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Millennium Panel: Chamber Music
Thursday May 25, 2000 10:00AM
Arthur A. Molitierno, Reviewer
Panel host Allen Dean
Panel: Ray Mase, Fred Mills, Robert Nagel
An avid audience interested in brass chamber music was treated to a lesson in history from those who have helped shape the present diversity and differing complexions of the genre. Host Allan Dean began by noting the recent deaths of two musicians who have been most notable in the development of brass music, Philip Jones and Robert King. This somber note was soon followed with a lively presentation by the panelists, with Robert Nagel indicating "how we got started" after World War II. Many brass players were simply not aware of the material for brass quintets and choirs. Through the work of the New York Brass Quintet and then the Metropolitan Brass Ensemble this lapse of historical brass consciousness was soon corrected.
Ray Mase then explained the genesis of the American Brass Quintet, a group formed around November 1960. Mase joined the group in 1973. Since its inception, the American Brass Quintet has kept a focused approach to the kinds of compositions performed. It heralds the work of new composers and modern arrangements. Although some works have been quite difficult for audiences to accept, the group is now more "audience friendly" in its approach, while also maintaining its commitment to the quality of new compositions. The group has commissioned a work by Elliott Carter, considered the "dean of American composers" and recently commissioned a work by Melinda Wagner just before she won the Pulitzer Prize.
Fred Mills, long known for his work with The Canadian Brass, gave a historical and hysterical synopsis of the birth of the group. The Canadian Brass began its work by playing children's concerts in the Hamilton, Ontario, area, under contract with the Hamilton Philharmonic. After 250 concerts for diverse audiences, the Canadian Brass soon began building a reputation and an extensive body of works. After five years with the Hamilton Philharmonic, the group was ready to expand its audiences. The rest is recording and musical history.
The audience reacted to the presentations with numerous questions, some centering around the composition of quintets and the decision to employ tubas or bass trombones, others indicating the desire to know something about the stage effects the Canadian Brass has become noted for including in its concerts. The panel members remarked on the wealth of material for brass chamber music and the almost limitless possibilities for further excursions into chamber brass history. (Arthur A. Molitierno, associate professor of English, Wright State University) |
