Reviews of the newly released CD Music of John Carbon

Randy Nordschow, Production Coordinator, New Music Box, American Music Center (Issue 48 Vol. 4 No. 12, April, 2003):

"John Carbon seems to be one of those composers who always has a tune knocking around inside his head. There's certainly no shortage of melodic material in Carbon's compositions, as his Rhapsody for Clarinet and Orchestra is a testament to. He whittles his melodies down, tailoring them to coincide with his compositional goals. Coupled with his broad understanding of virtuosic writing is Carbon's flair for gestural drama, which generates an unbridled outcome, especially in pieces such as the Piano Concerto of 1998."

American Record Guide, September/October, 2003, Jack Sullivan:

"A mysterious playfulness permeates the music of American composer John Carbon. The 1998 Piano Concerto in one movement is the big work in this album; it is expressive and colorful, with silky textures and a splashy virtuoso solo part splendidly played by William Koseluk. More subtle and delicate are Rasgos, a set of Spanish-tinged miniatures for chamber orchestra inspired by Lorca poems; a sly and sinuous Rhapsody for clarinet and orchestra; and a cowboy tone poem called Ghost Town Sketches, an evocation of western ghost towns the composer visited as a child. Carbon's harmonies are by turns impressionistic and tart, but essentially tonal.

These witty, imaginative pieces get star performances from prominent ensembles. Doris Hall-Gulati's clarinet is spry and nimble in the comedic Rhapsody; Claire Chan produces an austere lyricism in the wispy Lorca miniatures. The recordings, as usual with MMC, are from different times and venues, and are all well produced. This is an excellent showcase for a worthy composer."

Fanfare Magazine, August, 2003, Peter Burwasser:

"The composer's very name lends a sense of what this music is like: dark yet glinty, metallic, and brilliant. The most comprehensive representation of John Carbon's style is found in his 1998 Piano Concerto. This is a very impressive one-movement work, in the virtuosic tradition of Prokoviev. As in much of the rest of the music on this disc, Carbon sounds most engaged when he has the opportunity to display energy and complexity, if not necessarily a lot of noise. At his best, Carbon writes with a pungency and sparkle that honors the neo-Classicism of Stravinsky, with a fine sense for texture and timbral blending. In all of the music here, Carbon's masterful technique is a marvel to behold.

John Carbon is fifty-two years old, still young for a composer, and he can be forgiven for a certain brashness in his approach. His relentless energy, despite the superb presentation, can sometimes become wearisome. There are reposes in the music, although Carbon never seems completely in his skin when the music slows down, but merely waiting for the activity to spike up again. His voice is most assured when there is density and rapidity, but even in some of the more sparsely scored music in the Ghost Town Sketches and Rasgos there is an inner energy that animates the material. Both works consist of short, pithy musical observations (Rasgos, Spanish for "sketches," was inspired by Goya drawings at the Prado), enlivened by frequent flashes of humor. The Rhapsody for Clarinet and Orchestra, by virtue of the intrinsic qualities of the solo instrument, is not as brilliant as the Piano Concerto, but shares a concise and colorful expressiveness.

Time will tell if a ripening of Carbon's voice will produce a more dynamically balanced point of view. For now, we can enjoy an extraordinarily talented and compelling composer. The performances, as we have come to expect from MMC, are superbly committed and virtuosic throughout."

Sequenza/21: The Contemporary Classical Music Weekly (April 2003 Editor's Picks):

"Valuable recording of an unjustly neglected composer."

Records International (Feb. 2003 Cataloque)

"Serenity and melodic tenderness...providing the listener with a richly varied experience. A virtuosic tour de force."

The Clarinet (William Nichols/Audio Notes, May, 2003):
"[writing about the Rhapsody]: This piece is to great extent in a vigorous rhythmic style with lots of activity and color in the orchestra. There is a wide variety of instruments utilized, including substantial percussion writing and rigorous, active writing for the orchestral clarinets. The solo part is virtuosic and includes slap tongue and flutter tongue effects. An imaginative extended cadenza precedes a contemplative closing section. [Doris Hall-Gulati] delivers a completely convincing and stylish virtuoso performance...as does Gerard Schwarz' New York Chamber Symphony...Another work presented here is an engaging chamber piece entitled Ghost Town Sketches. This is a disc of imaginative new music, well played and recorded, and which may be of interest to clarinetists seeking new solo and chamber material."

Review of Rhapsody

Allan Kozinn, New York Times (1997):

"...only a few of the works made a lasting impression, on first hearing. The most striking was John Carbon's Rhapsody for clarinet and chamber orchestra, in which a demandingly agile clarinet line, played with both virtuosity and nuance by Doris Hall-Gulati, wove its way through a variegated orchestral fabric. Except for a slow, dark-hued coda, the orchestral writing was brisk and vital, and rich in the coloristic effects of the sort that create depth rather than artificial glitter......an essentially Neoromantic style with a modernist tinge..."

Reviews of Clarinet Concerto:

Fanfare Magazine (1997):

"Richard Stoltzman negotiates the demands ...with remarkable aplomb and effectiveness. [The orchestra] also rises to levels of great virtuosity. The idea of the clarinet concerto as a work of immense power and drama is new to me. John Carbon (b. 1951) provides a Concerto in one long (25:34) movement. His score is ... richly orchestrated, reminding me at different turns of Richard Strauss, Maurice Ravel, and Ottorino Respighi, though Carbon's harmonic language and use of percussion are far more advanced that one finds in these masters of the early twentieth century. ...The soloist is asked to both exhaust and extend the potential of his instrument to make all manner of sounds. The orchestra is put through similar strenuous exercises, pausing from time to time to allow bravura cadenzas from the clarinet. MMC's gorgeously recorded disc is a winner in every respect, and decidedly material for the 1997 Want List."

Sonneck Society Bulletin (1997):

"The flawless performance Richard Stoltzman's admirers expect of him. John Carbon's Clarinet Concerto provides some luscious atmospheric, introspective moments, supported by a thoughtful orchestral performance."

Richmond Times-Dispatch, Clarke Bustard (1997):

"Just as attractive, maybe more accessible, is John Carbon's moody, sometimes bluesy Clarinet Concerto (1997)."

American Record Guide, Stephen D. Hicken (1997):

"John Carbon's Concerto is also in one movement. Its structure is rhapsodic, episodes rapidly following one another. Its 25-minute length is held together by a clearly recognizable (and pregnant with possibility) five-note motive that appears in countless guises in contrasting episodes. George Manahan is the expert conductor on one of MMC's best releases."

Reviews of Violin Concerto:

Fanfare Magazine (2000):

"John Carbon's more traditionally structured, three-movement Violin Concerto, recorded in 1995, the year in which it appeared, ventures further harmonically and melodically, and offers the soloist more opportunities for technical display. Unlike so many works in which disjointed melodies leap capriciously among dissonant harmonies, Carbon's showcases the solo violin in conjoint ones that brood (as in the ominous conclusions of the second movement) and soar, albeit in unfamiliar harmonic territory. The finale's dazzling, kinetic virtuosity culminates a difficult but rewarding work."

American record Guide (2000):

" ...many moments of genuine beauty"

Review of Inner Voices

Fanfare Magazine, William Zagorski (1993)

"It's an otherworldly piece that swings between dream and nightmare. Each movement presents a symphonic synthesis...The second movement, Phantoms, is desolate...The third movement, Nightride, projects a sense of triumph. All is done in tonal yet highly convoluted language."

Reviews of Benjamin:

Daniel Webster, Philadelphia Enquirer (1987):

"...glimpses, half-parodistic allegorical tableaux and brightly telescoped scenes of Franklin's achievements. The intimacy of the vision of Franklin ....allowed the composer to equate a bassoon melody with a voice and to create transparent instrumental atmospheres to match the stage music. Pamela King made the letter scene telling...through its shadowed melody and the starkness of solo piano accompaniment. Carbon has even included a coloratura aria for the French woman who beguiled Franklin¹s Paris stay. The aria sketches a bright, tempting character who appears only for a moment in this vignette. Her scene, however--set in a salon for a musical evening--is one of the opera's wittiest. Franklin declares himself inventor of the glass harmonica and also composer of a string quartet. When the orchestra quotes the quartet, harpsichordist and all, the guests fall into hypnotized sleep, leaving Franklin and Mme. Brillon to wonder at their own feelings. Constance Beavon's role [Benjamin Younger] was nervously active, urgent really. Kalm's Franklin passed through moments of poignance and high comedy."

