Nostalgia
At a crossroads where melancholy and sentiment meets irony and a wry smile lies the work of Justin Rubin, a composer whose life as a keyboardist of both the avant-garde and music from the 17th century have informed a unique style that unblushingly blends old and sometimes outmoded forms with an unmistakably modern expression. Unrestricted by styles or systems, his world is a coalescence of vastly differentiated sonorities that somehow come together coherently within one hard-to-classify lexicon of sound. What always comes forth, though, is that his work remains eloquent, communicative, and approachable.
“Nostalgia” not only describes Rubin’s character but is also a key piece on this CD that features an ongoing collaboration with the University of Minnesota Duluth Professor of Composition’s colleague Jefferson Campbell in the creation of new chamber works featuring bassoon. Ranging from an austere solo work to a seductive trio with clarinet and piano featuring Patrick O’Keefe and Shannon Wettstein (both members of the St. Paul-based ensemble Zeitgeist) and a incensed monstrosity with the multi-percussion virtuoso Gene Koshinski, Campbell has coaxed the bassoon into the role of a bona fide contemporary solo instrumental star with incomparable interpretive insight and exuberance.
Recorded appropriately in one of the oldest venues in Minnesota, the CD closes with a duet featuring the historic turn-of-the-century Sacred Heart Felgemaker organ performed on by the notable Samuel Black. Rubin’s music has been aptly described as possessing an “understated warmth and intimacy” (Ken Keuffel Jr., Arizona Daily Star) and it is perhaps this quality that shines throughout the varied chamber works represented on this first recording dedicated entirely to him.
