by Mike Telin
After celebrating its sixteenth season with a deep dive into the world of Surreality, No Exit begins their 16th concert season on Thursday, October 17 at 7:00 pm at Cleveland State University’s Drinko Recital Hall with “New Season, New Sounds.”
The evening will feature works by No Exit’s percussionist/composer Katy La Favre as well as Josef Marek, Hannah Kendall, Arthur Hernandez, James Praznik, and Timothy Beyer. The program will be repeated at 7:00 pm on Friday at Waterloo Arts, and Saturday at SPACES Gallery. All performances are free.
“After last season’s Surreality programs, we were so energized because the reception was so great. We want to continue to entertain, maybe enlighten, and even make some people angry,” the group’s artistic director Timothy Beyer said during a recent telephone conversation. He added that this program, which includes three world premieres, is anything but boring.
In her composer’s note for Speaking in Silence, Katy La Favre writes: “When I was three years old, I was still not speaking. I could repeat dialogues and words but was not capable of conversing. Everyone in the family was worried. At dinner, I once stood on my chair and recited a long passage from one of Jacques Cousteau’s documentaries — with which I was obsessed — in his French accent. However, I couldn’t respond to questions like, ‘Would you like more potatoes?’
“This piece for Aquarion (glass keyboard), frame drum, and tape explores these early memories and the stories my family has recounted about me learning to speak through Jacques Cousteau’s magical world of whales and other sea creatures.”
Beyer described Czech composer Joseph Merrick’s Momenti discreti VII., for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano as a very cool piece. “He’s a very fine composer who clearly has a great command of his craft.”
Beyer’s & James Praznik’s 4 Literary Interludes is a series of short, improvised pieces that reflect some aspect of each composer’s favorite novels. The literary works used are: Burmese Days by George Orwell, Wake Up and Go to Sleep by G Lyle, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky and The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima.
“They’re going to fill in a minute or two between other pieces, so they’re literally interludes.” Beyer said. “They’re very structured, so there’s a lot of framework even though they are improvised.”
In an interview with No Exit’s Laura King, Arthur Hernandez said that he doesn’t think of The Desperation of Jesus Christ as a religious piece. “To me, it is a testament to the human condition and redemption. I do not view this composition as a ‘Christian work,’ nor a sacred one. This is as much a reflection of my Humanist inclinations as my spiritual ones.”
About Hannah Kendall’s Tuxedo Crown; Sun King, Beyer said, “I think she’s absolutely great. Her music is inventive, creative, and just really wonderful. So she kind of hits all the marks in my mind. This is a short, wonderful piece for solo violin and five wind-up music boxes playing popular, classical, and hymn tunes, so it’s a little bit theatrical in the way everything is set up.”
Published on ClevelandClassical.com October 15, 2024
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