Cerberus

[vaneramos]

In the sculpture garden at Macdonald Stewart Art Centre


This afternoon djjo and I attended a free concert by Cerberus string trio at Macdonald Stewart Art Centre. These musicians will be included in the instrumental ensemble accompanying Rainbow Chorus during next Saturday's performance.

The first half consisted of three Frank Zappa songs arranged by cellist Alan Stellings, Walter Piston's Three Counterpoints (1973), and Gary Kulesha's Trio for Violin, Viola and Cello (1971). The Piston could be politely described as inaccessible. Stellings called it tonal music, but to my ear it might as well have been Schoenberg, and I could not find a single note I would care to hear again. It didn't help that ventilation in the performance room was poor, and the audience grew hot and oxygen-deprived.

The second part of the program was devoted to Beethoven's Trio Op. 9 No. 2, more agreeable, though not one of the composer's most ingenious works.

Most interesting was the juvenile work by Kulesha, whom Stellings described as one of Canada's most important living composers. The third movement (Presto), reminiscent of a Dvorak or Borodin scherzo only darker, contained an agitated theme alternating with pizzicato sections. The meditative finale (Grave) consisted of gently shifting sound curtains evoking a hazy urban sunrise.

Comments

[poetbear.livejournal.com]

what three Zappa songs did they do? have you ever listened
to the Francesco Zappa album?~paul

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

I don't know Frank Zappa at all, so unfortunately that part of the program didn't mean much to me. I didn't catch the name of the first song, the second was "Catholic girls," and the third was Black something, which Alan Stellings said had been written without harmony, but he had arranged to include it.

[missprune.livejournal.com]

I had no idea you were so knowledgeable and articulate in the music field, Van!

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Oh yes! It is one of my deepest and most enduring passions, in fact if I could go back and do everything again I might become a composer. Unfortunately music is less accessible to me now than other modes of creativity. I was once a fairly accomplished pianist, but I don't get near a piano frequently enough to do more than brush up on a few favourite pieces. The music I love best is Romantic, especially Sibelius, Brahms, Dvorak, Mahler, Bruckner, Rachmaninoff, Vaughan Williams....

I practically stopped listening to music during the worst years of depression. The experience was too intense, I suppose. Music remains the one thing that can bring me to tears.

I still have a large collections of CDs, and have gradually resumed enjoyment of it. Danny and I were listening to Mozart this morning. My tastes have become more eclectic, but the Romantics are still my favourite.

[poetbear.livejournal.com]

that would be BLACK NAPKINS.~paul

[avad.livejournal.com]

what a wonderful sculpture. thank you for reminding me of one of my favorite works of art...Alselm Kiefer's The High Priestess
Bookshelf of Books of lead, sand, soil, photographs...weight unimaginable

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

How fascinating! It fills me with desire to touch, open, discover.

The cover of the book sculpture in this photo says "Agriculture", one of the leading disciplines at University of Guelph.

[artricia.livejournal.com]

I love this photo! I love the subject.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Thanks. The sclupture garden is very cool.