Jon Ferguson, Lancaster Intelligencer Journal (1987):

"...Soaring success...a charming opera that rings with an emotional resonance...carried along by a wonderful score containing many memorable melodies. It is a deft portrayal of a man both creative and pragmatic who often finds he's at odds with himself. The opera is extremely moving throughout...the authors deserve nothing but plaudits. The tension between the [three main characters] gives the opera its movement and its great depth. [The letter writing scene] is an extremely poignant scene, made more so by the solo piano piece which accompanies Ms. Beavon's aria. Especially effective was [Lynn Brook's choreography in] the dance of the four seasons."

Joe Byrne, Lancaster New Era (1987):

"From the opening scene¹s first pure notes of an oboe, "Benjamin: An Opera of Our Own Invention," is less drama than it is a complex, entertaining and colorful portrait of the mind of a legendary man. The show is intriguing...Franklin is a kind of Everyman in the opera. Using three characters to portray various aspects of Franklin's personality, the opera crisscrosses from his near-obsession with moral perfection to a boyish, irresponsible fascination with the mechanisms of nature. Franklin's humanity, particularly his self-centeredness and eye for the ladies, provides tension and provides a needed contrast to his otherwise boring tendencies toward regimentation, civic responsibility and all personal virtues. Carbon's music electrifies Ms. White's libretto and carries the history from scene to scene. [The letter scene] is poignant....made more bittersweet by lovely arias. There are truly comic parts, too. In one scene, Ben returns home after experimenting during a fierce electrical storm--carrying aloft an electrocuted turkey."

Review of Dreaming

The Evening Post, Charleston, Vincent C. Schwerin Jr. (1985)

"Dreaming, a new piece by John Carbon, was given its world premiere at this concert. Without benefit of score, this reviewer found the piece highly enjoyable and stimulating. There was a gradual buildup of dissonance that was truly awesome in its use of polychords and complex rhythms. Near the end, a third [actually a third and fourth] harpsichord was introduced via tape and added to the general picture of the unreal world of dreams."

Review of New Moon Music

The Ellsworth American, Ellsworth, ME, Win Pusey (1994)

"The opening work, a world premiere of New Moon Music, by John Carbon, written for this [Arcady Music] festival, began with Yuhsik Andrew Kim's haunting cello solo. Kim counts Yo-Yo Ma as one of his coaches and there were moments of uncanny resemblance. Carbon's music projected dissonant piquancy without losing a certain semblance of tonal structure and each player made the most of it. Violist Amy Dulsy-Little brought dynamic warmth as the intensity increased and the violins, Claire Chan and Zoran Jakovcic, added symmetrical brilliance. The music itself dissolved into joyous cacophony before a powerful unison theme again brought focus. Although no movements were indicated there was a clear separation into two parts, the second being a marvelous first violin solo accompanied by the other three voices. Jakovcic displayed the charisma of a pied piper in the bird-song like cadenza, sublimating his first-class technical skill to creativity. When he finally descended into a g-string rhapsody at the end, it sent shivers into the room."

Review of Paseos

American Record Guide, Elaine Fine (1996)

"John Carbon's Paseos, with its harmonically and rhythmically interesting interchanges and unusual guitar writing, is the most challenging music here. It has five playful, light, soft and sweet sections. The rest of the contemporary music is all harmless and very tonal."

Review of Four Transcendental Etudes Book I

LIP (Lancaster Independent Press) by Ross Care (1984)

"Carbon's work was not the academic exercise in worn-out serialism one might have expected a few years ago, but rather a vital, appealing work, by turns lyrical, flowing, technically challenging (as the performer pointed out) and even humorous, as in the clever, cynical "Earth Dance of the Mugwumps" movement. ... most effective was the third etude, "Fireflies," a sustained movement in the Bartókian night-music mood, but one in which the composer's originality seemed most apparent. A remarkable piece of keyboard writing, a kind of endless melody in the piano's middle register wound its way through the entire movement amidst pointillistic dabs of color from both extremes of the keyboard, and even from the interior of the instrument when the performer was called upon to strum the lower strings to add a soft shimmer of vibrating color."