Conlon Nancarrow, Study No. 7 (Arr. By Charles Schwobel) Intergalactic Contemporary Ensemble (ICE)

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• published: 14 Nov 2012
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Intergalactic Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) With Special Guests, Zeitgeist Monday, March 25th, 2002 • Los Angeles County Museum of Art Duane Schulthess -- Conductor Jane Garvin -- Flutes Merilee Klemp -- Oboe, English Horn Karrin Meffert Nelson -- Clarinet, Eb Clarinet Laurie Merz - Bassoon Daniel Fretland - Trumpet Michael Petruconis - Horn Richard Gaynor -- Bass Trombone Min Kim -- Harp David Burk -- Guitar, Saz, Mandolin John Jensen, Susan Billmeyer -- Piano Troy Gardner, Kate Bennett -- Violins Jennifer Strom -- Viola James Jacobson -- Cello John Michael Smith -- Bass Mark Brodin -- Technical Director Zeitgeist: Patrick O'Keefe -- Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Sax Heather Barringer — Percussion Patti Cudd — Percussion Where can one begin with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform this work? Nancarrow's piano etudes were written for piano rolls, as Nancarrow's rhythms had been considered impossible after a few failed live performances in the 50s. In the 90s, the Ensemble Modern of Germany had worked with pianist Yvar Mikhashoff on the first orchestrated version of the etudes. The recording was sensational. I thought an American group would be able to play the fiendishly complex rhythms accurately while also bringing out the cultural aspects of Nancarrow's 'funk' and swing. I thought ICE could do it with the right 'eyebrows', to quote Frank Zappa. Since the 1993 Ensemble Modern recording, the Mikhashoff edition had been published by Schott who had exclusive distribution rights. I was shocked with the quality of the score when it arrived which was in the state of an industrial accident. The edition was virtually unreadable, none of the markings made any sense as there were copied scribbles and arrows pointing this way and that. As if that wasn't enough, 20 bars of music were completely missing. What the heck had happened? While scratching my head trying to figure out what to do with an edition that was a train wreck, I'd remembered another name, "Charles Schwobel", listed as 'editor' on the Ensemble Modern recordings. I did an academic search, and came up with a phone number for a Charles Schwobel at the University of Texas, but he was an IT guy, not a musician. Regardless, on the slimmest of hunches I decided to cold call Mr. Schwobel on a Sunday afternoon. I asked if Charles Schwobel had worked with the Ensemble Modern. He said quite reluctantly, "yes". But I could tell something was wrong. I asked him about the missing bars and state of the scores, and he replied, "That's because Schott doesn't have the scores". I asked who did, and he said, "Me". "I'm holding them in my hand right now". Jackpot! It turns out according to Charlie, that Mikhashoff had cut him out of the deal and sold the working drafts, not the final scores approved by Nancarrow, to Schott. Charlie had all of the scores that he himself had worked on with Conlon Nancarrow and were recorded by Ensemble Modern. Charlie, as an IT expert, had designed a program that could read the piano rolls and convert them to notation (in the late 80s), thus his being an IT guy as well as an accomplished amateur musician in his own right. I bought Charles Schwobel a plane ticket to Minneapolis on the spot for the debut concert in the US of our performance of the Study no. 7. We had exclusive access to the actual approved scores of Nancarrow for over a year and I'm eternally grateful to Charlie for putting his trust in us after what had happened to him personally and professionally. This video is another unearthed recently from an old recording tucked away in a box. It is a bit bittersweet, as it was the last 'official' performance of ICE before my returning to Europe. We played on the Monday night music series of the LA County Museum that had been run by Dorrance Stalvey, who recently passed away. I had met Dorrance in 1984 at the Olympic Arts Festival and he had always been an artistic mentor. I'm so very pleased that one of my final concerts with ICE was the Nancarrow, and a concert where we also performed one of Dorrance's pieces. The LA Times review can be found here http://articles.latimes.com/2002/mar/27/entertainment/et-woodard27 This is what is called a 'conductor cam', a shot from the back of the orchestra, ostensibly to help you get a job (yea right, like I had a chance in hell of getting a gig sending a tape of Nancarrow). So, please excuse the abundance of clarinet, xylo, piano, and oboe. You are hearing the mic feed from the camera. Some mistakes, occasional looseness, and a player getting lost or two, but it's live - and fun. Enjoy.