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RANT

“…I very much enjoyed your solo cello piece.  I think one of the hardest things to do is to write an engaging piece for one instrument with enough color and complexity to hold a listener's attention.  You succeeded brilliantly.”

– John Eaton, composer

BUSCANDO

May 6, 2006
Stony Brook University

For solo harpsichord
With a cadenza by Arthur Haas

This piece is very rich and Romantic - the baroque figures are there, but have a range of flow and freedom, of color and flavor - not merely texture, a sense of wanderlust - searching and surprise that surpass the traditional repetoire. But, Debra Kaye is an excellent melodist, too, and the motivic material, even as it transforms at quicksilver speed, often contrasts with patience - its pace is breathable, and the music is evocative and emotionally intriguing. The harmonies are as sincere and well-grounded as a traditional invention, but the music opens new vistas.

Arthur Haas has earned an international reputation as a harpsichord player and master teacher, and this premiere, played virtuosically, with a Haas cadenza, was memorable.

– Mark Greenfest

ALARIA premieres MY AMERICAN SHTETL

Sunday, April 22, 2007
Alaria’s Elga Stulman Series
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York

For piano trio and narrator
Abridged and adapted by Bel Kaufman from stories of Sholom Aleichem
Music by Debra Kaye

Alaria, the piano trio teaching ensemble at Mannes, puts on enjoyable programs with artistic depth. With the unique timbres of this trio – virtuosic violinist, Yuri Vodovoz’s lush and exciting tone, cellist Diliana Momtchilova’s rich, profound and lovely tone, and pianist Nancy Garniez’s – clear, steady and versatile technique, the Turina Fantasia, Circulo, (Op. 91, 1942) sounded magical. The Alaria’s string duo, with the addition of a guest, accomplished violist, Mauryey Banaszek, performed Beethoven String Trio in G (op. 9, No. 1, 1798), which the 28-year old composer considered his best work to date. In the program notes, Ms. Garniez, Alaria’s founder and pianist since 1983, wrote, “When I was first in Europe, not so long after World War II, one heard workers singing on the street at all hours of the day. We risk getting farther and farther removed form this source of vitality in our sense of classical music which we tend to take far too seriously.” The Alaria programming tends to reflect spontaneity as well as beauty in both its classical pieces and new works.

As a reviewer of contemporary classical music, I knew that the new piece would be a real treat even before I heard it. Debra Kaye its composer has mastery of her craft – she writes bold, lovely, well-structured, lively and emotionally satisfying pieces, which I am sure she edits very carefully. Bel Kaufman, the narrator of My American Shtetl (2007, World premiere) is the 95-year old only living granddaughter of the legendary Yiddish author, Sholom Aleichem, and the author of Up the Down Staircase (about her experiences as a young NYC public high school teacher in the 1950’s). She and her husband, producer Sidney Gluck, are pillars of the Jewish New York theatrical community – well, too lively to be called anything so stationary as pillars – more like the life of the party. Ms. Kaufman has abridged, revised and added commentary to two of her grandfather’s stories – Jewish humor, laughter through tragedy abound: such as the old man wearing glasses without any lenses who says, “ It’s better than nothing.”

Ms. Kaye savvily lets Ms. Kaufman narrate and then illustrates the moods and tales, between the narration. The music is sweet, joyous, subtle – but not too so – it’s suitable for children of all ages. Klezmer flows through the violin and cello, and the piano is like an additional narrator. The narration and the musical composition are fascinating and very entertaining. If Stravinsky were Jewish, this piece would not be as good as this happy collaboration of Sholom Aleichem, Debra Kaye, Bel Kaufman, and the Alaria trio. This piece got its standing ovation.

Faures’s exquisite Quartet in C minor (Op. 15, rev. 1883) counterbalanced the humor and tears with its elegant directness and emotional sincerity. Its ending is earthier. The acoustics of Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall are perfect for chamber music.

– Mark Greenfest