Search - Steven Kovacs Tickmayer :: Cold Peace Counterpoints

"MOLTO NERVOSO"

Kerry Leimer | Makawao, Hawaii United States | 02/24/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Tickmayer's resumé is unimpeachable. From the brilliant and often humourous meta rock short forms spun out by The Science Group, to the subverting exhortations of Thinking Plague, to his collaborations in scoring arrangements for the classically trained Kremerata Baltica, his work is the sort that can only result from a deep and broad awareness of music and music practice, shaped by a distinct cultural heritage and sustained exposure to some of the leading lights of 20th Century Art Music, on all sides of all aisles. Those drawn to the intellectually driven compositions of Kurtag and Andriessen, the meticulous perfomances of Gidon Kremer the sonic manifestations of a strident discipline and dedication to achieving multiple forms of simultaneous coherences, Tickmayer is your man. The "Concerto grosso" opens with the near noise agitation of an introduction designated to be played molto nervoso. Pianos clash with strings and proceed to rush through a fairly comprehensive catalog of 20th Century compositional techniques: angular, fast-paced and unsettling, the average listener will squint and complain, the atypical listener will detect the submerged order and feel astounded by the unexpected attractiveness of something with such utterly sundered surfaces. "Cold Peace Counterpoints" and the "Five Bagatelles for a Polyhistor", dedicated to the poet and painter Bada Dada, complete an expertly mapped and undiscriminating survey of styles and techniques subsumed to Tickmayer's very personal and profound aesthetic."