How to describe Christian Wolff’s piano idiom? Sparse, terse, usually dry, more rhythmically elaborate than its surface style reveals. There’s little charm, although some of his fast, supple keyboard writing raises an occasional smile. It’s music that always has been difficult for me to love, yet I certainly respect Wolff’s refined craftsmanship, unyielding integrity, and seriousness of purpose, plus the fact that he rarely if ever repeats himself.
All of the above comments apply to Long Piano. The work is exactly what the title implies: a long piano piece. It consists of 94 numbered “patches” that follow one another without a break over 59 minutes. You’ll encounter flowing, tuneless lines, stabbing chords interspersed with silences, asymmetrical counterpoint, jagged aphoristic gestures that exploit dynamic extremes. There also are lively, rhythmically engaging passages that evoke the kind of “messy order” characterizing peace marches (the start of Track 7, or about five and a half minutes into Track 3, for example). Although I find some sections arid and dull, other parts readily engage my attention and wear well with increasing familiarity.
Wolff has long been fortunate to have ardent advocates like Ursula Oppens and Frederic Rzewski champion his music, and more recently, the excellent Bay Area-based pianist Thomas Schultz. Schultz’s superb technique, keenly judged articulation, and rigorous musicianship arguably set reference performance standards for what I suspect will be looked upon as Wolff’s solo-piano magnum opus. Special mention should be made concerning the fine sonics and cogent, well-written booklet notes.
