NEW YORK — For a conservatory student, every performance opportunity is valuable. But even if the dozen or so young musicians who performed Nov. 21 at 92NY as part of the Curtis New Music Ensemble bore that truth in mind, they were probably disappointed that Buttenwieser Hall was only one-quarter full. It was an adventurous and well-played program that more New Yorkers should have showed up for.
The evening’s theme — the first of two New Music Ensemble programs on consecutive nights — was We the Artists. Dean of Curtis Nick DiBerardino explained in opening comments that it was their way of marking America’s 250th birthday with “reflections on democracy in music,” remembering that “art, like democracy, requires a shared vision and diverse viewpoints.” Hence, the collection of composers, all but one of them living Americans, presenting a range of backgrounds, races, and styles.
First up was a five-movement wind quintet by the ubiquitous Carlos Simon. Each movement of Giants (2023) pays tribute to a prominent Black American. “Bessie Smith” represents the blues diva at her sly best, the ensemble held together by bassoonist Diego Peña’s jaunty walking bass. Hornist Nick Ivy demonstrated a true jazz groove. The second movement was the least successful: “Maya Angelou” is built primarily from meditative chords that were played with accuracy but without the warmth or depth that this poet should have inspired.
Physicist and astronaut Ronald E. McNair was the subject of the third section, focused on syncopated electronic-like blips expertly rendered by a trio of oboe (Ben Price), flute (Xiaoxi Annie Li) and clarinet (Tzu-Yi Yu). The most interesting movement was the portrait of social critic and philosopher Cornel West. Simon captured both West’s somber intellectualism and flashes of his wrath at society’s failures. Giants ends with an intense, fun evocation of jazz pianist Herbie Hancock.
The evening’s program included two iterations of Joan Tower’s Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, neither in its original instrumentation. Pianist CharmHee Han handled No. 6 (2016, composed for full orchestra) with clear, goal-oriented phrasing and a refreshing lack of bombast. Four clarinetists played No. 5 (1993) instead of the original four trumpets. The musicians were so in sync that it could have been a single instrument. Their unified tone was brilliant and never harsh.
Brazilian-American Clarice Assad wrote Canções da America in 2022. A string quartet comprising violinists Jacques Forestier and Dongyoung Jake Shim, violist Sumin Kim, and cellist Joan Herget took us on a six-movement tour of Brazilian musical styles. The opening “Dança” featured atmospheric tremolos against a melody passed among the instruments. “Choro-Cançâo” switched from sentimental to furious to anguished, as if narrating the story of a doomed love affair. Although the quartet took “Tango” rather fast for that dance, they managed a slinky, sexy Latin vibe in the movement called “Purahéi,” which simply means “song” in the Guarani language. Most intriguing was “Melodia Andina,” with cellist Herget carrying a plaintive Andean chant.
No explanation was given for including Sofia Gubaidulina’s Letter to the Poetess Rimma Dalos (1985) in this program of American music. Perhaps it was merely a tribute to a composer who had died earlier in 2025; perhaps it was in honor of her defiance against the artistic and religious strictures of the Communist party in her native Russia. Whatever the reason for its presence, this duet for soprano and cello was a concert highlight.
It’s not a duet in the usual sense; the two never make music simultaneously. Like a letter correspondence, they proceed one at a time. Soprano Jeysla Rosario Santos opened a cappella, with a glorious darkness to her voice, remaining lyrical despite all the challenging leaps. Her statement was answered by an emotionally nuanced solo by cellist Carson Ling-Efird, confident even in passages requiring her to bow above the bridge while playing pizzicato harmonics with the left hand.
The final work on this short yet wide-reaching program was Valerie Coleman’s Freedom of the Five Civilized Tribes, from 2015. The composer has described the work as honoring “the legacy of Native Americans and former African slaves who traversed the Trail of Tears.”
Played by piano, flute, violin, cello, and clarinet, the single-movement piece runs a gamut of styles, changing frequently and in surprising ways. A pentatonic Native American-influenced melody was interrupted suddenly by a fast jazz rhythm led by pianist Han that gave way to a graceful flute solo by Li. The quintet displayed professional-level patience and agility in this ever-changing, deceptively tricky piece.
