Last night (Saturday Oct 2) at the Smithsonian in Washington marked the
first concert (entitled "Heavens and Hell" in the 1999-2000 season for
the 20th Century Consort, whose main problem in the pre-concert discussion
seemed to be whether or not to change their name to 21st Century Consort!

This was the first time I had attended any of their concerts and I admit
to having been completely blown away by the music.  The major work was
Stravinsky's 'L'Histoire du Soldat' with National Public Radio's Martin
Goldsmith (Performance Today) and Robert Aubrey Davis (Millenium of Music)
as Narrator and Devil respectively.  I have never before seen 'L'Histoire'
live and quite apart from the fascinating interplay between the
instrumentalists which became much more obvious in a live performance, I
was struck by the great potential for comedy which the piece contains --
potential which Davis milked to the full!  It certainly opened my eyes to
this underrated piece of Stravinsky, which I need to study a little more --
not the least for its bizarre plot!

The perception-changing piece of the evening, however, was George Crumb's
'Celestial Mechanics', fourth in the 'Makrokosmos' series.  Scored for
piano six hands (of which more in a moment) this is a four movement piece
of about 20-25 minutes duration.  I have *never* heard a piano make sounds
anything like this before!  We were lucky enough to have as pianists
Lambert Orkis and James Primosch, who gave the second performance of this
piece in 1979 or 1980 and made the first recording of it -- on LP currently
out of print and never transferred to CD, regrettably.

I would love to see a score of this piece to see how Crumb deals with the
notation for all the weird and wonderful activities in which the pianists
have to indulge.  Hitting various parts of the frame with clenched fists,
plucking piano strings with their fingers on an open pedal to produce weird
harmonics, using a squeegee to dampen a range of strings -- all of these
were explained before the performance and I must admit I was steeling
myself for an assault on my eardrums.  But I was much more than pleasantly
surprised.  It would be difficult to describe the music as lyrical (with
the possible exception of the ethereal closing bars) but it is certainly
interesting to the point of fascination.  At one point in the third
movement, a series of steel rulers are placed on certain ranges of the
piano strings, which produces an amazing sound I an only liken to a
harpsichord on steroids!  The two pianists are joined by an assistant --
the page turner -- who at two separate points in the score has to fiddle
away inside the piano to increase the number of different simultaneous
sounds coming from the instrument.  This marks the first time I have ever
seen a page turner take a bow -- though this should not be seen as a
disparaging comment on Jan Orkis' participation last night -- she is also
a fine pianist, by all accounts.  I could empathise with Lambert Orkis'
comment likening the performance to an operation in a hospital -- the two
principals seemed to spend more time on their feet with their hands in the
bowels of the (partially-amplified) piano than sat at the keyboard.

I'm extremely glad I went last night, since if I had listened to the Crumb
on disc I would have dismissed it as an interesting curiosity.  Having seen
it performed and understanding just a little about the subtelties of sound
Crumb was aiming for, my appetite for his music has been stimulated.
Anyone have any suggestions for further listening?

Future concerts in the series include the following -- anyone in the
Washington DC area who is interested should contact the Smithsonian
Associates on (202)357-3030 for further details.

Nov 13, 1999 "Looney Tunes"
Hindemith: Die Serenaden
Schoenfield: Carolina Morning
Schoenberg: Pierrot Lunaire

Jan 14-15, 2000 "Hail Millenium" (at Washington National Cathedral)
Harbison: Organum
Kuss: The Armed Man
Vaughan Williams: Five Variants on Dives and Lazarus
Primosch: Sacred Songs

Feb 26, 2000 "Tempus Fugit"
Bartok: Contrasts
Jaffe: Four Songs
Carter: Piano Sonata
Foss: Time Cycle

Apr 15, 2000 "Simple Gifts"
Cage; Our Spring Will Come
Adams: Shaker Loops
Copland: Appalachian Spring

Apart from the Vaughan Williams, Adams and Copland I know none of this
music. Like Esa-Pekka Salonen, however, I intend to keep "Open Ears."

Tim Mahon
Alexandria, VA