — aggressive conglomerations of notes played by closed fists or open palms — which caused quite a sensation at the time. Pianist Jeremy Denk is the soloist in a rousing rendition of this very propulsive work.
Lou Harrison (1917–2003), a student of Cowell’s, carried on his mentor’s interest in Asian musical traditions with a particular emphasis on Balinese music. His Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra, completed in 1973 though incorporating elements from as far back as 1951, features an excellent performance from Paul Jacobs. The five movements of the concerto form a convincing and satisfying synthesis of Eastern and Western elements seasoned with a strong French influence reminiscent of Messiaen. The percussion section of the orchestra is in particularly fine form in this invigorating score.
A superlative performance ofthe landmark 1927 version of Amériques by Edgard Varèse (1883–1965) brings the album to a close on a spectacular note. Tilson Thomas has always had an uncanny knack for voicing the most dissonant of chords into a harmonious blend and here he outdoes himself. These splendid live performances from 2010 and 2012 are indispensable fodder for devotees of any of these unbranded composers.
