Modern classical music performed at Cleveland concert

CLEVELAND — Music fans interested in modern classical music got live performances on Sunday of a nationally prominent composer's music and also a dose of a local composer's work. The Cleveland Institute of Music's New Music Ensemble performed several pieces by Libby Larsen, a Minneapolis-based composer who is one of the country's most-performed living composers. The musicians also did a piece by the group's director, Keith Fitch, who teaches composition at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Students at the elite music school, showing off their talents for an audience of several dozen people in a school auditorium, performed Larsen's "Trio Noir," an instrumental piece inspired by a love of old movies; a selection of Larsen's songs, and a chamber work, "Monk's Oboe," inspired by the jazz great, Thelonius Monk. They also did Fitch's "Burning Counterpoint," a piece for saxophone and percussion dedicated to Fitch's teacher and mentor, composer and music professor Frederick Fox. The notes in the concert program explain that when Fitch was a college student, he partied too hard rather than devoting necessary time to a counterpoint exercise for Fox's class. "After playing my homework in class, Fred, saying nothing, took out his lighter and proceeded to incinerate my feeble attempt in front of the class," Fitch explained. Fitch got the idea for his piece when telling the story years later. Larsen praised the performance of the students and posed for pictures with some of them. Larsen's music has been featured in dozens of recordings. While there are many modern composers writing new music in the U.S. today, it's difficult to find out about many of them. Only a few, such as Philip Glass and John Adams, have broken through to become generally known among classical music listeners. Larsen, interviewed by the Register, said one good way to find out about contemporary classical music is to ask for suggestions from another enthusiast. Larsen said she recommends composers Steve Mackey, Steve Wallace (known for operas such as "Harvey Milk") and Jennifer Higdon, who attended Bowling Green State University. As for her own work, Larsen said her orchestral piece "Deep Summer Music" has become widely played and said some of her songs, such as "Try Me, Good King," featuring the last words of Henry VIII's wives, also have become popular. At least some of Sunday's concert will be posted on YouTube after Larsen has a chance to review the videos, Fitch told the Register. Much of Larsen's music is available on Hoopla Digital and Freegal, the two public library streaming services, and also on commercial streaming services such as Spotify. Recordings of Fitch's music are less easy to find, but a search for his name and the word "composer" will turn up videos of several of his pieces on YouTube.