What’s Banned in Boston? Apparently It’s Brahms, Werewolves, and the Tango

BMV Tickets and Program

If house music was the only thing you listened to this weekend, you definitely missed out.

Boston Musica Vista, now in its 45th season, presented Banned in Boston Saturday night at the Tsai Performance Center. The organization supports the composition and production of contemporary music through its concerts and events.

Under the musical direction of Richard Pittman, the concert coupled two previously performed pieces with the world premiere of a third.

The night opened with Sonata Serenata, written by former President of the New England Conservatory Gunther Schuller. Rocking a brown and blue plaid suit jacket, Schuller took to the stage to explain the piece’s blend of classical and emergent style.

“A lot of the piece has illusions to the past, to the 19th century,” he said.

BMV Tickets and Program
Tickets and program from Boston Musica Viva’s Oct. 5 performance of “Banned in Boston.” | Photo by Nicole Seese

Though modeled after the work of Johannes Brahms, Sonata Serenata pays reverence to Joe Venuti, whom Schuller views as the first great jazz violinist. Composed of four movements, Sonata Serenata  jars the listener with far more dissonance than one might expect from a piece that derived its basis in classical music; however, the crisp stage setup–musicians dressed in all black, seated in a circle on a stage containing nothing but the performers and their instruments – added to the satisfying bite of each and every note.

Honestly, I could barely keep my eyes open throughout the piece–not because I was falling asleep, but because I wanted to fully immerse myself in the music.

Martin Brody followed Sonata Serenata with the premiere of Feral: 3 Sketches for Bisclavret. Leading with an announcement that the Sox were up 7-4 at the bottom of the eighth and thanking the audience for being at the show in spite of this, Brody spoke of the pain composing provokes in him. He then expressed his great gratitude for the members of BMV, noting that working with them “makes the whole time suffering by yourself really worth it.”

And boy, did Brody’s suffering pay off.

His piece, a selection of shorts from an opera in the works, depicts the trials and tribulations of a happy knight just trying to cope with the fact that he’s a werewolf. Oh, and his wife stealing all his clothes. In fact, the second movement, in which the knight attempts to seduce his wife, incorporates castanets as a signal to the audience that yet another piece of clothing has hit the floor.

I cannot wait to see how the rest of this opera turns out.

The night closed with Robert Rodriguez’s Tango, written after the banning of one of Rodriguez’s performances scheduled to take place in a church.

Tango relives the early 20th century crusade against tango, which led to bishops across the world denouncing it as a sin and ultimately it getting banned in Boston. Led by a character that acts as both a news reporter and a Cardinal, Tango reveals the “unwholesome attraction” of a dance craze that drew “bigger attention than bargain sales.” However, the highlight of the piece included an instructional demonstration of “the Paragon,” a dance reminiscent of an awkward middle school semiformal.

The rules of the dance included:

Do not hop, do not lunge.

Do not wiggle the shoulders, do not shake the hips…

Do not twist the body [and if you must touch your partner]

Touch only with the fingertips!

Overall, Banned in Boston packed drama, humor, and great music all into one convenient, two-hour package.

Let’s see your house music top that.

Boston Musica Viva returns to the stage on November 16 with “Trials of Youth” at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge.

For more information on upcoming shows, visit bmv.org.

About Nicole Seese

Nicole Seese (COM '15) is a native Pennsylvanian who spent 19 years of her life convinced that her home state rivaled Texas in size. Her interests include wandering aimlessly, listening to other people tell her their stories, and snuggling up in any type of worn-in flannel attire. She fears strawberry seeds and escalators and will probably judge you if you don't judge her for that.

View all posts by Nicole Seese →

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *