REVIEWS

I am far from being the only critic who takes regular pops at record companies for releasing discs with stingy playing times. Rare indeed are those discs which can justify this practice on either artistic or economic grounds, but this disc is unquestionably one example of the former. It lasts just 47 minutes but includes three exhilarating, succinct concertos by the American Andrew Waggoner. Each is substantial; I would go as far as saying these three works collectively incorporate more incident, originality, beauty, purpose and style than many full-length discs of new music. Not a note, pause, texture or gesture is wasted. There is more than enough to think about here.

Waggoner is a figure whose (rather memorable) name I have only encountered a couple of times on release schedules. His 2^nd Symphony has been recorded by CRI Records (NWCR884). There is a portrait disc ‘Terror and Memory’ on Albany Records which comprises a string quartet, ensemble and instrumental pieces, book-ended by a couple of improvisations based on the pieces within (ALBANY CD 1307}. If any of these pieces are half as good as the three concertos on this new disc they will be worth hearing. I certainly intend to seek them out.

From the open fifth that the soloist plays to open the work, gesturally at least there is much in his Violin Concerto that seems to allude to Stravinsky’s pithy D major example, a work that’s referenced in the note. This a dynamic music which bristles with urgency without ever sounding rushed. A perpetuum mobile spirit in the solo writing underpins the entire edifice, and Michael Lim’s pinpoint, exciting playing is matched by the razor-sharp ensemble of the Seattle Modern Orchestra, seemingly a western seaboard equivalent of Gil Rose’s BMOP and every bit as impressive. If the violin writing which meshes with assertive brass and glittering gamelan percussion in the opening movement is attractively strident, the succeeding scherzo (marked ‘fast, dogged’ – seemingly a Waggoner buzzword) combines folk-fiddle like solo material with the hectic, urban feel of the orchestral undercurrent. The more spacious finale is outstanding – Waggoner’s sonic inspiration is often arresting and novel, while his ability to organise his material economically is unquestionable.

At eighteen minutes Waggoner’s Piano Concerto is the longest of the trilogy, it’s tautly conceived and projects compelling, succinct argument. Harp and tuned percussion dominate the orchestral textures of the opening; the limpid piano figures are repetitive but not overtly minimalist. The coherence of the initial Nocturne seems to depend on the slight elongation of each successive statement or figure, and close attention to the piano part may suggest the melodic sensibility of Morton Feldman, albeit in waves of sound that materialise far more rapidly. At one point the nocturnal ambience magically seems to give way to the excited chatter of a pre-murmuration ornithological convention. Waggoner’s music is assured and confident, spiky but likeable. His piano writing seems especially expert and falls with grateful inevitability under Gloria Cheng’s fingers. The central panel’s evocative title ‘…hands of the sisters, Death and Night’ perfectly fits the music it describes. Waggoner describes it as “…a meditation on solace and forgiveness”; it is certainly more inward and restrained than much of the music on this disc. Gentle washes of cymbal and tam-tam frame a nachtmusik mystery. It’s rather spare and communicates an icy beauty. The finale is subtitled ‘Quantum Memoir’, a deliberately enigmatic title which is also applied to the album as a whole. It is designed as a memorial to Waggoner’s late colleague Stephen Stucky and its staccato piano writing interlocks most satisfyingly with the mosaic-like orchestral accompaniment, with shrill turns from a puckish piccolo and a deadpan trumpet. It’s a terrific piece, brittle, engaging, mysterious, and offering fresh perspectives on each repeated listen. As with all three pieces, Bridge’s sound is spectacular and atmospheric.

The brief Guitar Concerto that concludes the album is arguably the most inscrutable of these three works. A percussive crash, low brass and and vaguely flamenco strumming and picking combine to provide an arresting opening. A diffuse array of pungent, quirky sounds coalesce and make unexpected sense. Complex patterns emerge over deceptively simple sustained note backdrops or Waggoner’s fingerprint trilling. Hints of portamento infuse the latter part of the opening panel. Another central fast movement marked ‘dogged’ involves a persistent dialogue between Kenneth Meyer’s guitar and a solo fiddle. Its neoclassical aromas are touched by Stravinskian strings, brass ritornelli that wouldn’t shame Tippett and insistent claves. The finale cuts a rather melancholy jib and yields a delicious, rather Messiaenic melody. Waggoner does a good ‘gnomic’ ending, and there’s another one in this work.

Far from implying derivativeness, my allusions in this review to other composers merely seek to hint at the cosmopolitan flavours of these works; as I suggested at the outset Waggoner is indubitably his own man, and in these compact pieces conjures music of astonishing and unexpected depth, precision and sophistication. The three soloists are evidently believers, and their eloquence and commitment are adroitly reinforced by the superbly prepared Seattle band. Each of these concertos has far more to offer than might immediately meet the ear. They offer a sleek and challenging beauty and I encourage the curious to make their acquaintance forthwith.
–Richard Hanlon, MusicWeb International

Waggoner’s brilliant octet is sure to enter the classical repertoire.           –Millbrook Independent

…his music has everything we have come to expect from the greatest of contemporary composers—confidence, originality, expressivity, and, above all, palpable meaning. …highly original and compelling.
–Fanfare Magazine

…[a] notable world premiere here, Andrew Waggoner’s La Folie (Fantasme on a Ground), a more maximal organism. This is music at once viscerally charged and intellectually curious – curious as in strangely compelling and actively, restlessly searching. The piece morphs and folds over itself, unveiling a series of ideas, interests and aspects of what the composer calls the “continuous variation”. It’s a wild ride, in other words, but with self-assurance and dignity beneath the sometimes crazed and Messiaenic surfaces.
–Los Angeles Times

…The evening’s first premiere belonged to Andrew Waggoner. His Down/Up, for oboe, violin, viola, and cello draws its inspiration from a quote by the medieval mystic Meister Eckhart.The piece begins with an introduction made up of pungent chords before giving way to a driving, groove-based section. This is followed by music that’s more ethereal, higher in register and floating over arpeggiated string figures. These two musical characters – the earthy and the celestial – alternate before a quizzical flourish wraps things up. It’s a striking piece that received a riveting performance from oboist Peggy Pearson, violinist Gabriella Diaz, violist Stephanie Fong, and cellist Jan Müller-Szeraws. Waggoner’s musical language is complex, to be sure, but not in an off-putting way: in Down/Up, the musical structure reveals itself clearly, and the music’s recurring (or slightly transformed) gestures lend it a kind of Classical quality – a feature that was perhaps emphasized on Saturday by placing it on the program just after a Haydn quartet. Expressively, this is highly intense music and its inner fire was matched by the playing of the ensemble.
–Boston Arts Fuse

Andrew Waggoner is a gifted practitioner of a complex but dramatic and vividly colored style
–The New Yorker

A score of Shakespeare’s sonnets were woven through Andrew Waggoner’s 2005 “This Powerful Rhyme,” for 10 players (conducted by Harbison) and two speakers. The sonnets were arranged into a loose, course-of-true-love chronicle, but it was, again, the musical progression — one saturated, high-dynamic-range instrumental cushion after another — that carried the piece.
–Boston Globe

Andrew Waggoner joined his colleagues at the end in his quintet Memory, Word, Mystery, Presence, composed in 2005 in Strasbourg. A play of contrasts between harmonies both supercharged and still, between homophony and dense polyphony, all through an atonality that manages to be unaggressive, never sinking to demagoguery. The writing, beautifully clear, captures the ear throughout.
–Dernieres Nouvelles d’Alsace, Strasbourg, France

Waggoner’s timbral combinations were particularly inventive: a roiling passage driven by pounding roto-toms was followed with a lyrical stretch for alto saxophone paired with bowed cymbal and wobbly flexatone; not long after that, icy lines on piano and guitar backed a growling tenor saxophone and groaning cuica.
–Night After Night Blogs, New York

Andrew Waggoner’s Collines parmi étoiles… lives up to its Messiaenesque title, conjuring vast vistas of sound.
–The Strad

A promising premiere by Andrew Waggoner should convince any listener that this music will prosper into the 21st century.
–Pittsburgh Newsweekly

…eloquent…seemed to end far too soon, leaving the listener wanting more.
–Winnipeg Free Press

…the concert featured back-to-back performances of Waggoner’s brief but tremendous Aubade.
–NewMusicBox

…Waggoner’s music is richly varied.”
–Syracuse Herald-Journal

“Waggoner’s ‘Song’ is the most substantial work on the disc, with an imposing structure…
–Village Voice

Also impressive was Waggoner’s The Train, a subtle work that eschewed obvious choo-choo effects in favor of an unstoppable sense of momentum.
–Denver Post

…effectively understated…deep tolling chords contrasted with sparkling flashes of passagework lightning in the evocative second movement.
–Los Angeles Times

Legacy…uses a smart melodic technique: Waggoner unleashes lines in hesitating, fractured portions, stretching the emotional waiting time before arrival points. The first movement is brightly lit, with harmonics poking out from a busy texture.
–Philadelphia Inquirer

Symphony no. 2 is a grand affair, with broad, sweeping melodies…a composer of significant potential.
–American Record Guide

An in memoriam piece, the symphony is clearly a deeply felt work, which makes no apology for its overtly emotional content. The two string quartets make a similar direct appeal to the emotions, the first utilising more or less overt references to the textures and visceral impact of non-classical forms, the second leading the listener through a sensual journey of dream and imagination…
–Records International

Similarly, Waggoner’s Variations… entice the listener with frequent mood changes and facile, idiomatic, colorful string writing.
–Sonneck Society for American Music Bulletin