Flux Chamber Music Concert
Schoenberg Hall
May 27th, 2025 | 6pm
Program
Quartet (2013) | Steve Reich (b. 1936)
Kevin Needham, vibraphone
Frankie Peacock, vibraphone
Emily Webster-Zuber, piano
Kaitlin Webster-Zuber, piano
Spike (1999) | John Psathas (b. 1966)
Samantha Reavis, piano
Viraj Sonawala, marimba and vibraphone
Improvisation II sur Mallarmé (1957) | Pierre Boulez (1925-2016)
Yekaterina Lynch, soprano
Alaina Stark, harp
Viraj Sonawala, percussion
Trey Tappan, percussion
Kevin Needham, percussion
Demitrius Alleyne, percussion
Maddie Bottenberg, percussion
Kana Funayama, percussion
Matheo Irazabal, celeste
Lior David, piano
Sam Chung, conductor
Workers Union (1975) | Louis Andriessen (1939-2021)
Demitrius Alleyne, percussion
Maddie Bottenberg, percussion
Kevin Needham, percussion
Frankie Peacock, percussion
Viraj Sonawala, percussion
Trey Tappan, percussion
Oren Dror, clarinet
Gabriel Esperon, violin
Alaina Stark, harp
Sam Chung, piano/coach
Program Notes
Quartet (2013)
Steve Reich (b. 1936)
Program Note by Kevin Needham, Frankie Peacock, Emily Webster-Zuber, and Kaitlin Webster-Zuber
Steve Reich was one of the pioneering composers of minimalist music in the 1960’s, with a distinctive style foretold in his early “process music” tape pieces and now encompassing
chamber, electro-acoustic, and large-scale works for choral and orchestral forces. His music is marked by rhythmic repetition, slow harmonic progressions, and canons, which are all present in his 2013 piece for two vibraphones and two pianos, Quartet. Reich dedicated this quartet to percussionist Colin Currie and it was premiered by the Colin Currie Group in 2013. The composer described the piece in his official program notes:
“Quartet, when mentioned in the context of concert music, is generally assumed to mean string quartet. In my case, the quartet that has played a central role in many of my pieces (besides the string quartet) is that of two pianos and two percussion. It appears like that or in expanded form with more pianos or more percussion in The Desert Music, Sextet, Three Movements, The Four Sections, The Cave, Dance Patterns, Three Tales, You Are (Variations), Variations for Vibes, Pianos and Strings, Daniel Variations, Double Sextet, and Radio Rewrite. In Quartet, there is just this group alone: two vibes and two pianos.”
In Quartet, Reich weaves his influences from jazz, Ghanaian drumming, and Balinese gamelan, through ever-shifting rhythmic grooves and resonant, minimalist harmonies. In comparison to earlier works, he explores a more developed vocabulary of rich, chromatic harmonies. The piece highlights the interplay of organic textures and dialogue between the four featured instruments, creating moments of suspense, fluid meter and harmonic changes, and an almost constant sense of forward movement. These elements serve to pull the listener’s attention through the work alongside the ensemble.
The first movement, “Fast”, contains rapid meter changes and syncopations serve as tremendous challenges for the performers. Often in this movement, the pianos set the rhythm and harmony of the phrase which are decorated by vibraphone melodies. Material is often presented in unison rhythm then is presented as a canon, which is when musicians enter at different times to create a layered, interwoven sound. The second movement, “Slow”, focuses on slow harmonic progressions. This movement requires incredible sensitivity and communication from the musicians. The third movement, “Fast”, is quite similar to the first movement. It features many canons between the vibraphones, abrupt key changes, and concludes with a robust ensemble phrase.
Spike (1999)
John Psathas (b. 1966)
Program Note by Viraj Sonawala and Samantha Reavis
Spike, composed by John Psathas in 1999, is scored for piano and percussion. Psathas, a
native of New Zealand, has written many compositions featuring mixed instrumentations in
works such as Matre’s Dance (solo percussion, mallet quartet), Atalanta (piano, vibes, audio
track), and One Study, One Summary (marimba, junk percussion, audio track). His many works for percussion and piano have been recognized around the world for its beautiful textures and colors. Spike was first premiered at the Juilliard School in New York City in 1999 by percussionist, Brian Resnick and pianist, Stephen Gosling. Spike begins with the introduction of a single repeated note which then blossoms out in both density and volume as the piece evolves. The two players open the work with contrasting hocketing groove rhythms, then, the effervescent feeling of the second section grows in intensity while introducing 32nd-note rhythms. The third section of the piece has a lot of dynamic variance between pianississimo and mezzo-piano where a sequence of shifting harmonies are cast in precise hockets, creating a composite sixteenth-note rhythm. The following few sections provide growing intensities that build off each other between both instruments with more harmonic chords preceding over the singular repeated notes. Some sections that mark the emotions of the music, such as “Violently” in the fifth section, present a wide range of options for the performers to swell each of their rhythmic patterns with precision and volume. As each intensive section plays out, a contrasting soft section follows suit while each addition of a new intensive rhythm builds to an energetic arrival. As the piece comes to a close, the singular repeated notes bring the work to a close with a mystical and calm touch.
