"Express Abstractionism" Revisited

"Abstract Expressionism," by Sean Shepherd, received its world premiere performance from the Boston Symphony Orchestra on the 8th, 9th, and 10th of this month. I reported on it in my post previewing the Saturday concert. This evening I listened to the rebroadcast of the concert, and can say a bit more about it. On first hearing, February 8, I couldn't tell where the divisions between the first three movements came. This time it was clear where the first movement ended and the second began. The dividing line between Nos. 2 and 3 was still unclear.

As for the music itself, the first movement seemed more coherent than it had on first hearing. The composer was clearly working with some musical ideas, and it was interesting. While there was nothing extremely beautiful, it was fairly gentle and not unpleasant to listen to.

The second and third movements still seemed overly loud, and empty of real music. At one point, I got the idea that the percussionists might be having fun playing their parts. Some others might also be having fun playing it.

But fun for the musicians doesn't necessarily mean fun for the audience. I think of an article written in the 1950's by the composer Milton Babbitt, which was given the title, "Who Cares if You Listen." Babbitt suggested that contemporary serious music, such as his, was beyond the ability of most concert-goers to understand and appreciate — "better than it sounds," as a 19th Century wit said of Wagner. I mention this, not to suggest that Sean Shepherd shares the late Mr. Babbitt's contempt for the audience, but only to make the point that professional musicians can appreciate things which exceed the grasp of ordinary amateur listeners. Having said that, I'll also give the music the faint praise of saying that I'd much rather listen to it than the horrors by Babbitt and Elliot Carter which James Levine inflicted on us.

Surprisingly (or not because of heightened expectations), I found the fourth movement somewhat less appealing than I had at the premiere. In the hall, it had seemed calm and gentle. Maybe it was the fault of the broadcast engineer, but over the radio it seemed significantly louder, which made individual parts stand out more but concomitantly detracted from its overall beauty.

I wasn't listening with program notes in hand t try to see how the music related to the work of the visual artists who were the composer's inspiration; I was approaching it simply as music. On a third hearing, if it happened, I would try to make those associations. But for now, I'll just say that I can appreciate that Sean Shepherd had some ideas, some inspirations he tried to put into music, and he didn't utterly fail. But this listener has not been moved to want to hear it again and again, which would be necessary for the piece to have any chance of revealing that it's better than it sounds.