CLASSICAL
Kinetic offers a quiet, meditative program.
In “Goldberg Variations,” Bach masterfully encapsulates human existence in a way that has resonated with audiences for generations but proves perhaps even more chilling in today’s fractured society.
The composer’s monumental work, which was published in 1741, ends as it begins, with a return to the opening “Aria.” Upon the second listen, however, the melodic theme of graceful elegance feels vastly different, as the music undergoes a series of transformations throughout the set of 30 variations, which are all built upon the original bass line.
“You have this unbelievable journey to all corners of Bach’s musical brain,” says Giancarlo Latta, a founding member of Houston’s Kinetic, who arranged the keyboard work for string ensemble. “You can’t help but be changed by the whole experience, and I think it’s low-hanging fruit to say that there’s some element of this situation that we’re all in right now.”
The shift in perspective seems inevitable, much like seeing glimpses of pre-pandemic normalcy through a new lens, one that takes into account all of the challenges of the past year.
On Jan. 24, in its first concert of 2021, Kinetic will offer listeners a space to digest and reflect upon the potential for growth within the recurring rhythm of life by way of the cyclic structure of Bach’s roughly hourlong piece performed by 12 masked musicians. Livestreamed from Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston, the meditative program will also showcase a third of the ensemble — violinists Natalie Lin Douglas and Mary Grace Johnson, violist Tonya Burton and cellist David Olson — in Jennifer Higdon’s “Quiet Art,” a string quartet inspired by the introspective and passionate nature in which an artist creates.
“So much of our preparation, as musicians, happens in solitude,” says Lin Douglas, founder and artistic director of the conductorless ensemble, who used Hidgon’s work as the starting point when curating the timely program last summer. “We’re so used to practicing alone, so in a sense, aspects of this past year have felt familiar.”
To complicate matters, on top of current social-distancing guidelines, several of Kinetic’s string players, including Lin Douglas, no longer reside in Houston, and while the ability to collaborate remotely has become easier, the musicians don’t take the opportunity to reunite in person — even if standing 6 feet apart and performing in an empty theater — lightly.
“Being able to play with other musicians in the same room feels so rare of an opportunity, so I’m thrilled to be here,” says Lin Douglas, a New Zealand-born violinist, who earned her doctorate at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music before moving to Boston last August to join the faculty of Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Music and Theater Arts as an assistant professor.
To Lin Douglas, the intention behind “Quiet Art” was complemented by the idea of a soloist rehearsing Bach’s towering masterpiece in a private setting. Such an intimate relationship between a musician and a piece of music is something Latta understands well, as the “Goldberg Variations” — Glenn Gould’s landmark 1981 recording of it, in particular — has held great meaning for him, especially in recent times of relative isolation. In fact, he set out to create expansive solo violin versions of some of the variations by layering multiple parts on top of one another before the collaborative project with Kinetic even came about.
“I’ve been a lover of this piece for a long time but arranging certain movements from it definitely gave me a new window into how it works on a musical and technical level,” says Latta, whose plans to perform in this weekend’s program changed due to the spike in COVID-19 cases and related travel risks. The violinist — who moved to Houston in 2013 to pursue his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music — now lives in New York, where he plays with the dynamic Argus Quartet. “It was somewhat of a spiritual communion with Bach, another way of finding some aspect of connection within solitude.”
From near and far, Kinetic musicians continue to provide Houston with moments of peace and unity that are undeterred by the world’s turbulence, Lin Douglas explains. “Music is a common space,” she said. “It communicates without words, and sometimes, that’s the best thing.”
DOUGLAS AND GIANCARLO LATTA