Pianist extinguished

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33655, 3 October 1974, Page 7

Pianist extinguished

Music Players ’7O, probably the most exciting musical group in New Zealand, gave a performance before a pitifully small audience in the Ngaio Marsh Theatre on Tuesday evening. Perhaps it is just as well [that the musical "establish;ment” did not show up be-

cause the concert was a celebration of what is new in; music — and “old” music: did not stand a chance. j The climax was anarchic.’ Alain Louvier wrote! “Houjes” (Surges) in 1970' after studying with Messiaen.! It is impossible to judge whether Music Players ’7O did justice to the work as it is written down — it consists of about 10 minutes of sounds created by slapping 'the keys and plucking the

strings of a piano, hitting drums, cymbals, and wooden blocks, all accompanied by the wails and growls of an electronic synthesiser — but they certainly did justice to the spirit of it. The sounds and textures are interesting, the rhythms arresting, but the composer’s', “statement” — if composers make statements any more—’. is made at the end, when the pianist breaks into “classical” music. The other players attack him with a hooter and then two fire extinguishers, covering him with foam. But Music Players—Barry Margan, Gary Brain, David, James and Trevor Dean —are intent not on anarchy but on ■ [fine performances of serious! modern works; and they do, 'this with a professiona’ism which should earn them a great deal of praise when they tour Australia later this ’month. Their performance last night of Bartok’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion 'was flawless, and provided ’an interesting contrast to .Bartok’s orchestral version of 'the work which Brain and ’Dean, with the Kontarsky ’Brothers and the N.Z.B.C. j Symphony, performed on ’Saturday evening. ! The original score has a spare harshness which is ■ smudged in the orchestral ! version, and the players /showed this clearly. A former professional ; boxer, Kazimierz Serocki, .’wrote “Fantasmagoria” in 1971, and his boxing career ! seemed to influence his writ- ' ing for piano. Much of the i work requires the pianist to i pluck, brush or strum the ! strings, or to strike what i seem to be random keys with the flat of his hand. But the ; work is full of interest, par- ' ticularly in the range of i sounds produced from almost every percussion instrument ■ ever thought of, and the i players carried it off brilliantly. _ , —R.M.J.