Wayne Alpern is an astonishing and prolific composer. In 2021 and 2022, he released Jukebox and Frankenstein followed by Secular Rituals and, now, with The Shape of Strings: Reinventions, Serenades, Divertimentos. With so much of Alpern’s work recorded for Midi, solo piano, and trio, this is not his first recording for strings. He has previously released String Quartets and String Orchestra. Being familiar with those last two titles, the arrival of The Shape of Strings: Reinventions, Serenades, Divertimentos is exciting news and fills the Alpern listener with great anticipation. And it does not disappoint. Alpern is one of the most extraordinary composers of our time. This album proves that.
The performance is by the String Orchestra of New York City with Monica Bauchwitz, concertmaster. The first violins with Bauchwitz are Lauren Cauley-Kalal and Regi Papa. The second violins are Sarah Whitney, Arthur Moeller, and Kristi Helberg. The violas are Miranda Sielaff and Margaret Dyer. The cellos are Jing Li and Caleb van der Swaagh and Logan Coale is the lone bass. They are remarkable.
Alpern describes himself by saying, “I have no abstract aesthetics to air, no singular sounds to share, and no practiced philosophy to preach. I embrace the mythology of no school or system, and lack too much the faith of any following. In fact, I have no compositional ideology at all—yet that I firmly believe…Originality is authenticity; the genuine is more precious than the great.”
It is those revelations of self-analysis that make Alpern the masterful artist and composer that he is. He is bound by no school and constrained by no approach. All of that makes Wayne Alpern honest with himself, making him true to his listener. Wayne Alpern is the Truth.
The Shape of Strings: Reinventions, Serenades, Divertimentos opens with three reinventions. Musical reinvention may mean the surrender of collaborators and creative approaches that got you where you are and Alpern has certainly done that. In music, the invention is a short two-part counterpoint. Alpern has certainly reinvented that here.
Reinvention 1 is an excellent introduction to this album with lovely and lively passages punctuated with pizzicato and spiccato. The melody is invigorating and more than a little emotional.
Reinvention 2 opens in a spacious and, perhaps, melancholy way with the first violins soaring high above the sustained notes of the rest of the orchestra. It is a gorgeous melody, full of light and beauty. Reinvention 2 creates a vast soundscape of tone and hue that evokes thought and memory in ways that only music can. The enchanting conclusion is fascinating.
Reinvention 3 is an excellent composition of conversations between the string sections with warm intonations from the violas and cellos. It is not something that any of the classical composers could have written—they were too constricted by their own styles and forms. Alpern is free to speak his mind and, while he may offer a reminiscence of something from Beethoven or Mendelssohn, he speaks his own unique mind. The expressive intonation of the orchestra is mesmerizing. A lovely, lovely piece of music.
The Serenades follow. While serenades are typically light and tranquil pieces of music, Alpern again speaks with his own voice. Serenade 1 is neither light nor tranquil but is, rather, stirring and powerful. The piece is very brief but extremely throaty.
Serenade 2 opens with a dark and moving passage with the cellos and double bass creating a deep undercurrent upon which the violins and violas create swirling eddies of their own. A calm and coolness arises from the violins and violas that is positively rapturous. The uniform crescendo at the conclusion surrenders back to the tranquil at the very end.
Serenade 3 sounds like a day in the forest with chirping birds and sweet breezes through the leaves of the trees. The cellos threaten and the violins escape from the clutches of the bass tones. This is a tone poem as much as a serenade.
The album closes with three divertimenti, pieces that are meant to amuse, according to the definition of the Italian phrase. Divertimento 1 follows exactly that. The piece is light-hearted and is conversational between the cellos and violins. The bowing of the cellos at the end is humorous and delightful.
Divertimento 2 is romantic and emotional. The violas deliver some of the warmest moments of the introductory passages. The orchestra glides into delightful phrases and intonations that are wonderfully intertwined before moving into the middle section of deliberate contrasts. The gorgeous closing section is intoxicating.
Divertimento 3 closes the album in a lively and energetic way. The ostinato of the cellos is answered by the violins and violas straightforward voices. The ostinato takes over the piece and takes it to conclusion. This was intriguing and pleasing at the same time.
Christopher Parkening once wrote: “Excellence is internal – seeking satisfaction in having done your best. Success is external – how you have done in comparison to others… Success engenders a fantasy and a compulsive groping for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Excellence brings us down to reality with a deep gratitude for the promise of joy when we do our best. Excellence cultivates principles, character, and integrity. Success may be cheap, and you can take shortcuts to get there. You will pay the full price for excellence; it is never discounted. Excellence will always cost you everything, but it is the most lasting and rewarding ideal.” While Alpern has gained great success, it came because of his excellence.
