courtesy of Crossover Media
Those following this site for some time probably know by now that my knowledge of performances by pianist Keith Jarrett is due entirely to albums released by ECM. Since 2019 that label has been chronicling documents of the music performed during his final European solo tour in 2016. (In 2018 he endured two strokes, after which he could play piano only with his right hand.) That journey began with the release of Munich 2016 in November of 2019, followed by Budapest Concert and Bordeaux Concert. This month the pendulum swung back to the east with the release of New Vienna, recorded in the Golden Hall of that city’s Musikverein.
As readers might guess, this is not the Vienna of the Strauss family! Indeed, the Musikverein was a major venue for the Second Viennese School, where compositions by Arnold Schoenberg and his pupils, Alban Berg and Anton Webern, were given premiere performances. Those familiar with Jarrett’s style probably know that it is a far cry from the achievements of those three composers. Rather than meticulous calculation, his performances explore the wide diversity of approaches to spontaneity. The results of those approaches are so abstract the Jarrett identifies his tracks simply as “Part” followed by a Roman numeral; but each of those tracks discloses its own approach to expressive disposition.
When I wrote about the Bordeaux album, I made the observation that I had “listened to enough Jarrett tracks to know that the last thing I want to do is try to analyze any of them to death.” The alternative that I proposed was one of “spontaneous listening.” That proposal is as valid for New Vienna as it is for its three predecessors. When I wrote about Bordeaux Concert, I invoked T. S. Eliot for a final bit of advice. At the end of the day, however, the only real advice that counts for any of these live Jarrett albums is: “Shut up and listen!”
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