by Kevin McLaughlin
Margaret Brouwer’s music has become a fixture in Northeast Ohio — distinctive, unmistakable, and not easily pinned down. She goes her own way, with stylistic diplomacy: borrowing freely, but never pledging allegiance to any one camp.
On Sunday, April 19, Steven Smith led the Cleveland Chamber Symphony in three works by Brouwer as part of NEOSonicFest, its annual spring exposition of new sounds, at Disciples Christian Church in Cleveland Heights.
First up was Donald Erb’s Harold’s Trip to the Sky (1974). Scored for viola, piano, and percussion, Erb treats the ensemble less as a traditional trio than as three independent voices. The title makes a nod to Lord Byron’s Harold but Erb’s piece doesn’t tell a story. It unfolds in episodes: the viola climbing and exploring, the piano holding its ground, the percussion commenting, like Puck, with wry asides.
A sense of tension runs through the music — passages drawn tight, then slackening, as if its reins had been released. Violist Laura Shuster set a disciplined but restless course, trying out an idea, then moving on. Percussionist Andrew Pongracz, a second protagonist, cut in with a slide whistle, vibraphone, and other quick-change colors, while pianist Joanna Huang theatricalized her instrument by striking the strings with rubber mallets.