that was some kind of something.

as is my habit, i foolishly read only the title of this event before i went to it, so my perception of what i thought was going to happen was very different from what happened. “momentum quartet open rehearsal,” to me, sounds very posh and baroque. something bethovan-y. what the quartet actually played was decidedly not bethovan, but was instead janáček’s manic musical interpretation of tolstoy’s manic literary interpretation of a bethovan piece. i pulled up the wikipedia article on the piece and it reads, “using a principle of thematic montage, the quartet almost abandons the fields of traditional harmony, homophony and counterpoint and instead makes free with the varied sonic factors typical of janáček, including his characteristic modal inflections.” that bit about janáček blowing off what a traditional string quartet is supposed to sound like is very accurate. the song sounded like something out of a p.t. anderson movie, or maybe just a fever dream. the whole piece was incredibly dissonant, eratic, and incongruous. watching the momentum orchestra seize and twitch their way through the the quartet, the hairs on the back of my neck started to stand up–all four musicians looked possessed. it was really quite unnerving.

i loved it.

it’s such a great feeling when music (or film or literature or any artistic medium really, but i think this is especially true of music) surprises and challenges you. the song really did sound quite like the tolstoy story, which is about a man riding a train and contemplating his wife’s possible infidelity. at the end of the story he may or may not kill his wife–it’s left ambiguous. the quartet did a great job at evoking those themes and feelings. for instance, the violins traded the the inhuman, mechanical screech and chug of the machinery on the train the narrator rides, and the viola and the cello swerved and spun by turns franticly and woozily, like the pulse of someone raked with anxiety and frustration. the whole piece was completely psychotic–and an awesome ride.

i award this event 10 spooks out of 10 and i’d recommend it my top ten tweakiest friends.