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Classical

Chesky: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3

Piano Concertos 2 & 3
Chesky: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3
  • Music
  • Sonics
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By my count, these two piano concertos are David Chesky’s 18th and 19th compositions with the word “concerto” in the title—and there are actually several others characterized as “Urban Concertos” in his catalog. Chesky’s style and technique have been fully mature for decades, yet his music gets better and better. These new concertos manifest the composer’s most fundamental principles—a love of the pace, energy, and noise of a big city, and a sense of connection to earlier music. They are succinct works cast in three movements, each Concerto running 15–16 minutes total. The outer sections feature a determined, almost ecstatic drive. For No. 2 the syntax is “a collision of atonal harmonies in counterpoint,” and the historical model is Bach. For No. 3, the orchestra contains several mallet percussion instruments that evoke Latin American music and the syncopations that dominate the discourse derive from jazz; Leonard Bernstein is the honoree. The piano parts are quite demanding and Chesky himself is the able soloist. The orchestra has been very well prepared. Sonically, the bass is a little loose, but the piano sound is appealingly percussive, just what the music requires.

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