On Sunday, March 16, Max Allard’s senior composition recital in Stull Recital Hall was lit by a string of fairy lights and two floor lamps. The lighting created a warm, casual ambience that remained throughout the performance.
The concert opened with Wind Tune, performed by Max Allard on banjo and his brother Otto Allard on mandolin. The piece was upbeat and playful, with repetitive lines that made it feel meditative as well. Both performers had a resonant sound that blended so well that it was hard to tell who was playing what at times.
Sheffield, one of the more melancholy pieces on the program, used the music of an ambient string quartet to support Max Allard’s banjo. Kinesin was more upbeat, with solos by the ensemble members, especially the cello (Walker Whitehouse) and piano (Jerry Achtermann). Written for any combination of instruments, here it was performed by cello, double bass, mandolin, banjo, piano, and percussion.
Arbiter’s Hornpipe, for banjo and harpsichord, is a work in four movements. The unusual combination worked well because of the twangy quality of both instruments. The banjo’s crisper sound stood out against the harpsichord as they traded melody and harmony throughout the piece.
The highlights of the evening were Allard’s solo pieces, Mother of Pearl for banjo and Modinha in e minor for guitar. The former was playful and reflective, similar to Wind Tune, but with a percussive element, as Allard tapped offbeats on his banjo. The latter was much more somber. In performing it, Allard showed that he wasn’t afraid to use the silences in between notes and take the time to bring the full emotional depth that the piece conveys.
The final piece, Allard’s Banjo Concerto, was both the longest and had the largest ensemble, using a one-on-a-part chamber orchestra. It began with a complex, menacing full-orchestra sound, full of crisscrossing individual parts, and ended with a glassy, floating celeste and violin. The piece has a remarkable emotional range, and features some gorgeous string writing. Unfortunately, the orchestra tended to overpower the banjo, so it was hard to fully appreciate it as a concerto except in the moments when the orchestra dropped out completely.
Overall, the eclectic program made for an enjoyable evening that showed off the full range of both Allard’s compositional and performance ability.
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