Festival Wrap-Up, Guest Blogger Daniel Wohl

WOHL_BARN

As part of our 2010 MATA Festival Wrap-up, we've invited composers, performers, and others involved in the production of the Festival to write a few words about their experience.  First up is composer Daniel Wohl, who's piece Glitch was heard on April 20th, performed by the Calder Quartet. :::::MATA's 2010 presentation of an assortment of new music by young composers from around the world didn't feel constrained by stylistic agendas. What struck me the most at the Festival was the healthy diversity of sound worlds I experienced. I was one of the composers featured on the Calder Quartet bill - and leaving myself out of it - I thought that night was a very strong and thoughtful performance of some very interesting pieces. I had heard Fabian Svenson's  " Singing and Dancing" in L.A last September, part of the Carlsbad Festival's satellite concert, and I was excited to be able to hear it again. I love the unabashed, drop dead gorgeous first movement, and the goofy energy of the second. Nathan Davis's new piece, commissioned by MATA, was a total success for me. The texture he created with his use of harmonics in perpetual motion was enveloping and worked particularly well in the space, especially as he had the quartet use amplification on top of being miked from above. Calder performed beautifully on Lisa Coon's carefully sculpted string quartet, really enhancing it's contours. Some people noted the similarities in the music they heard that night: a friend of mine came up to me later and said that we were all very much into "scratchy sounds".Other highlights for me were Tristan Perich's piece for three toy pianos and 1-bit electronics. This is a piece I've heard several times now, yet it remains entrancing and entertaining each time I hear it.  I thought Ensemble Pamplemousse's set the same day was very refreshing. They were playing some very tricky music that consisted almost entirely of sculpted noise, and I was really struck by how precise and convincing they're performance was. That kind of music is very difficult to pull off unless you have an incredible grasp of extended technique and a strong sense of the piece as a whole. As usual Lisa Moore's playing was fun to watch. The last piece on her program, Paul Swartzel's "Honky Tonk Toccata" really demonstrated her incredible command of the instrument. It was good to see all these (and many more) skillful performers be advocates for young composers!To me, the festival did a very solid job of presenting an sample of what young composers are up to these days - and I have to say I'm excited and inspired by what I'm hearing. There's beautiful and interesting music being made by a new generation of talent. Their pieces often defy categorization and sometimes push boundaries, but never sacrifice their relationship to the audience.