Flux Quartet at Kanagawa Kenmin Hall, January 11th 2020

Contemporary Classical music is definitely not an easy sell and that was, unfortunately, the case for this concert. Not because of the quality of the program or the performance, which were flawless, but because of the modest turnout. When I got to the hall -kind of in a hurry because I was late, I made it on time though- I didn’t expect to see a billboard just outside advertising the show and a huge number of people in the surrounding areas. I noticed they were mostly young women and remembered that it was the weekend when the coming of age ceremonies are held in Japan. I guess they were registering for the event or something. I struggled my way into the venue as if I were in the platform at the Shinjuku JR station when there’s a train delay. Finally made it about three minutes before start time and was surprised to see the hall half empty.

It was a shame because what it took place was a validation of the argument that favors live performances over recordings. In preparation to the concert I heard, in some cases discovered and in some cases reheard, most of the pieces included in the program. As fascinating as they were on tape the Flux Quartet performances in the flesh blew those experiences away. The ensemble was able to convey with a unique personality each of the pieces selected for this program under the title of Family Tree of American Composers. 

Take for instance the concert’s closer, String Quartet No. 5 by Béla Bartók  There’s no question about its iconic masterpiece status and how it has been translated on record, such as that one included in the complete set by the Takács Quartet. In my opinion the energy of it when performed live is fixating. Everyone’s attention was held throughout the over thirty minutes length of the piece in a performance received with “bravos” by the end. With this kind of iconic staples we tend to overlook their humorous aspects, but in this performance the parody segment towards the end of the final movement came through clearly.

Humor was also an important element in the piece that opened the concert. String Quartet No. 3 by Conlon Nancarrow. The American composer who became a Mexican citizen and spent most of his life in that country, is notorious for his unplayable pieces. Lots of his studies were written for the player piano with some of them incorporating the ragtime aspects that instrument is usually associated with. String Quartet No. 3 juxtaposes the traditional idea of canonic music with an unnerving sense of impeding chaos that culminates with a C note played in unison by the four musicians.

The program included a couple of Japan Premieres written in recent years. Elizabeth Ogonek was present at the hall for the premiere in Japan of her piece Running at Still Life. According to the program notes she was inspired by the scenery she witnessed in a road trip from her hometown in the Midwest to California. You could tell the program music aspects of it, with its sudden crescendos and diminuendos that I guess depicted the sensation of being inside a vehicle on the highway as the title describes. A different representation of nature, or more specifically atmospheric events, was conveyed in the piece written by Tom Chiu, founder and first violin of the Flux Quartet. Retrocon was a captivating drone that resonated for about 20 minutes with variations of speed and range, that definitely succeeded in the ambitious idea of creating distinctive sounds with traditional instruments.

After the intermission and before Bartók’s Fifth String Quartet, a piece by Oliver Lake was performed. Flux Quartet recorded an album with the saxophonist founding member of the World Saxophone Quartet that included Hey Now Hey, the piece that was played at this concert. Even with the absence of the solo brass instrument, the performance was able to capture the dynamic that travels from the initial melody through improvisational passages and back to the main melody. The program notes describe jazz influences. In my opinion it’s jazz in the same way that Anthony Braxton is jazz. Challenging and rewarding contemporary music of the utmost quality.

An encore was performed and I was surprised it was left out of the official program but really glad they played it. It was Clouded Yellow by Michael Gordon. Gordon is the founder of the renowned Bang on a Can ensemble and his music definitely has that pounding rhythmic approach associated with such a name. It was an unexpected treat to see one of his pieces performed at this concert, a challenging and enriching overview of music in the 20th and 21st Centuries in America.
  
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