Contempo: Big names, world premieres

Contempo always packs a heavy-hitting and heady mix of music.  This past Sunday seemed extra significant as Contempo gave the world premieres of works by Gunther Schuller and Sofia Gubaidulina - two giants in the world of contemporary composition who were also in attendance.  Add composer and Contempo artistic director Shulamit Ran, conductor Cliff Colnot, and U of C ensembles-in-residence Pacifica Quartet and eighth blackbird, and you've got some of the best in new music.  

Unlike traditional classical music forms, contemporary music is impossible to predict, making it uniquely challenging to photograph.  The usual strategy of waiting for the loud parts doesn't necessarily work since the loud parts may never come, or they come and go in an instant.  Here are some moments that I caught when the shutter sound was (hopefully) masked.  

(L-R) Sofia Gubaidulina, Laurel Fay, Gunther Schuller, Steven Rings

(L-R) Berthold Hoeckner, Sofia Gubaidulina, Laurel Fay

Shulamit Ran

Lisa Kaplan and Dan Schlosberg perform Helen Grime's "Entwined Channels."

Mary Stolper and Ben Sutherland perform Howard Sandroff's "Chants des Femmes."

Cliff Colnot conducts the Pacifica Quartet and eighth blackbird in the world premiere of Gunther Schuller's "Four Chromatic Adventures."

Soprano Michelle Areyzaga and violist Masumi Per Rostad perform Earl Kim's "Now and Then."

eighth blackbird in Gubaidulina's "Pilgrims"

Yvonne Lam, Collins Trier, and Doug Perkins perform the world premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina's "Pilgrims."

Matthew Duvall in Gubaidulina's "Pilgrims"

Sofia Gubaidulina (center) takes a bow with eighth blackbird.

Gunther Schuller signs his score in the green room.

Shulamit Ran and Gunther Schuller.

Up close with Patricia Barber

In the green room at intermission, legendary jazz pianist and vocalist Patricia Barber turns to me and asks, "How the f*** do I follow that?"  She was referring to a performance by percussionist Nicholas Reed of Marta Ptaszynska's "Space Model," a work for three sets of percussion instruments and recorded track.  Reed's seamless playing held the audience in rapt attention, igniting waves of applause.  Pianist Lisa Kaplan and cellist Nicholas Photinos, both of eighth blackbird, opened the show with the haunting "Habil-Sayagy" by Franghiz Ali-Zadeh.  The Pacifica Quartet followed with Elena Firsova's String Quartet No. 11, "Purgatorium," playing with its trademark precision and sensitivity.  I didn't have an answer to Barber's very serious question, other than to say, "I'm glad I don't have to."  

Barber was just as intense during her set as she was before it.  Sensing the enormity of the concert - the 10th anniversary of the new music series Contempo at the University of Chicago curated by Pulitzer-Prize-winning composer Shulamit Ran - Barber gave a performance both searing and deeply touching, poignant and beautiful.  Drummer Ari Hoenig, bassist Patrick Mulcahy, and guitarist Gilad Hekselman provided ample solos and witty accompaniment.  But it was Barber who carried the full weight of the music.  I know this because I witnessed it from the front row, often dropping my camera from my eye just to watch for a minute.  It was an honor to photograph these artists, and to share for the briefest of moments the space they occupy.  

Patricia Barber: Completely awesome jazz pianist, vocalist, poet.

Patricia Barber rocking the Steinway.

eighth blackbird's Lisa Kaplan (piano) and Nicholas Photinos (cello).

The Pacifica Quartet in the spotlight.

Percussionist Nicholas Reed