There being no finer way to spend a scorching Bastille Day, this writer sought shelter in the Maverick Concert Hall, wherein the virtuosic woodwind ensemble WindSync delivered a rich offering of both commonplace and avant-garde music from France and Vietnam. The five young players of WindSync conjured just such a duality of forces, both well-known and mysterious, both warm-hearted and stark.
Mozart’s familiar and lovely Mozart’s Serenade for Winds in C Minor, K. 388 got to us right from the get-go. Its minor chord opening stretched into an attention-getting arpeggiated gesture, making immediately clear that we—and Mozart—were in very good hands. The five players perfectly engaged with each other and with the score. With their flawless intonation and eager rhythmic accord, the ensemble pulled off that wonderful trick of gathering any number of musicians together and so uniting them that one player is seemingly presiding at one instrument. Yet solo work also shone throughout the afternoon. Flautist Garrett Hudson and oboist Noah Kay especially impressed in the temperate, even-keeled slow movement. This piece has been recorded many times, frequently with two instruments on each part. The svelte unanimity we heard on Sunday, with only one on a part, achieved both clarity and warmth.
Vietnamese-American composer Viet Cuong’s Six Canadian Scenes (2009) comprises short solos for solo oboe. Cuong ‘dedicated’ his Opus One to Jasper Park, Mirror Lake Pine Island, and Mount Robson.If our feet were held to the fire, would categorize this suite as belonging to the “post-tonal” genre. The set possesses an unmistakable beginning, middle, and end, with a clear—but never insistent—tonal center. Oboist Noah Kay interpreted the lovely set of miniatures with grace, earnestness, and panache.
Cuong held an informative Q & A session before the concert. He holds degrees in composition and theory from Princeton University, the Curtis Institute, and the Peabody Conservatory. Two more of his miniatures, the early Zanelle (2009) and the more contemporary Apparition (2018), delightfully opened the second half in clarinetist Graeme Steele Johnson’s brief traversal.
The rest of ensemble returned to the stage along with pianist Blair McMillen, a professor of piano and chamber music at Bard Conservatory, Mannes at the New School, and The Juilliard School, for a work by a composer who embodies the very idea of panache. Francis Poulenc wrote his Sextet for Piano and Winds between the World Wars without, of course, knowing what horror was awaiting Europe, especially France. We could nevertheless let down our guard and enjoy the rakish jauntiness and bonhomie of the energetic ensemble.
Because we are so close to the ensemble at the Maverick, we can clearly observe the interactions and take pleasure in witnessing the subtle cues which unite six into one. E pluribus unum, n’est-ce pas?