American Double offers up quirky, catchy adventure
Marc Shulgold, Rocky Mountain News
Published October 13, 2007 at midnight
It's easy to find something to like in William Bolcom's works - though we won't go so far as to say he's the ideal contemporary composer for people who hate contemporary music.
As witnessed by three of his works for violin and piano, performed Friday at Augustana Church by the duo American Double, Bolcom fearlessly juggles musical styles so nimbly that listening to him is akin to following climate changes in Colorado: If you don't like it, wait 10 minutes.
In his single-movement Duo Fantasy(1973), violinist Philip Ficsor and pianist Constantine Finehouse guided their audience through a quirky series of twists and turns - from dense modernism to a schmaltzy-waltzy tune to a brief ragtime interlude. It sounds unmanageable and mannered, but in Bolcom's hands, every gear shift makes sense.
Adding to the audience's enjoyment of the piece was the committed reading by Ficsor and Finehouse - who've recorded all 10 of Bolcom's works for violin and piano.
To underscore their commitment to this collection, the two offered a pair of additional selections by the composer: the Fourth Sonata and, as a delectable treat, the catchy ragtime of Graceful Ghost, originally a solo piano piece heard here in a version the composer calls Concert Variation.
As with the Duo Fantasy, the sonata traveled through all manner of contrasting episodes. Chord clusters challenged the ears, only to be followed by something close to a gentle Protestant hymn. Though laid out in four movements, the piece fell into two distinct sections, the whole emerging as greater than the sum of its parts.
American Double opened and closed the program with two archly Romantic selections that displayed the players' sumptuous tone and consistently tight ensemble work.
Most impressive was the concluding A-major Sonata of Franck, which unfolded with dramatic sweep and an intensity not always encountered in this demanding work.
At the start of the evening, Ficsor took a position behind the lidless Steinway - explaining to the audience that the placement underscored the equality of the two instruments, although the room's tubby acoustics prevented an ideal distribution of voices. Still, the importance of the piano in the Franck was brought to the fore. If anything, the composer places greater emphasis on the keyboard.
Finehouse powered his way through the expansive piano part, while Ficsor delivered his music with assurance and (save for a few intonation slips) solid technique.
The pair opened the program with a touch of Brahms at his stormy best: the Scherzo from the so-called FAE Sonata. As an encore, American Double reprised the Graceful Ghost.
American Double
• Grade: B+
• When and where: Friday at Augustana Lutheran Church
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