Stanford University Live presents Max Richter, with members of the American Contemporary Music Ensemble
Bing Concert Hall
Stanford University, 327 Lasuen St, Stanford, CA 94305-5005 USA
4:00 PM, Sunday, October 13, 2019

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Max Richter: The Blue Notebooks; Infra

[4:06 PM lights down; announcements from Chris Lorway]
[4:08 PM band out to tune up]
[4:09 PM Greetings & brief remarks about the program from MR]

Max Richter (b.1966): Infra (2010), for piano, electronics and string quintet

1. [4:11 PM] Infra 1
2. [4:15 PM] Journey 1
3. [4:17 PM] Infra 2
4. [4:20 PM] Infra 3
5. [4:23 PM] Journey 2
6. [4:26 PM] Infra 4
7. [4:29 PM] Journey 3
8. [4:34 PM] Journey 4
9. [4:37 PM] Journey 5
10. [4:38 PM] Infra 5
11. [4:38 PM] Infra 6
12. [4:39 PM] Infra 7
13. [4:39 PM] Infra 8
    [set ends 4:43 PM; bow, then all off]

[5:06 PM lights down; band out; tuning]

Max Richter (b.1966): The Leftovers (2014-17), for piano, electronics, soprano vox and string quintet

1. [5:08 PM] The Leftovers - Main Title Theme
2. [5:12 PM] The Departure
   [5:12 PM; CJ to piano for a bit of 4-hands with MR]
3. [5:13 PM] Afterimage 1
   [5:14 PM; CJ swaps back to cello]
4. [5:14 PM] (unidentified tune #1)
   [5:15 PM; MR swaps from piano to Roland; +GD; CJ rest ~3 min, then plays lead line]
5. [5:16 PM] De Profundis
   [5:21 PM; MR swaps back to piano; all others rest]
6. [5:21 PM] Only Questions
   [5:22 PM; MR swaps from piano to Roland; +GD]
7. [5:22 PM] Dona Nobis Pacem 1
   [5:26 PM; MR swaps back to piano; CJ joins for more 4-hands play]
8. [5:26 PM] Afterimage 2
9. [5:27 PM] Departure (Reflection)
   [5:29 PM; CJ swaps back to cello]
10. [5:29 PM] Dona Nobis Pacem 2
    [5:30 PM; MR piano solo (all others rest)]
11. [5:30 PM] Family Circles
    [5:31 PM; MR playing ?pizzicato inside the piano]
12. [5:31 PM] A Blessing
13. [5:34 PM] She Remembers
14. [5:37 PM] Departure (Lullaby)
15. [5:38 PM] Illuminations/Clouds
    [5:41 PM; CJ to piano for a bit of 4-hands with MR]
16. [5:42 PM] Afterimage 3
    [5:43 PM; CJ swaps back to cello]
17. [5:44 PM] (unidentified tune #2)
    [5:50 PM; CJ to piano for a bit of 4-hands with MR]
18. [5:51 PM] Departure (Home)
    [set ends 5:54 PM]
    
    Encore
    [5:55 PM MR back with the string quintet; MR introduces the final piece; MR at keyboard]
19. [5:56 PM] Max Richter (b.1966): On the Nature of Daylight (track 2 from The Blue Notebooks (2003))
    [show ends 6:03 PM]

• Grace Davidson: soprano vox;
• Max Richter: piano, Roland RD-700 digital stage piano, Apple laptop (loops, etc);

American Contemporary Music Ensemble

• Claire Bryant: cello;
• Isabel Hagen: viola;
• Clarice Jensen: cello, piano, artistic director;
• Laura Lutzke: violin;
• Ben Russell: violin;

As much as I enjoyed today's show, by the end I was a bit worn down by the samey-saminess of the whole experience. To my untutored ear, there wasn't much evolution between the earliest work (the Encore) and the two newer pieces that anchored the afternoon. Which is not to say that it's a crime to mine the same vein for musical gold, but there's much to be said for knowing when enough is enough!

Both sets of setlist details are approximated from the relevant commercial releases; at this point, I can't really say how accurate they are; I'll have to do some listening later, and compare the albums against the more detailed notes that I took during the show, then post an update.

Tysen Dauer posted a good critical review of the show (with a few pics) at SFCV.

If you look carefully, you'll note that my setlist is kinda whack. The printed program provided to us listed only the set-length work titles, giving no guidance about what elements might or might not be part of today's performance. And while I might have missed a transition or two during the first set, it really seems to me as if the group performed an abbreviated version of the piece. Just compare: ~34 min for this performance, vs ~41 min for the commercial CD. We got shorted! I dealt with the Set One timing discrepancy by listing nonsense repeated times for sections Infra 5 to Infra 8; who knows what they actually did!?

Similarly, the timestamps I marked during set two don't line up very well against the commercial release of the Leftovers, though in this case, the group seems to have performed something that's somewhat longer than expected: 46 min live vs 36 min for the CD…makes me wonder if the performance order might have been the opposite of what's noted in the program! I dealt with the Set Two timing discrepancy by inserting two unidentified sections.

Whoa! This section is incomplete for now, sorry!

Today's photo gallery comes from ol' squinty!

Whoa! This section is incomplete for now, sorry!

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2019 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2019 event list! ☸ On to the next event!