Premieres from Orion Quartet and Dolce Suono

Never judge a new piece by listening to a recording. The difference between a live performance and a recording is comparable to the difference between a play and a movie.

I broke that rule when I visited David Dzubay's website and sampled his Astral quartet on my computer before I attended the Philadelphia premiere presented by the Orion Quartet. Over the computer, Astral sounded like the kind of eerie space music Hollywood likes to place behind images of starscapes in science fiction movies. In real life, on the stage at the Perelman, it acquired the resonance of music that's bouncing off real soundboards and real walls.

Since Astral was commissioned by the Orion— a quartet named for a constellation— Dzubay says he decided it would be fitting to compose a piece that "would look at stars and space in various ways." His score includes a bit of ESM (eerie space music) here and there, along with a little MMS (modern music squawks). But for the most part it's an imaginative personal take on his subject.

The first section, "Voyages," moves along at a fast clip, as a trip through the galaxy should, and suggests an epic journey, like the Odyssey, with a proper complement of monsters and mysteries. The violin engages in one bit of ESM near the end, but Dzubay's score also includes beautiful flights on the viola and some nice rhythmic moves, which the violist emphasized by whipping the strings with the bow.

Extraterrestrial life?

The second movement, "SETI," evokes the sound of random radio noises picked up by the radio telescopes dedicated to the Search for Extraterrestrial Life. Near the end there's a switch to rapid chatter, as if dozens of voices were communicating across the light years.

The third section, "Starry Night," evokes the solemn passage of the stars. Section Four, "Dream Song," is accompanied by the text of a Native American funeral song. Dzubay inventively manipulates the song melody while capturing the mood of a poem that depicts the soul walking along the Milky Way.

The finale, "Super Nova," includes some more ESM and a little MMS, but it does more interesting things in between, and it ends with a small literary/musical joke: The final chord contains exactly 42 strokes— for reasons that will be understood by every interstellar hitchhiker who has ever pondered the Ultimate Question.

Music mixed with farce

The other new piece I listened to recently was a tribute to Haydn by Dolce Suono's pianist, Charles Abramovic, composed on a commission from Dolce Suono and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. (And funded by the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage. Musicians and presenters may assign commissions, but someone else usually provides the money.)

Charged to write something in honor of one of his favorite composers, in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Haydn's death, Abramovic had the guts to create a piece that mixes music with farce. The title, Laus D, is a pun on the motto Haydn placed at the end of his scores— Laus Deo, "praise God." Abramovic quotes several of Haydn's works in D Major, but he mostly memorializes the lighter side of Haydn's personality— the practical joker who threw a sudden drum blast into the slow movement of the "Surprise" symphony in the hope it would wake up the audience.

Laus D relies on surprise for some of its humor, so I won't describe it here. You'll just have to take my word that it's a genuinely funny comedy turn and hope that Dolce Suono programs it again soon. It would make a great comic interlude in almost any chamber concert.

Haydn for all seasons

Both new pieces were preceded by Haydn works. Laus D fittingly followed one of Haydn's elegant charmers for flute, piano, and cello. Astral followed a deeper work-- the String Quartet in B-flat major that Haydn wrote in his final years.

The quartet spans a gamut that covers the full range of human feelings, from the dark somberness of the slow movement to the lighter moods of the minuet and the finale. It's a perfect example of art that's timeless and universal. Although it was composed more than 200 years ago, it feels like the work of a sensibility that shares the feelings and attitudes of mature minds in every era. The Orion Quartet gave it the benefit of a performance by a true ensemble— that is, one in which no voice dominates and all the parts fit together.