So, the Patricia Barber event I mentioned earlier was a bit of a wash, since her in-progress song cycle Mythologies, after Ovid, might as well remain in-progress. For a song-cycle, there seems to be no discernible trajectory. Her fusion retreads and sorry-ass hip-hop incorporations might fool the Tribune's Howard Reich, who called the song cycle "potentially revelatory." Yeah, just give it a few more hours in the oven, or a few more years in the incubator, and there might be something there! Saturday night, there wasn't.
Reich also missed the boat on the entire first half of the concert, which included Ligeti's First String Quartet, Joan Tower's Petroushskates and some Oriental filigree/melange/fantasy by Yao Chen called Transience. Those were only performed by the Pacifica Quartet and eighth blackbird, two ensembles who get praised anywhere they go. But they aren't good enough to be noticed by the impressive critical mind that belongs to Howard Reich, apparently. Enough of criticizing critics; sometimes it's too easy.
This concert was actually under the auspices of Contempo, which grew out of the Contemporary Chamber Players that was founded by Ralph Shapey. That makes giving all the story to Barber's shtick that much more galling.
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The good news is that Alan Gilbert's in charge of the Chicago Symphony this weekend. His concert last year with them was pretty sleepy and bland, but they're paying attention to him this week and turned in a gripping Dvorak 7 last night, which bodes well.
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Time Out London's Martin Hoyle has christened Norman Lebrecht Norman LeDreck, a nickname I suggest we all pick up post-haste.
