Concert Report 3

Yesterday evening I attended a junior recital at the Hockett Family Recital Hall. The recital was for Junwen Jia, an alto saxophonist, and was in fulfillment of the degree of Bachelor of Music in Performance.

Out of all the recitals I've been to, I'd have to say this one is the most unique. While the last two were a more classical genre, all of the compositions in this from the 20th century. Right off the bat, I could see connections to the modernist style of sound and composition we studied in class. It was extremely difficult for me to sense phrasing and cadences. It was quite hard for me to tell the difference between the first two pieces, as the textures were the same, with the same instrumentation of sax and piano. The saxophone itself I feel is definitely an instrument that creates a modernist-style sound when played in a concert setting. While I'm used to hearing it in jazz, hearing it as a part of concert music is a completely different experience.

Another way I felt the music embodied a modernist style was through the structuring and flow of the compositions. In the second piece, it was almost as if he would play for quick 1-2 minute bursts, and then completely stop for about 20 seconds. The end result was very disjointed, and it was almost as if he was giving a small sample of the various styles.

The last piece of the program was my favorite. It featured a marimba, and once again the use of instrumentation was what made it so interesting to me. If I were to hear that a saxophone and marimba were going to be doing a duet, I would automatically assume it was some sort of smooth jazz in a hotel lobby or something. This piece proved that wrong for sure. The piece once again had that modernist feel to it. There were lots of fast scale runs (what seemed to be on the whole-tone scale) and dissonant chords from the marimba. The two instruments varied between playing in unison and a call-and-response type structure, further creating a feeling of 'organized chaos' if you will. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this recital, even if it was not at all what I was expecting to begin with.