Issue #7
March 2002
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Riverside Philharmonic by Gert Innsry New York rejoices in a number of minor symphony orchestras, choruses and chamber groups that fully equal the best that most other American cities have to offer. One of these is the Riverside Philharmonic Orchestra, based in Riverside Church.
On March 10, the Riverside Philharmonic presented an unusual and interesting program:Voices from the East, Music of Asian Women Composers. Ably conducted by Helen H. Cha-Pyo, The five pieces performed by the orchestra exhibited a decided Western sensibility, underlain by the subtle flavors of the music of the composers' homelands. All of the composers were born abroad, two in Korea, one in Japan and one in China. All currently reside in the United States.
Heroes, by the Korean composer Jeeyoung "Jacqueline" Kim, is a broad,flowing overture for orchestra, whose sweeping melodies are reminiscent of Finlandia or, in parts, Aaron Copeland, despite the fact that a Korean folksong heard at sporting events to cheer the players and fans provides the monothematic element of the piece.
Guardian Angel, by the Japanese composer Karen Tanaka, uses clarinet, harp and droning basses to provide a nice sonority. Timeless, floating, it doesn't actually go anywhere, but is instead a progression of pleasant arpeggios. Like all of the other pieces in this concert, its Western idiom completely overshadows any influences the Japanese origin of the composer might have provided. Inspired by a passage from Exodus ("Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee in the way..."), the composer states her intent as one of realizing her image of angels in sound.
Eternal Rock, by the Korean composer Jin Hi Kim, utilizes the Komungo, a Koto-like instrument played with a stick-like plectrum. Unfortunately, the delicate sounds of the Komungo were completely drowned out by the orchestra for the first half of the piece, until the sound engineer fixed the microphone. With a heavily percussive beginning and end, Eternal Rock was tonal but non-melodic. During solos, where the orchestra was silent, the Komungo provided a plangent and appealing sound; once the amplification was corrected, its violent strums and arpeggios provided an unusual foil for the forte orchestral passages.
Momentum, by the Chinese composer Chen Yi, was a short work of flutes and thundering percussion. Sound masses mimic thepower of breathing lava "before it breaks up to flow". The percussion (with all instruments, including strings, participating) reminded the listener of the grand finale of a fireworks display, shot through with brass lightning. Think Stravinsky, with hints of Chinese melody. Chen Yi is in love with the sound of sound. One section provides a rainstorm, with thunder and the patter of small raindrops.
Symphony #2, also by Chen Yi, is a one-movement work in Largo, dedicated to her father. Again, sound masses predominate over melody. Basses and brass grumble and boom, with violins twittering in the background like locusts. Interesting flute and cello themes appear. There is a nice use of clarinet, exhibiting its whole tonal and dynamic range. Raindrops and insects appear to the mind as the piece progresses. Throughout, each instrument is mined for its whole range of pitches and colors. The finale is an extended percussion that brings to mind target practice (bangs) ringing the target bell.
Two final thoughts engendered by this concert: (1) the dominence of the Western musical idiom must be nearly complete when four such talented oriental composers can present works so little tinged by their backgrounds, and (2) whatever picture the composer though she was painting, the listener will substitute his or her own. The concrete concept is rendered abstract by conversion into sound, and then rendered concrete again by the mind of the listener, with very little control on the part of the composer as to the final product.
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