Wayne Alpern’s The Shape of Strings: Reinventions, Serenades, Divertimentos is a work of great integrity and creativity. Even though we have come to expect the wonderful from him, he still has the capacity to surprise is with his brilliance and heart. While he may claim no religion or philosophy, listening to The Shape of Strings: Reinventions, Serenades, Divertimentos reveals that maybe God speaks through Wayne Alpern.
~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl
The performance is by the String Orchestra of New York City with Monica Bauchwitz, concertmaster. The first violins with Bauchwitz are Lauren Cauley-Kalal and Regi Papa. The second violins are Sarah Whitney, Arthur Moeller, and Kristi Helberg. The violas are Miranda Sielaff and Margaret Dyer. The cellos are Jing Li and Caleb van der Swaagh and Logan Coale is the lone bass. They are remarkable.
Alpern describes himself by saying, “I have no abstract aesthetics to air, no singular sounds to share, and no practiced philosophy to preach. I embrace the mythology of no school or system, and lack too much the faith of any following. In fact, I have no compositional ideology at all—yet that I firmly believe…Originality is authenticity; the genuine is more precious than the great.”
It is those revelations of self-analysis that make Alpern the masterful artist and composer that he is. He is bound by no school and constrained by no approach. All of that makes Wayne Alpern honest with himself, making him true to his listener. Wayne Alpern is the Truth.
The Shape of Strings: Reinventions, Serenades, Divertimentos opens with three reinventions. Musical reinvention may mean the surrender of collaborators and creative approaches that got you where you are and Alpern has certainly done that. In music, the invention is a short two-part counterpoint. Alpern has certainly reinvented that here.
Reinvention 1 is an excellent introduction to this album with lovely and lively passages punctuated with pizzicato and spiccato. The melody is invigorating and more than a little emotional.
Reinvention 2 opens in a spacious and, perhaps, melancholy way with the first violins soaring high above the sustained notes of the rest of the orchestra. It is a gorgeous melody, full of light and beauty. Reinvention 2 creates a vast soundscape of tone and hue that evokes thought and memory in ways that only music can. The enchanting conclusion is fascinating.
Reinvention 3 is an excellent composition of conversations between the string sections with warm intonations from the violas and cellos. It is not something that any of the classical composers could have written—they were too constricted by their own styles and forms. Alpern is free to speak his mind and, while he may offer a reminiscence of something from Beethoven or Mendelssohn, he speaks his own unique mind. The expressive intonation of the orchestra is mesmerizing. A lovely, lovely piece of music.
The Serenades follow. While serenades are typically light and tranquil pieces of music, Alpern again speaks with his own voice. Serenade 1 is neither light nor tranquil but is, rather, stirring and powerful. The piece is very brief but extremely throaty.
Serenade 2 opens with a dark and moving passage with the cellos and double bass creating a deep undercurrent upon which the violins and violas create swirling eddies of their own. A calm and coolness arises from the violins and violas that is positively rapturous. The uniform crescendo at the conclusion surrenders back to the tranquil at the very end.
Serenade 3 sounds like a day in the forest with chirping birds and sweet breezes through the leaves of the trees. The cellos threaten and the violins escape from the clutches of the bass tones. This is a tone poem as much as a serenade.
The album closes with three divertimenti, pieces that are meant to amuse, according to the definition of the Italian phrase. Divertimento 1 follows exactly that. The piece is light-hearted and is conversational between the cellos and violins. The bowing of the cellos at the end is humorous and delightful.
Divertimento 2 is romantic and emotional. The violas deliver some of the warmest moments of the introductory passages. The orchestra glides into delightful phrases and intonations that are wonderfully intertwined before moving into the middle section of deliberate contrasts. The gorgeous closing section is intoxicating.
Divertimento 3 closes the album in a lively and energetic way. The ostinato of the cellos is answered by the violins and violas straightforward voices. The ostinato takes over the piece and takes it to conclusion. This was intriguing and pleasing at the same time.
Christopher Parkening once wrote: “Excellence is internal – seeking satisfaction in having done your best. Success is external – how you have done in comparison to others… Success engenders a fantasy and a compulsive groping for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Excellence brings us down to reality with a deep gratitude for the promise of joy when we do our best. Excellence cultivates principles, character, and integrity. Success may be cheap, and you can take shortcuts to get there. You will pay the full price for excellence; it is never discounted. Excellence will always cost you everything, but it is the most lasting and rewarding ideal.” While Alpern has gained great success, it came because of his excellence.
Wayne Alpern’s The Shape of Strings: Reinventions, Serenades, Divertimentos is a work of great integrity and creativity. Even though we have come to expect the wonderful from him, he still has the capacity to surprise is with his brilliance and heart. While he may claim no religion or philosophy, listening to The Shape of Strings: Reinventions, Serenades, Divertimentos reveals that maybe God speaks through Wayne Alpern.
~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl
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