Michael Schumacher 3/26/06 STL

[MRS]

"This performance will be one of Michael Schumacher’s
extended 'room pieces,' lasting approximately four hours. Listeners are invited to drop in for all or just a portion of the presentation."

. . .in a rehearsal hall (reminded me of a slightly larger fourth grade art room) on the campus of Washington University yesterday from 4pm - 8pm. I took the 5pm - 7pm shift. At one point I was the only attendee in the room. Schumacher was at a piano and to his right was a laptop where presumably he governed all sounds electronic. Also involved were a really hot cellist and a guy who sat in front of some electronic console but primarily stuck to melodica, some wooden flute and an electric bass. All had what looked like conventional scores before them. The cellist went over the same ideas, over and over and over, almost a Reijseger pizzicato sound but it got so tired. About the room were situated six mounted speakers. I guess you could call it a quasi-installation piece. The utilization of the different monitors came off like a lesser Rainforest almost, some of the more alien sounds I swear I've heard from Müller. There were human voices interspersed, police sirens, recapitulated cello from earlier in the performance, etc. Said scorching cellist kept looking at a clock and what's more, about every fifteen minutes there arose some irritating alarm of furiously scraped (recorded) cello, some kind of waypoint. About every thirty minutes as the aft drone came to crescendo, the piano and cello would cut against the harsh grain and perform a delicate duo of romantic music. The first time this took place, it was doubtless the highlight of the performance for me. But then it happened five or six more times. Things didn't really evolve at all, just reassert. The guy on bass, melodica, etc. was worthless, he left the room maybe ten times while I was there, the electric bass portions were laughably deplorable. The cellist kept eating potato chips, when there was an audience, everyone was asleep, in all I got this heavy-handed workshop vibe that I really can't get into. Most startling was the unoriginal piano work from Schumacher. It was 100% AMM, 100% Feldman >>> Tilbury, I mean to a T. Not bad for local live music, Lucier is next up in the series in April so looking forward to that.