Improvisation II sur Mallarmé (1957)
Pierre Boulez (1925-2016)
Program note by: Sam Chung, Yekaterina Lynch, Alaina Stark, Viraj Sonawala, Trey Tappan, Demitrius Alleyne, Maddie Bottenberg
Pierre Boulez depicts a state of musical uncovering in a rarified timbral world that probes the atmosphere and multiple meanings of Mallarmé’s text. [You stated your point beautifully, but I suggest a version that makes more sense to me. If I’ve misinterpreted your point, leave it as is. But Boulez doesn’t “elucidate the meaning” really, but rather embraces the poem’s ambiguities].
“Fold by fold the widowed stone unrobes itself” – Pli Selon Pli, fold by fold, Pierre Boulez depicts a state of musical uncovering in a rarified timbral world that probes the atmosphere and multiple meanings of Mallarmé’s text. French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez wrote Improvisations I and II in 1957 after poems by the symbolist Stéphane Mallarmé. These would become two movements in a five-movement work for soprano and large orchestra called Pli selon pli (Fold by fold). Boulez stated, “Fold by fold, as the five movements develop, a portrait of Mallarmé is revealed.” In his poetry, Mallarmé sought a perfect sensuality beyond the confines of reality (in his words: “l’absente des tous bouquets”—the perfect flower missing in every bouquet). Set to the Mallarmé poem “Une dentelle s’abolit,” Improvisation II’s unusual instrumentation of soprano, vibraphone, tubular bells, piano, celesta, maracas, crotales, gong, tam-tams, claves, and suspended cymbal evokes otherworldly timbres ranging from exuberant metallic clangs to soft vibrations slowly permeating the air. The soprano voice is woven into the instrumental sonority instead of being used in the traditional soloistic manner, and its delivery of the text is not to clarify its meaning but rather to emphasize the sensuality of the sounds of the words themselves. Much like the poetry of Mallarmé, Boulez seeks an abstract, sensual perfection beyond the scope of meaning. In Improvisation II, Boulez invites the listener to enjoy its sounds purely as a treat to the senses, letting go of any associations and preconceived notions of musical meaning. Sonically, the movement can be characterized by its transparent orchestration, where the warmth and metallic tones complement an onomatopoeic and layered interpretation of the words. Suddenly, as the words are spaced out over several bars, the french dissolves and each phoneme takes on its own character. It is as if the poem itself is broken apart into pieces just to be put together again.
Translation:
A lace is abolished
In the doubt of the supreme game
To uncover like a blasphemy
Only the eternal absence of a bed.
This unanimous white conflict
Of a garland with the same,
Flunged against the pale window
Uplifts more than it buries.
But in these gilded dreams
Sadly rests a mandora
In the hollow musical nothingness
Such as toward some window
According to no womb but one's own,
Like kin, one could have been born.
Workers Union (1975)
Louis Andriessen (1939-2021)
Program Note by Louis Andriessen
Workers Union was originally written for the orchestra De Volharding (Perseverance), in which I myself figured as a pianist at that time.
This piece is a combination of individual freedom and severe discipline: its rhythm is exactly fixed; the pitch, on the other hand, is indicated only approximately, on a single-lined stave.
It is difficult to play in an ensemble and to remain in step, sort of thing like organising and carrying on political action.
Special Thanks
We would like to thank Dr. Gloria Cheng for her constructive and insightful guidance in the preparation for tonight's music. Dr. Cheng has been a pillar in the contemporary music scene for many years now and we are all grateful that her professionalism translates to her instruction. Dr. Cheng is not only a valuable resource at UCLA, but she is also a compassionate faculty member whom we are all privileged to study under.
We would also like to thank the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music Audio and Visual staff for their time and efforts in facilitating this concert. Tonight’s musical presentations would not have been possible without their assistance.