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Pianist and composer Keith Kirchoff presented a lecture-recital at the UMKC Conservatory last Friday night.  He has an engaging onstage persona and provided insightful introductions to each work, as well as played a variety of music composed in the last twenty years for piano and electronics, including three new works commissioned specifically for his current tour.

Servicio a Domicilio by Robert Morales-Manzanares began with a quiet, mysterious steady line in the mid-upper register of the piano with accents of dissonant cluster chords played by the left hand both high and low on the keyboard. This opening gradually progressed to a more intense section including a busy electronic part created with recorded piano sounds and Kirchoff using his forearms and fists across the full range of the keyboard.

in vitro oink by Christopher Jette was more experimental than musical, involving a Nintendo Wii controller strapped to Kirchoff's left arm. The Wii controller manipulated the sampled playback of live-recorded piano phrases: moving the controller left or right, up or down, slow or fast changed the tempo and pitch of the playback. While this part of the piece was innovative and interesting, the piano part was shallow, random and disjointed. It seemed the piano was just a vehicle for the electronic component and not equally focused on compositionally.

Using a sampler keyboard set above the piano keyboard and programmed with all extended piano technique sounds, Lightning Slingers and Dead Ringers by Annie Gosfield began as a "waltz on acid", so to speak. Each section of the piece was anchored by a striking rock-like loop, which was initially fun and made it one of the more tonal works of the evening, yet there was very little development within each section. The last third of the piece was busy with many ideas: perhaps unnecessary and lasted too long.

Christopher Trebue Moore's praya dubia began as the most compelling work of the concert so far until, like nearly all the works, it went on too long. The prepared piano and electronic parts complimented each other and blended well together. The title is based on a massive underwater creature with several different functional "colonies", Kirchoff explained, and the music reflected this inspiration: distant, distorted sounds reminiscent of the sea and each part (piano, computer) acting as a "colony".

A fusion of minimalism and pop, Lush Intrinsic by Dan VanHassel was one of the stronger pieces of the evening. Its tonal, meditative, and simple lines and chords enjoyed dynamic swells and good development in both the piano and computer parts. The steady tempo was well controlled by Kirchoff. While the second, more dissonant section was a bit more rhythmically blatant, the work was an appropriate length and a nice contrast to the rest of the music on the program.

Velocity Study No. 3: Rip by Allen Strange, while shortest, was definitely the best of the night. With an ominous and dark introduction, harp-like sweeping gestures, much tremolo, and intense glissandi across all keys, the piano part was nothing short of challenging and impressive. The electronic part was the original tape re-mastered, and was more of an accompaniment to the piano, but necessary and fitting.

"Hyperactive" is an apt description of Kirchoff's composition The Adventures of Norby, which was certainly an exciting piece to experience live. This piece included myriad styles, moods, and techniques which would shift sometimes in a split second and you rarely heard the same thing twice. The work was also very physical and theatrical: Kirchoff slapped the sides of the piano, slammed down the keyboard lid, used percussion mallets and brushes on the floor and inside the piano, and even whistled. The electronic part was equally chaotic and included some familiar musical items, such as jazz grooves and haunting music box at the very end. In one of the intense piano lines, a noticeable thudding sound was present in the highest register and at first I thought the piano was not properly "unprepared" from one of the previous piece's set-up, but Kirchoff had in fact broken two strings as a result of his furious and passionate playing.

At two and a half hours, the recital was gratuitously long and would have benefitted from some program editing and a punctual start, but I have absolutely no complaints about Kirchoff's playing. He was energetic, precise, sensitive, and successfully conveyed many moods making him a real pleasure to watch. I applaud Kirchoff for his efforts to encourage and promote new music as well; he is a true asset to today's composers.

REVIEW:
UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance
Keith Kirchoff, piano
Friday, March 19, 2010
White Recital Hall
James C. Olson Performing Arts Center
4949 Cherry Street, Kansas City, MO
www.conservatory.umkc.edu

By Kristin Shafel Omiccioli

Editorial Assignments Executive Editor; Traditional and New Classical Contributor

Kristin Shafel Omiccioli, a native of Madison, WI, holds composition degrees (M.M., B.M.) from the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance. Kristin's compositions have been performed at national and regional new music festivals and conferences throughout the United States. During her time at UMKC, Kristin also focused on double bass performance and arts administration. She was a student leader and performer in many of the Conservatory's student organizations and ensembles, including Musica Nova, Composers' Guild, the Conservatory Student Association, the orchestras, and Wind Symphony. Her composition instructors were James Mobberley, Paul Rudy, Zhou Long, and Chen Yi, and her bass instructor was Sue Stubbs. Formerly a guitarist, Kristin performed with big bands and her own jazz combo in Madison, WI, having studied jazz guitar and theory with Roger Brotherhood in Madison and jazz voice and theory with Hal Melia in Kansas City at UMKC.

Kristin enjoys being active in the performing arts community. She has volunteered with the Chamber Music Society of Kansas City and Charlotte Street Foundation, and has played in the bass section of the Northland Symphony Orchestra, among other bass gigs around the metro. Kristin currently serves as principal bass for the Kansas City Civic Orchestra and Heritage Philharmonic, and is a section bassist for Kinnor Philharmonic. She joined the writing staff of KCMetropolis.org in February 2010 and has been KCM’s executive editor since July 2011. Read her blog at mylittleheartmelodies.com.