Could there be a more perfect pairing than Leonard
Bernstein and Lara Downes? Each incarnates the American spirit in
resplendent manner, the former in his magnificent writing and the latter
in her captivating piano playing. True to her generous nature, Downes
has shared the credit for her tribute to Bernstein on the occasion of
his hundredth birthday with “friends,” four of who accompany her on four
of the twenty-eight tracks. But said credit could be extended beyond
those participants to the many composers, among them Stephen Sondheim,
Marc Blitzstein, and Ned Rorem, whose own Bernstein tributes appear. One
of the more surprising things about the release is that while a
generous amount of his own material is included, world premieres written
by others appear too. Selection details aside, two things in particular
distinguish For Lenny, Downes's always exquisite playing, of
course, but also the audacity of Bernstein's lyrical writing and his
bountiful melodic sensibility. In her hands, his songs sing.
A mere scan of the set-list reveals one of the
project's greatest strengths: rather than exclusively feature
well-known Bernstein material, Downes instead chose less familiar
pieces, seven of them “Anniversaries” he wrote for family and friends on
their birthdays, Aaron Copland, Lukas Foss, and Sondheim among the
latter. In an imaginative move, that gesture's returned in kind by
figures such as John Corigliano, Daron Hagen, Shulamit Ran, Theo
Bleckmann, and Eleonor Sandresky, whose personal Bernstein tributes were
written in some cases during his lifetime and in others were newly
composed for this project. Such an inspired programme is the kind of
thing we've come to expect from Downes, a justly admired artist whose
discography includes homages to another great American artist, Billie
Holiday, as well as America itself.
As mentioned, four pieces feature guests:
Kevin “K.O.” Olusola (a member of the a cappella group Pentatonix)
beatboxing on “Something's Coming”; clarinet prodigy Javier
Morales-Martinez (whom Downes discovered through the national Young
Artists program she founded at the Mondavi Center, UC Davis) on “Cool”;
and roots singer Rhiannon Giddens and baritone Thomas Hampson on “So
Pretty” and “A Simple Song,” respectively. Each collaboration is
memorable in its own way, Olusola's for the fresh spin his treatments
bring to one of Bernstein's better-known songs and the vocalists' for
the contrast their radiant presence adds to an otherwise instrumental
collection. While all four pieces would no doubt have impressed had they
been performed by Downes alone, the inclusion of the extra colours the
guests provide is hardly objectionable.
Most of the twenty-eight pieces are miniatures
(only three edge past the four-minute mark), but they never feel
slight; Downes's urbane execution and bright articulation make even the
most fleeting piece seem substantial. Bernstein's own material ranges
from saloon-styled blues (“Big Stuff”) and playful reveries
(“Anniversary for Craig Urquhart”) to chromatically adventurous
explorations (“Anniversary for Nina”); the tributes likewise differ in
tone, many of them, including those by Corigliano, Urquhart, Sandresky,
and Sondheim heartfelt, tender, and wistful; the ones by Stephen
Schwartz and Michael Abels, on the other hand, are declamatory,
emblematic of Bernstein's high-spirited side (Abels's is even titled
“Iconoclasm/for Lenny”).
Among the standouts are poignant renderings
of justly beloved Bernstein settings such as “The Story of My Life” and
“Some Other Time” and Ricky Ian Gordon's “What Shall We Remember?”;
never is Downes's artistry more evident than during her debonair
treatments of such elegiac fare. One would have to be hard-hearted
indeed not to be inspired and galvanized by her example. At a historical
moment when an abundance of ills makes despair a not unreasonable
choice, her music-making symbolizes an unwavering belief that the world
and its people have the capacity to make things better. Such an
infectious and life-affirming stance makes resignation seem like a
cowardly choice.(Textura / March 2018)