Pann - Piano Concerto; Dance Partita [CD]

Though it's clear that Pann's music can only be the work of a very serious composer, it is also tremendously funny--and that's the "ha-ha" kind, not the strange kind. (Well, maybe a bit of the latter.) There's nothing harder to convey in music than genuine wit and humor, and it's a trait that Pann's work has in plenty. (And lest anyone dismiss the composer as merely a musical class clown, also be prepared to be moved by music of great tenderness, exquisite intimacy, and pure, elemental exuberance.) There's a real sorcery in the way the composer assembles, for example, melodramatic baroqueries, gestures straight from the classical piano concerto, almost embarrassingly straightforward (for music written on the cusp of the twenty-first century, that is) folk dances, and television-music cliches into a single work (the Dance Partita) that is so simply *right* in its pacing, balance, and the only thing that really matters, the impression it makes. If you chuckle as you listen to this disc, as I do, it will just as likely be a reaction to the music's sense of don't-look-back brashness as from its sly and ever-acute parodistic sense.

The greatness of these pieces, especially the aforementioned Partita and the Piano Concerto, lies in the fact that given their wildly disparate elements, they should by all expectations be a chaotic, muddled mess. Instead, the confidence and mastery with which this cornucopia of contrasts and oppositions are bound together into an effective whole suggests the work of a striking and truly original compositional talent. With the world of new music flooded with works that range from mediocre to unremarkably competent, this is by no means an inconsiderable achievement.

It's new, it's a knockout, and it's even on a budget label: Do yourself a favor and impress your friends by being able to say that you came to know Pann's music *before* he hit the big time. Move over, Elliott--new music has a new Carter.

Conductor Jose Serebrier writes that Pann's compositions stand out "for their boldness and outrageousness" while his orchestration technique "seemed far advanced for someone still in school." Of course you will hear echoes of Satie, Stravinsky, Respighi, and many others; but these quotations are quite deliberate and "well-planned, distilled through the composer's special voice."

Consider, for example, that he names the movements of his Piano Concerto "Pina Colada," "Nocturne," "Your Touch," "Blues," and "The Concert." On the other hand, with a composer like Satie, some of his piano pieces never quite come up to the promise of their humorous titles. I was not, however, in any way disappointed with what I heard on this CD. The "four "Baroque" movements of his "Dance Partita" certainly show their 1990s origins as well as their 17th century inspirations. And the very authentic "Bullfight" that ends the program is impressive in its literal Granados-like power.

The Czech State Philharmonic, Brno does the music justice. Highly recommended.

The overall comment I would make about Pann's music is that he is a master orchestrator, a brilliant pasticheur, a sly practitioner of musical humor, and that he is capable of some of the most lusciously melodic and moving slow music.

The piano concerto has five movements. The first, entitled Piña Colada (yes, inspired by that silly pop song of some years ago), is a loose-jointed Caribbean-influenced piece that reminds me a lot of Michael Torke in his slaphappy mode. The second, Nocturne, is quiet, slow, Debussyesque. The third, Your Touch, is for solo piano and sounds an awful lot like jazz pianist Denny Zeitlin's smoky classic 'Quiet Now.' This is a high recommendation; it's got a gorgeous tune and luscious harmonies. The fourth, Blues, sounds like updated jazzy Bernstein in its dislocated accents, stride bass, throwaway virtuosity. The fifth, Concert, is a hilarious knockoff of just about every classical concerto cliché and even quotes, almost note for note, a bridge passage from Beethoven's Emperor Concerto, before exploding into one of those hilarious never-ending classical-era tonic-dominant endings. I found myself laughing out loud.

Deux séjours (Two journeys) are evocations of two small towns - one in France, one in Italy - and are intentionally modeled on the orchestrations by Debussy of Satie's 'Gymnopédies'. Quiet gardens, civility, serenity, lovely melodies.

Dance Partita is an eight-movement (actually four movements and four ritornellos) orchestral suite, with piano obbligato, based on baroque models. Stravinsky in his neoclassic music - think 'Jeux de cartes' or, better, 'Pulcinella' - comes to mind. Also Bolcom's 'Orphée-Sérénade' (an under-recognized masterpiece) is evoked. Brilliantly done. One's toe taps until tripped up by the irregular time signatures. Delicious.

Two Portraits of Barcelona. The first, 'Antoni Gaudí's Cathedral' is a six minute tone-poem that builds from a mysterious opening, evoking the religious grandeur of the Cathedral, to a wicked Rouse-ian description of Gaudí's wild architecture. The second, 'The Bullfight', starts with mock-heroic Spanish bullfight music, complete with trumpet duo flourishes, and builds to a frenetic danza, ending the CD with high spirits and this listener with a desire for more. ¡Olé!

Lest it sound like I think Pann has no 'sound' of his own, I want to emphasize that this man has the goods and is discovering a voice that I predict will be increasingly listened to.