LU: Rates of Extinction. MOCHIZUKI: Moebius-Ring. PRAETORIUS: Of Being / Ning Yu, pno / New Focus Recordings FCR242
Chinese pianist Ning Yu gives us here three modern works by relatively unknown composers, those being Wang Lu, Misato Mochizuki and Emily Praetorius. This is music as much involved with pacing and space as it is of edgy passages, though of course the edginess is there, too.
Rates of Extinction is a five-part suite dedicated to endangered species, some of which are threatened by human advancement on their environment. The first three pieces are bleak and forlorn, leaning towards minor modes although no key is firmly established. In the fourth piece, the left hand plays a series of repeated, rhythmic Cs, eventually moving into almost modern-jazz-like development with a great deal of syncopation and very imaginative right-hand flurries before quieting down around 1:56 for some very spaced-out, isolated notes, then moving back into the fast, busy passages once again. The music becomes very complex, almost menacing, towards the end of this segment, returning to spaciness for part five, although a lyrical theme in B begins to coalesce.
Moebius-Ring begins with a bang—literally, a bass bang on the keyboard. This is a piece built around repeated pulsations, which the piano “tries to escape” but fails as the tempo tightens and relaxes in turn. At certain moments, the music becomes much faster and a discernible rhythm propels the music. I wasn’t crazy about the repetitive nature of some of the music, however; for me, it was more gimmicky than emotionally moving.
According to the composer, Of Being “navigates a space between suspended time and flowing time. The material in each movement is fairly minimal and exposed so as to frame sounds and gestures into discrete moments.” The extreme slowness of the pulse or pacing in the beginning puts the listener into a questioning mood. Where is this going, and how will it get there? Little by little, the music develops at its own pace. Once in a while, an unexpected keyboard run is tossed in, perhaps humorously for effect, and every so often certain notes tend to bump into one another, creating a temporary feeling of rhythmic movement. In Part II, Yu plays the inside strings of his piano and occasionally thumps the boards. For me, although some of this was interesting, it again seemed a bit gimmicky.
Nonetheless, this is an interesting album, worth hearing at least once. You may get even more out of it than I did.
—© 2020 Lynn René Bayley
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