von der Mehden recital hall kicked off the 2024-2025 school year with its first recital entitled “Radiance” on Sept. 7 performed by Dr. Ron Squibbs on the piano.
After a preliminary round of applause, Squibbs began the first piece, John Luther Adams’ “Nunataks (Solitary Peaks),” with a single sustained, sour, strained chord, leaving the room full of tense silence. The sound slowly developed into a fuller and fuller sound, growing slightly brighter as time progressed until becoming subdued again. This minimalist dynamic was slightly reminiscent of the piano-based album “12” by the late composer and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto.
Then, Squibbs played a mix of light and deep notes, with mostly deeper notes, adding a lot of weight not present earlier in the performance.
Discordant notes in between the actual melody were painful to listen to, but clearly intentional. It makes one wonder what Adams was thinking about when composing the piece. Was he grieving? Eventually, it sounded as though the piece was repeating itself. The composition is so suspenseful; there’s no hint as to when the next note is going to be played. Without warning, Squibbs suddenly removed his hands from the piano. He received applause from the audience.
Afterwards, Squibbs provided context to the piece and its composer, Adams, saying, “He’s one of the only people I know of who combined the careers of being an environmental activist and a composer.”
When reflecting on the era in which “Radiance” was composed (during the COVID-19 pandemic), Squibbs said the thought process behind the song was: “What exactly is going on and how long are we going to be in this place?”
The first movement of “Radiance” was “Counting the Dead,” which started off innocently enough, but something felt off. The sound could almost be akin to the failure of forced optimism.
The change between “Counting the Dead” and the next movement, “Compassion,” was subtle at first. However, the notes began to differ, and the melody line changed into something more fluid. The sound eventually became fuller with bass notes. Nonetheless, it still sounded like grieving, like letting pent-up emotions pour out while trying to restrain yourself. The heavy bassline of the piano seemed like a solid structure and the melody sounded as though it was floating on top of it with less and less restraint, but the same level of dismalness. The melody continued to show increasingly less restraint as the movement progressed.
The final movement, “Radiance (Mikaeri Amida),” emphasized the brooding bassline. The subtitle of the piece is a reference to a statue of the Buddha that is looking back as if it is waiting for the souls of the ones we lost. It felt similar to the Dan Salvato piece “My Confession,” from the horror visual novel “Doki Doki Literature Club.” The movement felt like a warm but solemn hug.
Then there was an intermission. Organ music lecturer Dr. Angela Salcedo shared her thoughts on the piece: “The final movement inspired me with the single gesture that was symbolic. That single motif was shaped in such a way that it reflected the looking over the shoulder. Each time the gesture reappeared it was symbolic of the Buddha’s looking back for those who have been left behind. I really felt like I heard that.”
After the intermission ended, Dr. Martin Hebel, a University of Connecticut alum and the composer of “Radiant Pillars,” came on stage and introduced himself. Hebel worked with Squibbs and reflected on his trajectory to becoming a professor at the University of Northern Alabama. “It’s really a privilege to return to UConn and to have Dr. Squibbs perform my piece at his recital,” he reflected. Hebel then explained how he felt compelled to write the stellar piece, citing seeing space with a telescope at a young age and wanting to recreate that feeling. “I evoke the stark contrast” of the great expanse of space, Hebel said.
“Radiant Pillars” started off with a less depressing and hollow sound than the first two pieces performed. There was a repeated contrasting leitmotif that gradually progressed into loud and crashing notes. Then, after a while, there was a sudden clarity in the notes that brought to mind being lost in a bright environment, aimlessly floating around. Finally, a bright arpeggio of high notes slowly got quieter until the bass notes came in heavy like a hammer and enveloped the melody. Squibbs displayed a bold physical expression while playing this piece.
The final piece of the night was Dane Rudhyar’s “Stars” from “Pentagram No. 3.” “This is the only piece by someone I don’t know personally,” Squibbs said, referring to how Rudhyar is a historical composer who isn’t alive anymore.
“Stars” was rather avant-garde with frequent discordant notes, but nonetheless, it was beautiful and appealing to the ears. There was a certain melody throughout that sounded like a modern composition.
After the performance, the audience was invited backstage.
“His musical artistry in the performance displayed great music artistry in these works where they’re slow and the meter was not well-defined,” Dr. Salcedo commented after the performance.