MUSIC REVIEW : Percussion/Piano Duo at County Museum

Demonstrating that virtuosity sometimes lies in stamina rather than in dazzling facility or technique, percussionist Daniel Druckman and pianist Alan Feinberg teamed up for the latest Monday Evening Concert in Bing Theater at the County Museum of Art.

In a concert that was well over two hours long--including the inevitable long pauses to change setups--six varied works required and received a laudable amount of attention and insight.

The duo performed with a calm, patient approach that carefully examined every idea and nuance. Comfortable with both humor and seriousness, the players approach new music with uncompromising dedication and genuine interest.

In Charles Wuorinen’s “Percussion Duo” (1979), a playful 12-tone conglomeration of tremolos and melodic flurries interact within the wide range of the piano and the more colorful assortment of timbres of the marimba and vibraphone. A major undertaking, it gave the duo its biggest, most impressive workout.

Another high point of the evening, Azerbaidzhan composer Javanshir Kuliyev’s “Seven Pieces With Interludes in Mugham Modes” (1980), for solo piano, combines folk elements with austere serial techniques. Comedic interludes were masterfully executed on prepared parts of the instrument, while the rest flowed effortlessly in the hands of Feinberg.

The world premiere of an instrumental suite from Tod Machover’s opera of last year, “VALIS”, provided a better understanding of the composer’s ambitious, albeit at times pretentious, musical vision than the recent release of a recording of the full opera. A Post-Modern collage combining styles of rock, new-age music, electronics and Broadway musicals a la Andrew Lloyd Webber, the bold statement impressed with its grandeur, but bogged down in its conscious effort to be profound.

Two neo-Medieval pieces opened the program: Eve Beglarian’s attractive, accessible study on isorhythm, “Douce Dame Jolie” from “Machaut in the Machine Age I” (1986) and Druckman’s jazzy arrangement of polymetric, late-14th-Century works.

Also performed was Arthur Krieger’s pointillistic “Dialogue for Steel Drums and Tape” (1974) in which Druckman’s memorized performance demonstrated a deep understanding and familiarity of the music.