Word: fortissimo
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...songs of Mr. Cutler, who is now a graduate student of composition at Brandeis, were finished two years ago and sound a bit adolescent, a bit melodramatic. They center around the ambitious subject of death and, from their excessive use of tremolos in the strings punctuated by over-orchestrated fortissimo chords, one gathers that Mr. Cutler's concept of death is merely a scary mood, not unlike the effect of the most terrifying sections of a horror movie. The pseudo-meaningful verses by that overrated American poet, Kenneth Patchen, do not help the listener in his attempt to grasp...
...series of six staccato chords, which in most performances come crashing forth like so many sledgehammer blows. Under Simonds' hands these chords came out firm but restrained, and sent me scurrying home later to see how the composer had marked them. Sure enough, the chords are designated forte, not fortissimo; and Simonds was being careful not to ruin the string parts, which are marked "cantabile...
...Well, my contacts have been with other members of the scientific fraternity, and Christofilos really isn't a member.") Christofilos takes his position in stride. For relaxation he drives his car (a 1957 Pontiac) or plays the piano loud. "For Nick," says a colleague, "all pieces are written fortissimo...
Serialists deal in extremes, and so, opposed to the pianissimos and silences of Wolff was a gusty piano piece by Frederick Rzewski, a remarkable fortissimo rush of runs, heavy chords and long trills in Rzewski's rather personal style. There is little nontechnical description one can give about such a work, except that it confirmed the impression of force and individuality made by Rzewski's earlier pieces last year. William Wilder's Duo for String Quartet, another example of minimal performance instructions did not quite come off, perhaps because the players did not take full advantage of the near-complete...
...texts as excuses for mere vocal gymnastics. In the art songs of Schubert, Schumann, Wolf, he sings his way into moods alternately tragic, boisterous and nostalgic with subtle modulations of his dry, husky voice. And when at climactic moments he throws his baritone out in a high, ringing fortissimo, the effect is as spine-tingling as a trumpet blast...