Oregon Symphony celebrates minimalism in Kahane-curated concert

Deanna Tham conducting | Photo by Rachel Hadiashar

Minimalism never had it so good. That’s the feeling I came away with after hearing the Oregon Symphony at The Patricia Reser Center for the Arts (October 6). The orchestra – trimmed down to a variety of chamber ensembles and solos – dished up a delicious sampling of minimalist treats – curated expertly by Gabriel Kahane, who is really hitting his stride as the orchestra’s Creative Chair.

Each piece had the driving force of minimalism – hallmarked by repetitive sounds and patterns – but also by lyricism in various guises. With his informal and inviting style, Kahane, as emcee, made the concert an outright fun experience. He didn’t lecture the audience, but provided just enough of a handle to guide listeners through his personal gallery of favorite minimalist gems. The variety was terrific and the pace of the concert was spot on. Concertgoers, who filled most of the 550-seat hall.

Kahane quietly snuck to a grand piano at the back of the stage to start the show with the world premiere of his “For Meredith.” In this piece, a tribute to Meredith Monk, Kahane fashioned a lovely, wordless melody that had lots of warmth and color. While he sang, members of the chamber orchestra filed in silently, taking great care not to bump into music stands. They added to the piano underlayment and created a beautiful wash of sound.

That led directly (without a pause) to the next piece, the third movement (Fast) from Steve Reich’s “Electric Counterpoint, which was played by guitarist Mike Gamble. As he rocked back and forth, the light and airy music he generated had an hypnotic surfer vibe that was enhanced by the aqua-green-blue lighting splashed onto the back wall. It was all set at the same mezzo-forte volume-level, which was its only drawback.

Shelley Washington’s “Middleground” (in an arrangement for string orchestra by Leilehua Lanzilotti) fashioned a motoric sound to delightfully convey a family-filled car on a trip. The second violins created passages that suggested squabbling siblings. The lower strings calmed things over and after a sudden pause – the propulsive energy of the piece restarted and took on a conversational nature with brief solos tossed into the mix. Deanna Tham conducted the ensemble with precision, and the strings seemed to enjoy a style that bordered at times on fiddling.

From an upright piano perched on the front right-hand side of the stage, Kahane performed Meredith Monk’s pleasant and gentle “Ellis Island,” which segued nicely to Samuel Adams “Moments (for us and them).” Adams’ piece was a real tour de force for string orchestra – led by Tham’s incisive beat. It had a lot of twists and turns that led listeners down one path and then another that was completely different. A dramatic passage near the beginning featured the first violins slowly climbing higher and higher while the double basses were descending. Other segments buzzed with furious bowing from the entire ensemble. Concertmaster Inés Voglar Belgique delivered wonderful lyrical lines and all sorts of mercurial phrases. Sometimes it seemed that one section of the orchestra was struggling to get the upper hand against another. The rumbling double basses descended to some very low notes – detuning their instruments along the way – and the piece became incredibly melancholic to the edge of sadness. But then things took off again, and the piece surged with intensity, ending with a blur of mystery.

Cellist Trevor Fitzpatrick performed Andy Akiho’s “Three Shades, Foreshadows,” accompanied by an electronic soundtrack filled with an array of eclectic noises. Fitzpatrick emphasized the percussive qualities of the cello by deftly alternating between plucking, strumming, slapping, bowing, and other techniques while the electronics cycled through drumming patterns, machine-like sequences, scratchy segments, and other unorthodox sounds that suggested distortion. It looked challenging to play, and it was challenging to hear.

A dozen or so musicians were seated in a semi-circle to perform Julia Wolf’s “A Wild Furze.” It evoked sonic waves that were interjected with notes that slid down and away. In conducting this piece, Tham was more like a human metronome that provided a steady foundation

Violinist Erin Furbee gave a beautiful performance of the third movement (“Charukeshi”) of Reena Esmail’s “Darshan.” The music was lovely and filled with Indian lyricism and meant to evoke a way of seeing God. It also seemed to have the least amount of minimalistic style.

The concert ended on a fun, upbeat chatter with Julius Eastman’s joyful “Stay On It,” which was sort of a jam session for classical musicians and vocalist Holcomb Waller. Instead of a conductor, Kahane would stand from the piano and shout “one, two, three, four” in order to indicate a change in the sequence. An assemblage of 22 musicians included brass, woodwinds, and percussion, and all seemed to have a grand time with some making the most of an improvisational moment. The piece has a flexible framework; so Kahane and colleagues did a shorter 10-minute version rather than the longer 45-minute version. Whatever the length, the tune becomes an earworm that stays with you for a good long while afterwards.

Fragmenting into a sonic collage, “Stay On It” had a marvelous way of wandering hear and there, but it finally dwindled to more isolated fragments until it closed out quietly. Some of us in the audience wanted to yell “one, two, three, four!” But we will have to wait until next time. Kahane did hint before the ensemble embarked on the piece that the audience could get up and dance. So who knows, maybe he and his colleagues will try to make that happen sometime in the future.