IMPULSE | I CARE IF YOU LISTEN
May 9, 2022
“One of my favorite pieces written for viola and piano is A String Around Autumn by Tōru Takemitsu. It’s…openly present in every moment…with harmonics like glowing embers in a fireplace and pianistic raindrops through the window; it exists patiently, delicately.”
This quote from violist Jordan Bak encapsulates his approach to music-making. His interpretations are three-dimensional, conjuring color, texture, and atmosphere. A self-described “new music advocate,” Bak packs his programs with works that show the breadth of the viola repertoire and new music. Bak’s recent achievements and accolades – 2021 YCAT Robey Artist; 2020 Sphinx Competition top laureate; 2019 John White Special Prize in the Tertis International Viola Competition; an Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School – reflect a musician secure in his artistry yet always challenging himself. And Bak’s debut album Impulse, out May 13, 2022 on Bright Shiny Things, centers his relish in evocative musical ideas, technical challenges, and immersive listening.
Excluding one work by Rebecca Clarke, each composition on Impulse was written in the last four decades. All but two written for solo viola, pianist Ji Yung Lee joins Bak on Clarke’s Untitled and Toshio Hosokawa’s arrangement of Takemitsu’s A String Around Autumn. On the surface, many of the pieces seem too similar in character, but after deeper probing and multiple listens, they illustrate what Bak wants to achieve with this album: to showcase the viola’s sonic capabilities, where sound and silence are equally essential.
Bak’s curation of Impulse centers the here and now, a characteristic that has grown to define a lot of contemporary music. And though no two composers are featured twice on this album, Impulse is best experienced as a whole, because while the pieces themselves may be unconcerned with a linear narrative, that doesn’t mean a story isn’t being told.