These piano works by the Estonian born Canadian citizen
Udo Kasemets are, without doubt, the result of deep, considered, and fruitful study. They have been influenced by everything from Webern's serialism to
Stockhausen's structural concerns and sonic modulations to
John Cage's indeterminacy. Written between 1964 and 1995, they reveal the developmental stages of a composer who is self-confident, but an agonizing searcher for truth as it applies not only to music but also to life. The problem, it appears here, is that searching is academic. Whether in the title work, from 1994,
Kasemets seeks to erect a modular architecture of tone and scale, or in the early work ("Tango" and "Tangovariables on the Word Tango" both from 1964), where each note or cluster stands serially independent of the others no matter which order they are played in, the result is the same: These are looks through a microscope disguised as music; academic preoccupations that may be agonizing to the mind but are incapable of being expressed by the heart. In other words, it's all abstract mathematics and is a chore to listen to without snoring. Art for art's sake at least looks to express itself outside the confines of a music studio -- or basement. ~ Thom Jurek