Robert Honstein: An Economy Of Means

Larson, Karl; Perkins, Doug

In his insightful liner notes for Robert Honstein’s ‘An Economy of Means,’ pianist Timo Andres writes, “isolation can also be an end in itself, sparseness an aesthetic impetus.” From the opening flourishes of the title work for vibraphone, played here with bravura by Doug Perkins, we hear compositional patience and restraint. Honstein limits his materials with discipline, finding “hidden pathos in clean, well-lighted places,” another elegant turn of phrase from Andres’ essay. The most subtle of changes become the source of that pathos- an extra repetition in a running passage, a sideways turn harmonically for a brief moment, or the addition of vibrating material to the face of the vibraphone to create subtle, wave-like sounds as we hear midway in both the first and second movements. Grand Tour also explores the solo journey of a multi-movement piece, and does so with a similarly pare approach, despite its occasional virtuosic outbursts. The work is a travel log of sorts, an internal dialogue with the city of Venice, a city that certainly comes with its share of historical, and music-historical associations.

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