Reviews of Coleman's Work
Recent reviews of Coleman's work:
"Coleman's "Wondrous Night," the latest in a slew of TSO-commissioned world premieres, was aptly titled. Lovely and thoroughly tonal, the work sported a recurring, whirling undercurrent created by layers of looped arpeggios, played by several string subgroups, slightly out of sync, suggesting a rippling pool. Several episodes of piccolo trumpet interjected a slightly oblique, almost Middle Eastern-sounding aside into the warm, sparkling soundscape. The work recalled John Adams at his energetic and unpredictable best, and clearly got across its celebratory intent. No surprise from a gifted young composer who is proving one of Tucson's most valuable recent acquisitions."Daniel Buckley, Tucson Citizen
"New Coleman Quintet has memorable moments"
Monday, January 14, 2002By Philippa Kiraly
Special to the Post-Intellingencer
Composer Dan Coleman celebrated his 30th birthday Saturday by hearing the world premiere of his Quintet (after Elizabeth Bishop) at Nordstrom Recital Hall, before a capacity audience. He couldn't hope for a finer performance, ever, he said in spoken program notes, nor better musicians to play it … Although Coleman's five-movement work opens atonally, it becomes clear that the harmonies shift in and out of tonality and atonality, not as ends in themselves, but as tools to shape and color the music, as he wants. It's a lyrical work of about 20 minutes, loosely inspired, he said, by Bishop's poems. Melodies abound, some hummable, some not, and most given to the clarinet, though the viola -the clarinet's partner in pitch - has some memorable moments. There are even two short clarinet cadenzas in the second and fourth movements and, in the third and longest movement, homage to Mozart in an absolutely charming section. The five movements fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, but each has its own distinct character - quiet and peaceful; bright, syncopated, optimistic and warm; sweeping and colorful; energetic and jazzy; and the last, peaceful again.
Coleman described the concluding one as diabolical, but that may be how it is for the players, not for the listeners. The quintet is a major addition to the repertory, particularly for the clarinet. It makes sense, structurally and harmonically. It's full of ideas and is appealing and accessible to the listener while definitely a work of today. The performers gave it a stellar premiere, playing with understanding, tenderness and exact togetherness.
"Strangely loveable music" When I feel the urge to get out the metaphorical bottle of Tune-B-Gone, I know that I either love the piece or hate it. I think I love Coleman's quartet, though I'm not quite sure why. It wanders all over the stylistic map, saving itself from sappiness every so often by abruptly changing character. I'm reminded a bit of Thomas Adès' string quartet Arcadiana, which tucks in a not-so-subtle tribute to Elgar's "Nimrod" (under the title "O Albion"), carefully surrounded on both sides by much gnarlier music. But, Coleman's quartet is not so protective of its sensitive underside. "The tune" gets the last word, and the piece ends in a sort of ecstatic glow of A major.
Coleman clearly knows his Britten - and not only the Britten of the Third Quartet (though that's the influence I keep hearing in the first movement). There is a place in the middle movement, with a high violin solo over pulsing harmonies in the other three parts, that might almost have come from the "Chacony" of Britten's Second Quartet, decades earlier. It's curiously beautiful, serene and remote, suddenly intricate but with no feeling of artifice. The composer who could write that bears watching. And the quartet that could play it like that bears watching too." San Francisco Classical Voice