On evidence here, Kenneth Fuchs is a talented musical craftsman in search of a distinctive voice. An American Place sounds a bit like Copland meets Sibelius, with its open and attractive harmonies and busy string ostinatos. The only thing that’s missing is a truly memorable tune. While always pleasant to the ear, the work sounds like an introduction to a big event that never quite materializes, despite plenty of rhythmic energy and ebullient use of large orchestral forces. This is never a problem in Eventide, a really beautiful English horn concerto based on several spirituals. About a third of an hour long in one continuous movement, the piece also displays a nicely organic feeling for form. It deserves to become a repertory item, and Thomas Stacy, the dedicatee, plays with warmth and sensitivity.
Out of the Dark, three short movements based on paintings by Helen Frankenthaler (one of which adorns the CD booklet), strikes me as far more interesting than An American Place, even though–or perhaps because–the idiom is at least partially based on 12-tone writing. Now I’m no fan of the serial school, but there’s good serial and bad serial, and this is good. The comparatively high level of dissonance and mixture of melodic styles means that the piece has plenty of tension and contrast, and Fuchs’ use of his small orchestral forces is masterly. JoAnn Falletta and the LSO deliver committed, very professional performances of all three works, and the sonics are very good. There’s some fine music here, and Eventide in particular promises to provide substantial reason for repeated listening. [3/3/2006]
