Cubism, Janacek, Chimay

We went to see the Cubism show at the Metropolitan Museum.   Actually, I have never been that fond of Cubism, but the show is certainly interesting, with its focus on the cubist work of Braque and Picasso, and the subsequent cubist influenced work by Juan Gris and Leger.   Cubism has always felt too pedantic to me, more about exploring the nature of painting than actually creating works of art.  And I get tired of brown and black and white.  I suppose one can train oneself to recognize which line represents a violin and which line represents cafe glass; but I have to work hard to see them myself.   The show demonstrates Braque's roots in Cezanne's landscapes, and Picasso's roots in almost everything, but especially African art.  Nonetheless, the work is still fascinating to look at, as you see notions of representation being confounded and uprooted.   But it seems that for both Picasso and Braque, Cubism was kind of a dead end; their subsequent work went in mostly different directions.

Braque does Cezanne:

Picasso does Africa:

One Picasso and one Braque; which is which?

I'm not telling..


After the Cubism show, we had a light snack in the American Court, and then went to a concert at the museum's auditorium.  The Attaca Quartet was performing Janacek's two string quartets.  I have loved these two pieces for a long time, but have never heard them live.  The Attaca Quartet's performances were superb, a combination of precision and passion that brought out all the amazing things that happen in these quartets.  Janacek wrote both quartets in his 70's; they sound like the work of an inspired young composer, and are musically unique, to my ears.  He uses short melodic fragments, but rather than develop them, he constantly recombines them in ways that are audacious, both harmonically and rhythmically.  
The quartets were supposedly inspired by Janacek's passionate (but platonic) love for a young married woman.   The Attaca Quartet, playing the accessibility card, attempted to illustrate that connection by reading excerpts from the Jancek's letters while playing short bits of the music.  (I think Vera shuddered quietly.)   I was grateful to be told that Janacek was "just a dude", and not a dirty old man.
Despite the pre-performance talk, I have nothing but praise for the Attaca Quartet; these were immensely committed performances, and they aced all the numerous technical difficulties. It was very moving.

After our double feature at the museum, we went to a Belgian restaurant on the Upper West Side and had a late dinner, lubricated by a very tasty draft Chimay ale from Belgium, and then walked home on a cold and blustery night.