Word: fortissimos
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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...
This is an extremely difficult part to pull off, and Colicos acquits himself admirably. He wisely avoids the temptation of bellowing monotonously at a constant fortissimo--fortunately, for he is best when not at full volume. He manages to vary the level and manner of his delivery widely, while preserving the intensity of Leontes' derangement all the time. In his movements there are occasional hints of the ham, but they come from the best hogs...
...maximum). Composer Parris. who has turned out a sizable quantity of chamber music, took the jest in earnest, sat down to write a piece which would test the "untapped melodic resources" of the drums. The technical problems, he discovered, were sizable. Examples: how to pass rapidly from one drum, fortissimo, to another, without the resonance of the first canceling out the pitch of the second (part of the solution was to use a medium-padded drumstick); how to allow the tympanist enough time between solo passages for retuning (the hot concert-hall lights tend to raise drum pitch, while...
Harry Truman played fortissimo also on his successor's foreign policy ("The present Administration has acted like an overbearing banker with a glass eye, not like a loyal and faithful friend to other nations"), on the U.S. missile lag and the possibility of a 5? postage stamp. But he was well pedaled down in one area: concerning civil rights he could only advise that "the Democratic Party must stand firmly and forthrightly for the full enjoyment and protection of civil rights . . . firm and foresighted leadership might accomplish this without calling out the Army for help." Seated way back...