The Waltz Project Revisited, by
Eric Moe, shows just how diverse contemporary music is. The term waltz proves to be as flexible and durable as a springboard in these miniatures. The composers represented here used the traditional waltz in 3/4 time as a starting point for these varied and distinctive works, running the gamut from sentimental to quirky, from dissonantly atonal to polytonal, and from those with an easy-to-follow beat to those without. Through all of these,
Moe unmistakably brings out the intrinsic characteristics that define each waltz.
Louis Karchin's Ghost Waltz is spooky in an ethereal way. Shadow Waltz, by
Mathew Rosenblum, is defined by the way the microtonal keyboard follows, in its own intriguing fashion, what is played on the traditional piano. Even
Wayne Peterson's Valse Subliminale and
Charles Wuorinen's Self-Similar Waltz, the two least obvious waltzes, are treated not only with respect for their construction, but with genuine feeling and humor. A healthy respect for the past is found in
Joan Tower's Red Garnet Waltz, which uses
Debussy's colorful chords, and in Akin Euba's Study in African Jazz 3, which quotes I Got Rhythm.
Moe's own Pulaski Skyway Waltz and Anthony Cornicello's PostModern Waltz, both immediately appealing for their sophisticated, rhythmic energy, quote from jazz pianists Mal Waldron and
McCoy Tyner, respectively.
Ricky Ian Gordon's polytonal Waltz is as tenderly handled as Zygmunt Krauze's Music Box Waltz is delicately.
Lou Harrison's and
Philip Glass' waltzes are quintessential illustrations of their styles:
Harrison uses Asian pentatonic scales in a tranquil, uncomplicated manner;
Glass alternates an almost frenetic theme with a slower, out-of-sync one, all accompanied by a staccato ostinato. The sheer variety and
Moe's facility with all of them ensure that listeners will find more than one waltz to their liking. It just goes to show that you can teach an old dance new tricks.