"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.

BSO — 2018/02/10

It's Leipzig Week at the BSO, so they're offering four works from composers connected with Leipzig and the world premiere of a piece commissioned jointly by the BSO and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. As usual, the performance detail page refuses to tell about the program in order of performance — starting with the fourth piece, back to the first, on to the last, and finishing with the second and third ("not last but least"?). Anyway, here's what they say:

Andris Nelsons conducts J.S. Bach, Schumann, Shepherd and Mendelssohn featuring pianists Thomas Adès, Kirill Gerstein and Jean-Yves Thibaudet
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Symphony Hall - Boston, MA - View MapThis excitingly varied, Leipzig-centric program-the BSO's first "Leipzig Week in Boston"-celebrates Andris Nelsons and the BSO's compelling new collaboration with the venerable Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra by featuring three composers strongly associated with that city, plus a new work jointly commissioned by both ensembles from the accomplished American orchestral composer Sean Shepherd, a Tanglewood Music Center alumnus now based in New York City. The opener brings together three world-class virtuoso pianists for Bach's triple keyboard concerto, BWV 1063, possibly created for performances involving his two elder sons, W.F. and C.P.E Bach, at Zimmermann's coffeehouse in 1730s Leipzig. Closing the concert is the deeply Romantic Scottish Symphony of Felix Mendelssohn, who was music director of the Gewandhaus from 1835 to 1847. And it was Leipzig where Robert Schumann met his wife Clara and spent much of his early career; his two contrasting, rarely heard works for chorus and orchestra on this program date from the late 1840s.

(Some emphasis added.) They don't give the titles of the Shepherd and Mendelssohn works either. Mendelssohn's song are Nachtlied and Neujahrslied; Shepherd's is titled Express Abstractionism.

I attended the Thursday performance, and I was unimpressed with "Express Abstractionism." The first three movements seemed unfocused and meaningless. The thought came to me, "There is no beauty in this." At least the last movement was calm and pleasant to listen to, beautiful in a way. When the composer came on stage for his bows, I stopped applauding. I'll give it another chance during the rebroadcast on February 19 to see if it makes more sense, but at this point (unlike one of the reviewers), I'm not hoping they will play it again.

During the Bach concerto, I noticed that Maestro Nelsons, was not conducting with a precise beat:  up, down, in, out. It looked more like the way people conduct Gregorian chant, with flowing, sweeping, and occasionally circular, hand motions. The use of pianos gave a very different soind from what harpsichords give. Maybe that lusher sound had something to do with how Nelsons conducted.

The Globe and Intelligencer reviews are generally favorable. They, along with the program notes linked on the performance detail page, will give some idea of what to listen for — especially in the Shepherd piece — unless you prefer just to let it unfold with no preconceptions. Also available is this interview with the composer.

It's all there for you — the good and the not so good — at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, over WCRB radio and internet, with a repeat transmission on Feb. 19, also at 8:00. Be sure to check out their website for information about other offerings.