"A Tempo" (2011) by Daniel Kessner - Hear Now 2023

A Tempo (2011)
Composed by Dan Kessner
Performed by:
Brightwork Ensemble:
Sara Andon, flute/piccolo
Brian Walsh, clarinet/bass clarinet
Shalini Vijayan, violin
Maggie Parkins, cello
Nick Terry, marimba/xylophone
Aron Kallay, piano
COMPOSER'S NOTES
A Tempo is a virtuoso work scored for flute/piccolo, clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, violoncello, marimba /xylophone, and piano. The title of the work has little to do with the musical term, but is rather a dedica- tion to the ensemble TEMPO, which the composer co-founded and directed for several years. The piece is in a single movement, predom- inantly in fast tempos, and with a free, rhapsodic form. While the full ensemble is used most of the time, around the middle of the piece there are three duo-cadenzas - violin /marimba, flute/cello, and clarinet /piano - that give the players a chance to shine as soloists. There are also several “windows” for improvisation, providing an optional opportunity for performers who enjoy playing freely.
Born in Los Angeles in 1946, composer -conductor-flutist DANIEL KESSNER received his Ph.D. with Distinction at UCLA in 1971, studying with Henri Lazarof. Composing in all genres, including works for orchestra, wind ensemble, choir, the opera, and numerous chamber and solo pieces, his more than 180 compositions have received around 1000 performances worldwide, and 28 works are recorded commercially. His scores are available from Universal Edition in Vienna.
Kessner’s most important awards include the 1972 Queen Marie-José International Composition Prize in Geneva, two BMI Composer Awards, one of three winners of the competition “New Works for Music Theater” in Amsterdam in 1981, a 2003 Fulbright Senior Scholar Award to lecture and perform at the Musikhochschule in Trossingen, Germany, a Fulbright Senior Specialist Grant to perform and lecture in Trondheim, Norway in 2007, and a similar residency at the Universidade do Minho in Portugal in 2011.
He is Professor Emeritus at California State University, Northridge, retired in 2006 after a career of 36 years teaching composition, music theory, and directing various ensembles.
As a performer, he has given flute-piano recitals with his wife, Dolly Eugenio Kessner, in France, Italy, Holland, Germany, El Salvador, England, Romania, Portugal, Norway, and the Czech Republic, and has performed in numerous chamber music concerts. He has appeared as guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, the Black Sea Philharmonic of Romania, the Moorpark Symphony Orchestra, the Trondheim Sinfonietta, and the Professional Orchestra of the Universidade do Minho, Portugal, among others.

[@nicolaszourabichvilidepelk6603]

Voici une œuvre de Daniel Kessner absolument passionnante de bout en bout, et qui porte bien son nom. Car il s'agit d'une sorte d'étude très poussée sur le travail du tempo, ou plutôt de ses changements. Elle commence par des suites de doubles croches qui paraîtraient vite monotones si le tempo, très régulier, ne commençait à changer progressivement. et l'on assiste à des variations de tempi extrêmement riches, tantôt brutales, avec de forts contrastes, tantôt très subtiles, presque imperceptibles, avec parfois, même - m'a-t-il semblé - des superpositions de tempi différents. Le tout est d'une telle variété, d'une telle richesse, qu'on reste suspendu à la succession des événements. Une grande réussite. Nicolas Zourabichvili.