Search - Kyle Gann :: Private Dances

I don't get it

Lucia Mirto | San Francisco, CA USA | 03/06/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't get it: this recording really fell under the radar, for some mysterious reasons, and yet the music it contains is one of the most intriguing I have heard in a long time.

Gann's compositions are complex and enchanting, one aspect reinforcing the other.

On Reading Emerson is in my opinion a model for a perfect composition, as it possesses every element that a perfect composition should possess: rich and multi-layered musical materials and impeccable sense of form.

Despite the piece includes a number of quotes (from Ives, and even one from Busoni's glorious Fantasia Contrappuntistica!), it is incredibly cohesive. I think that opening cell serves rather well as generative and unifying element, here. I already heard this piece twice, performed live by Sarah Cahill, and I cannot get enough of it.

I can't really decide whether I love more Cahill's playing or Gann's composing, so I'll take both.

Besides, some of the pieces are glorified by the way Sarah Cahill plays them, by her uncanny sound palette, dynamic sensitivity, elegance of phrasing, understanding of the details and of the whole.

So much so that the Dances, which I probably would have not enjoyed if played in any other manner, suddenly became something special, in some cases giving us moments of superior metaphysical beauty.

Even the ensemble pieces, although not my cup of tea because of the tuning, have great moments.

And, speaking of metaphysical beauty, I would recommand anyone to listen first to "Time does not exisit". I have never heard it before getting the CD, and now I madly love it.

But all of this brings then a question: is Kyle Gann one of the best composers around or am I hallucinating?"

Get Kyle Gann on Your Radar

Allan J. Cronin | Alameda, CA | 02/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Echoing a theme from the first reviewer here on Amazon I must say that I agree that this album and, actually, Kyle Gann deserve to be on the radar of the new music enthusiasts. I first came to know Kyle Gann's work when he was a critic for the local Chicago paper , the Reader. I found his work insightful and it helped me to know music even better. I was and still am thrilled with his history of contemporary music and his collection of "Music Downtown" stands with the finest in contemporary music criticism. And all this before saying anything about his music.



Well his music is a whole other subject which deserves attention. Basically if you have not gotten to know Gann's music you owe it to yourself to start now and this album "Private Dances" is a fine place to start. The wonderful musicianship of Sarah Cahill (also a fine critic in her own right) drives this album.



As for classification call it "post minimalist" if you must. But this is good music which begs for repeated listenings and , hopefully, for repeated performances."