NCCO’s “Cello-Centric” Programming

Last night the New Century Chamber Orchestra (NCCO) brought the second program in its 2021–2022 season to Herbst Theatre. The ensemble was led by guest artist Jeffrey Zeigler, no stranger to San Francisco due to his eight-year tenure as the Kronos Quartet cellist. Zeigler was also the soloist in the two world premiere offerings on the program. The intermission was preceded by Mark Adamo’s “Last Year,” a four-movement cello concerto extending the usual NCCO string ensemble with harp, piano, and percussion. The intermission was then followed by Paola Prestini’s “In Me,” a reimagining of throat music sung by Tanya Tagaq. The entire program began with “Phantom Chapel,” the first movement of William Grant Still’s Bells, and concluded with Andy Akiho’s “Oscillate,” which brought back the pianist (Brenda Vahur) and percussionists (Divesh Karamchandani, Elizabeth Hall, and Mika Nakamura).

Zeigler conducted from a podium that was situated at the head of the cello section but still allowed him to connect with the entire ensemble. That connection seemed to be an effective one, particularly in the context of his serving as soloist in two particularly challenging compositions. Fortunately, he rose impressively to the many virtuoso demands while attentively managing the context for all of that solo work.

“Last Year” amounted to a reflection on Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons concertos, consisting of four movements, rather than four concertos. In addition, Adamo chose to begin his cycle in autumn, rather than Vivaldi’s selection of spring. As might be guessed, there were more than a few throw-away tropes to remind listeners of Vivaldi’s music; but the overall rhetoric of the concerto was very much Adamo’s own. Indeed, there were times when I began to think that Adamo’s rhetoric was a bit overloaded; but those reflections were quickly dispersed by the overall engaging flow of the music.

“In Me,” on the other hand, posed a challenge through the novelty of its source material. This involved an Inuit approach to throat singing, which is decidedly different from the more familiar Mongolian style. Tagaq sounds are vigorously coarser, and Prestini’s translations of those sonorities to unconventional string techniques were impressive. To the mind behind my own ears, however, they were not particularly compelling, meaning that the overall five-minute duration was only slightly more than what I could take.

This contrasted distinctively with Akiho’s “Oscillate,” which was a delightfully energetic romp. My only objection was that, due to a lack of risers on the Herbst stage, it was impossible to see the three percussionists. Recently, there has been a generous share of percussion offerings in Davies Symphony Hall; and the sight of the coordinated actions of the percussionists definitely guides the ear through the diversity of rhythms and sonorities. Situating the percussionists out of sight tended to undermine perception of those elements of Akiho’s score that mattered most.

“Phantom Chapel” opened the program in quietude. This provided an excellent opportunity to consider how, as leader, Zeigler brought expressiveness to the performance. This was the one offering on the program that involved a rhetoric of quietude. The performance was only about five minutes long; but Zeigler clearly knew how to convey that rhetoric, however brief the time may have been.