Las mariposas bailan . . . en la nada - Luca Belcastro
If - Andrea Cavallari
Kwartet - Franco Parac
Derives - Pierre Boulez
En proximidad del infinito - Michele Biasutti
Arpege - Franco Donatoni
Yesterday lunchtime, at the National Concert Hall's John Field Room, the Italian group Interensemble, directed by Bernardino Beggio, presented six works by living composers.
Good programming was complemented by the artistry of the playing.
Each of the pieces, for various combinations of flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and vibraphone, had something to offer.
There was no escaping the intensity of Kwartet by the Croatian Franco Parac (b. 1948) - Janacek-like in its use of nervous fragments.
A more modernistic approach was evident in the four Italian compositions on the programme.
If by Andrea Cavallari (b. 1964) features tense counterpoints of rhythm and colour.
En proximidad del infinito by Michele Biasutti (b. 1963) is an extraordinary exploration of sounds derived from electro-acoustic music.
No less striking was Las mariposas bailan . . . en la nada by Luca Belcastro (b. 1964), who won the international section of the 1998 New Music for Sligo Competition.
It contrasts differing types of motion, inspired by the flight of butterflies.
Even amidst these disciplined pieces, the grip on events shown in Arpege by Franco Donatoni (b. 1927) stood out.
In that respect, though not in style, it bore comparison with the almost forbidding control shown by Pierre Boulez (b. 1925) in IT]Derives.
Interensemble played with authority of technique and understanding.
It was a pleasure to listen to a group which, while not always in the front rank of virtuosity, was unfailing in its quality of sound, even during music which stretches the instruments' possibilities to the utmost.