Christian Wolff

Dedicated to aleatoric music, American composer Christian Wolff is also unafraid to write for instruments rarely featured in concert halls like electric guitars and percussion. However these live performances consist of works performed by seven electric guitars, a percussionist, a drummer and Wolff on piano. Besides the seven Italian guitarists who make up the AngelicA orchestra, other tracks feature solos or dialogues from two veteran American percussionists, Robyn Schulkowsky, who moves between modern notated and improvised music, and Joey Baron, best known as a jazz stylist with the likes of John Zorn.

Wolff’s two pieces for guitar ensemble, including the title track, harmonize and disperse the 42 strings’ interpretations with some guitarists emphasizing elevated tickles and others low-pitched strums. Crucially, among the distinctive twangs and frails “Sveglia” includes a slower mid-section where the group attains jazz-like syncopation. The conclusion is more processional than progressive though.

Striking wood blocks, metal, and marimba, Schulkowsky’s idiophone variations are cerebral and  unique, while Baron’s distinctive slaps, ruffs and press rolls confirm his improvisational smarts. Still, the disc’s highlights are the two track joining the percussionists and Wolff. Strumming and scratching his instrument’s internal strings and resonating pedal point, Wolff produces intonation as percussive as the others, while interjecting shrill whistles into the expositions. Baron’s cymbal slaps maintain cadences, while Schulkowsky’s marimba smacks accompany or replicate Wolff’s textures.

Wolf is now 90. Nonetheless this disc proves that Wolff’s music is still as vital as ever – when performed by and with the right associates of course.

— Ken Waxman

Track Listing: 1. Exercise 10    2. Percussionist 5 3. Keyboard Miscellany 4. For 1, 2 or 3 People 5.  Keyboard Miscellany 6.  Exercise 32 7.  Keyboard Miscellany – A Valentine 8. Sveglia 9. Roulette 10. Exercise 10

Personnel: Christian Wolff (piano, voice, whistle, objects) with Angelica orchestrA: Pietro Agosti, Marco Albiani, Daniele Faraotti, Simone Grande, Carlo Manniello, Sergio Sorrentino and Walter Zanetti (electric guitars) or Robyn Schulkowsky (percussion, vibraphone, tubular bells, timpani, voice, stones) and Joey Baron (drums, metals, objects, stones)

–for MusicWorks Summer 2024