Composer Robert Honstein Releases New EP and Film, 'Middle Ground'

On Friday, March 12, 2021, composer Robert Honstein releases a new EP and film, Middle Ground, on Other Minds. Violinist Kate Stenberg performs Honstein's three-movement work for solo violin and electronics Middle Ground (2016) for the EP and in a new 20-minute film by Four/Ten Media. The liner notes were written by classical music journalist Vanessa Ague.

Cast in three movements - "Too Far," "Too Close," and "Bridging the Gap" - Middle Ground searches for a common space between opposites. Ague poses, "The violin's most airy tones complement its most full-bodied resonances, as if they might be a perfect blend in some alternate universe - or perhaps they already are. Honstein explores this contrast, and its potential commonality, on Middle Ground, which funnels his unembellished compositional style into a search for the middle ground between far-reaching pitches. The work is subdued and poignant, imbuing powerful sentiment into each bold, unadorned melody and subtle electronic manipulation."

She continues, "His long-form explorations mine the endless possibilities of the instruments he chooses to write for, focusing on each instrument's capabilities to find complexity. Each movement of Middle Ground highlights a different aspect of the violin's wide range: The first, a delicate exploration of the instrument's highest tones; the second, a frenzied, dark journey of its deepest pitches; the third, a tense almost-resolution between the two. Stenberg's unwavering performance highlights the pitches, rhythms, and melodies themselves, focusing on crisp performance of the unadorned melodies rather than flashy technique... Middle Ground is, ultimately, an exercise in finding unity through dissimilarity."

In the ethereal film created by Philadelphia-based videographer team Four/Ten Media, Kate Stenberg's violin comes to life with shimmering effects and swirls of light. Honstein writes of his collaboration with Four/Ten, "For the film I asked Four/Ten to focus on the performance itself, highlighting the work's dramatization of the violin's sonic palette. Set against the nocturnal backdrop of Philadelphia's idyllic East Park Reservoir, I was so excited to see how they used light to visualize the physicality of Kate's playing. The understated approach compliments the music's pared back aesthetic, providing an elegant frame for Kate's beautiful performance."

Middle Ground was commissioned by Kat Kroll, Barbara Sapienza, and Nancy Karp + Dancers and premiered on February 10, 2016 by Kate Stenberg at the ODC Theater, San Francisco, CA.

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