THE MUSIC OF GEORGE PERLE
at Orchestra Hall
Perle happened on that system when he discovered the piano score to Berg’s Lyric Suite for String Quartet at DePaul. He immediately realized the potential in that score for a new system of musical language, one that would be as integral to organizing the chromatic scale as the major-minor system had been to organizing the diatonic scale. Perle’s quick acceptance of serialism blinded him to the fact that the Viennese 12-tone composers were constructing “rows” of 12 pitches in a fixed order that had to be used in sequence throughout a given work. Since he misunderstood this process from the very beginning, his own music went off in an entirely different direction. That direction he would later call “12-tone tonality,” his own distinctive musical language, which was as much influenced by the symmetrical organization processes of composers such as Debussy, Bartok, Stravinsky, and Scriabin as by any of the serialists.
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Perle won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for his Wind Quintet IV, a form that he has a particular affinity for and that has become a unique personal vehicle for his musical expression. (The complete wind quintets are available on a single disc, all brilliantly performed by the Dorian Wind Quintet, a magnificent introduction to Perle’s music.) A first-rate ensemble that included CSO principal clarinetist Larry Combs and flutist Mary Stolper (both faculty members at DePaul) gave the piece a revealing and upbeat performance–well balanced and well executed, with convincing tempi, exquisite phrasing, and lots of beautifully controlled dynamic contrasts.
The program began with six Mahler songs from various stages in his career–including two songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn, and settings by Ruckert and Leander–that were given the kind of artistry that these fragile songs deserve but so rarely receive. “Wer hat dies Liedlein erdacht?” (“Who thought up this song?”) was delivered in an almost breathless fashion, with great poignancy and beautifully focused vocal sound. The amazing thing about Auger is that she can soar more gracefully in the upper ranges than most coloraturas, yet she has a full, dark-colored lower range as well. Register shifts are seamless, and complex runs and trills hold no problems for her extraordinary technique. Her ability to evoke both the musical and textual meaning of these Mahler songs was positively spellbinding. (What a treat it will be to hear her sing the Mahler Fourth Symphony this weekend with Klaus Tennstedt and the Chicago Symphony. I cannot imagine a better pair of collaborators for this monumental work. If you can’t make this concert, Auger will be back in August for a Ravinia recital with Misha Dichter.)
Perhaps the most effective Rorem songs were the two encores, both early songs about 40 years old now: “Alleluia” and “Early in the Morning,” which has a nice Romantic lilt to it that was effectively communicated by Auger.
