The Metropolis Ensemble, an upstart New York-based chamber orchestra that emphasizes the work of living composers as well as new interpretations of the familiar, played an ambitious concert last night at the new Times Center on 41st Street. The concert, given the name "Loop" by artistic director Andrew Cyr, started light and pretty with Ravel’s "Three Poems of Stephane Mallarme", sung by the engaging soprano Keira Duffy.
Ryan Francis, a 26-year-old doctoral fellow at Juilliard, composed his Piano Concerto for Metropolis, working closely with them. The performance, led by soloist Anna Polonsky, was solid; unfortunately, the music came off sounding sentimental and derivative, openly aping Ligeti, Reich and Adams. But, give the kid credit: at least he’s making good choices on who to rip off. I look forward to hearing his own mature voice someday.
I know Esa-Pekka Salonen almost exclusively through his conducting, chiefly as the music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, a position he relinquishes at the end of next season. But, Salonen is also a gifted composer – his own Piano Concerto was premiered by the New York Phil last season – and intends to spend much of his free time writing music. Ms. Duffy returned to sing Salonen’s Five Images After Sappho (1999): a deeply satisfying work of complexity and verve, filled with some stunning moments that Ms. Duffy delivered with grace and power. Many in the audience were surprised to see Salonen – one of the classical world’s busiest musicians – come up in person to take a bow and applaud the musicians: not a bad endorsement for Cyr and his band.
The concert ended with Erik Satie’s Sports et Divertissements, in a new interpretation by British composer David Bruce and monologuist Mike Daisey, perhaps best known for 21 Dog Years, about his years working at Amazon.com. Daisey read Satie’s texts, which he adapted from the original to make them a bit more contemporary, getting lots of laughs in the process. For the last sport, "Le Tennis", Daisey tossed a tennis ball to Cyr, who proceeded to bounce it in place of a baton for the final interlude.
The Metropolis Ensemble is taking a bit of a hiatus, but they’ll be back with a vengeance this summer, when they join forces with the Wordless Music Series in a performance of The Rite of Spring at Celebrate Brooklyn, paired with Bay Area indie stars Deerhoof. Should be epic.