CMNW's first Protégé Project concert

by CMNW guest blogger Becky Anderson

I don’t believe I’ve ever had my right hand stamped to show I’m under 21 at a classical music concert, but I guess there’s a first time for everything! And the CMNW Jasper Quartet concert at Mississippi studios on Sunday was definitely a break from the strictly formal setting in which classical music is often performed. With posters of various bands lining the stairway up to the small balcony, wooden guitar cutouts hanging from the walls, and drinks available at the bar downstairs (for those of us without hand stamps), the venue was so different from the typical CMNW venues of Kaul Auditorium and Catlin Gabel that I was rather curious and honestly wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

The Jasper quartet prepared a varied program including Haydn, Webern, and Schumann. The performance was very interactive with the audience, and all four members of the quartet were very personable and engaging when introducing themselves and talking about the music they were playing. This connection with the audience was especially evident in the Webern “Five Movements for String Quartet.” After performing one of the short movements of the piece and playing a guessing game of “name that composer” (during which one enthusiastic audience member shouted “Zappa!!”), the quartet proceeded to explain the concept of Serialism in Webern’s music (using all twelve notes of the Western music scale absolutely equally without tonal emphasis), how he used Sonata form in a particular movement the same way that Haydn used the form in the previous piece they played, and personally why they were attracted to Webern’s music. The quartet seemed encouraged (and I was excited) when most of the audience members raised their hands in response to the question, “did you enjoy the Webern more after hearing it a second time?” The audience members were encouraged by the quartet members not to think of this particular music in terms of “I like it” or “I don’t like it,” but simply to experience it as it is. Webern’s music is often (and unfortunately) considered intellectually fascinating but not terribly pleasant to listen to, so it was encouraging to see a connection being built not just between the Jasper quartet and the audience, but also between a particular kind of classical music (which is considered by many as bizarre at best) and the audience. The quartet opened the floor to a question-and-answer session before closing the first half.

The second half of the concert had more musical continuity without as much verbal interaction with the audience, as the quartet played through the entire Schumann A Major quartet without interruption between the movements. The enthusiastic applause at the end of the concert showed that audience members seemed to enjoy the performance as much as I did. I’m looking forward to the rest of the Sunday series!