Normally, musicians are supposed to play together. But these aren't "normal" times. When the pandemic sidelined most live music, Judd Greenstein decided to rewrite a piece he was working on for the chamber ensemble yMusic. He redesigned the opening section such that the musicians could play it via video chat. "The six players don't need to be in sync, but move together through the movement as a kind of cloud," he said in a recent statement. The remainder of the 14-minute piece needs to be played in person, together. And it will be, for the first time, Feb. 13.
Greenstein's effervescent music offers episodes of transparent beauty built from chattering winds, pulsating strings and a soaring trumpet. It all seems tailor made for the expressive dancing found in the accompanying video. At the end, while the music builds to a rollicking climax, the dancers ultimately come together and, in a coda of glistening strings, two hands finally touch.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
