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The Ultimate in New Music
| Article
# : |
10468 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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| Issue
Date : |
1 / 1993 |
2,105 Words |
| Author
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Octavio Roca
Octavio Roca is music critic for the Washington Times and the
author of the biography Scotto: More Than a Diva. |
Norway's ambitious bid for the major leagues of international festival paid off this October with the second Oslo Ultima Contemporary Music Festival, directed by the Norwegian composer John Persen. Following the success of 1991's festival debut, Ultima 1992 merged with the celebrated Nordic Music Days for a combined feast of the best in new music.
With typical modesty, Ultima again did not choose Norwegian music to either open or close the festival, opting instead for Swedish and American scores for the first concert, French and Italian for the last. The rich eclectism of the music chosen--from serialism from bravely holding the old fort to an onslaught of exuberant American Minimalism--was surpassed only by the uniformly high quality of the performances by artists as diverse as the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, France's Ensemble Fa, Italy's Antidogma Musica, and Norway's own BIT 20, one of the festival's happiest discoveries.
The opening concert began early in the afternoon October 3 with an unannounced prologue by the Norwegian surrealist poet Kjell Erik Vindtorn. His impromptu recitation onstage at the Lindamansalen, backed by improvised percussion from the Oslo Sinfonietta, set a tone of loopy informality that surfaced here and there throughout the festival. Then came the music, and the confirmation that Oslo's Ultima has placed Norway firmly in the forefront of the cause of new music. The first sounds heard belonged to the Swedish composer Klas Torstensson's Solo. Licks & Brains II for saxophone and orchestra, which proved to be that rarity, a modern masterpiece that is also a popular success.
The performance helped, of course. Jorgen Pattersson of the Stockholm Saxophone Quartet stepped onstage alone in his baggy khakis and suspenders, hugging an alarmingly large baritone saxophone to his chest. The attacks that open Torstensson's score elicited gasps from the international audience; these opening notes were virtual explosions in a single breath, punctuated here and there by Perez Prado mambo moans. As brought to life by the extraordinarily gifted young Pattersson, the composer's percussive use of saxophone was both unique and attractive.
There is a lot of violence in Torstensson's piece, which could be called deconstructed jazz: Riffs come and go out nowhere, disappearing after having only suggested their possibilities. The very flexible beat builds momentum. The second riff holds up the image of Latin American jazz as if reflected in shards of broken glass in a fractured, fun house image of dance. At other times
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