As part of their ‘American Classics’ series, this latest Naxos release includes world premiere recordings, celebrating the contemporary composer Joan Tower. Tower’s music is approachable, her dissonances never jar and there is a definite direction where each piece is headed.
“Strike Zones” is a substantial one-movement Percussion Concerto. Premiered in 2001 by Leonard Slatkin with the National Symphony Orchestra and the work’s dedicatee and soloist — Dame Evelyn Glennie, “Strike Zones” is an exceptional work, perfectly designed to showcase Glennie’s extraordinary and expressive techniques. Performed here by the Albany Symphony and conducted by David Alan Miller, the atmospheric opening evolves and takes in many moods which are portrayed confidently, but one senses slight hesitation on hushed segments. The work has some strongly rhythmic episodes and Tower’s harmonic vocabulary is contemporary but accessible, without being overly dissonant. Her experience as a chamber musician shines through in some of the more intimate moments.
There is some exceptional playing from the woodwind and the principal violin which don’t overshadow Glennie’s fine performance. Glennie’s connection to the work is obvious throughout; Her sheer adaptability and dexterity are formidable, standards which throughout her career have been unwavering. The sheer range of expression on a range of untuned percussion is almost magical, while the complexity of the marimba playing sounds effortless in Glennie’s ever-confident hands. As a quasi-encore, Glennie follows this with Tower’s short piece, “Small”, for solo percussionist. Again Glennie’s virtuosity shines through with extraordinary timbres and rhythmic precision, which she can command on a single instrument alone.
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Another compact Concerto for piano in a single movement follows entitled “Stills/Rapids”. “Rapids” was composed in 1996, whilst Tower added “Stills” as a prologue to it in 2013. The harmonic language is more tonally centered in “Stills” than anywhere on the album. This highly evocative piece conveys the movement of water with evocation, speed, playfulness, and the sheer power of nature. Blair McMillen is the soloist, who premiered the extended version. His playing and command are striking, but in comparison to Glennie, lack the same expressive or tonal range.
The final item “Ebony and Ivory” — a work for solo piano, references the keys of the instrument. Written in 2009 for the San Antonio International Piano Competition, it shows Debussian influences (especially with the books of Préludes). In many of the episodes, McMillen executes this well, emphasizing the different tonal registers and timbres of the piano.
Naxos has recorded these pieces in a range of locations at different times between 2014 and 2016. Given the cleverly analytical nature of Tower’s compositional style, there is a warmth from the performers which is indicative of the strong bond with the composer.
The recordings are generally good and very clear, but the balancing in “Strike Zones” is not as judicious as it could be, with the orchestral piano and brass section appear very distant at times while the woodwind become quite prominent on occasions. The processions, however, are caught with superb transparency (especially impressive on the extended cadenza at the end of the piece (18’00” onward).
A short album at 53 minutes, it overall does justice to the music of Towers and the artists she has composed for. Anyone with an appreciation of contemporary music would take much enjoyment from this release. The booklet notes are informative, succinctly and appropriately written, providing much insight into the works and composer.
Joan Tower
“Strike Zones”
“Small”
“Still/Rapids”
“Ivory and Ebony”
Evelyn Glennie – Percussion
Blair McMillen – Piano
Albany Symphony
David Alan Miller – Conductor
Naxos, CD 636943990223
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