Review | “Rubato” by Raz Olsher
Ηooked-on classics for the haunted generation
A self-titled debut LP marks the emergence of Rubato, a London-based trio led by English composer and multi-instrumentalist Raz Olsher, with Marina Lieberman on piano, and Yuval Juba Wetzler on drums.
This late 2023 release, was produced in Fossil Studios, Hackney, London where Olsher is based, during a period of long gestation, since the opener, a moody interpretation of Rachmaninoff's "Prelude in C-sharp Minor” won a critics' award in 2011, and thus paved the formation of his experimental trio.
Seen as bridging the gap between classical tradition and electronic experimentation, their innovative approach invites listeners to explore a vision of music without inhibitions, where familiar elements are re-imagined, and the boundaries of musical expression are continuously challenged and endlessly redrawn.
To achieve this, Rubato push the limits of contemporary musicianship, seamlessly blending recognizable melodic fragments from a plethora of sources: Chopin's poignant passages, dissonant elements culled from unexpected composers like Dvořák, Britten-adjacent vocal layers, Stravinsky's sharp shards, as well as playful motifs from Ravel.
The resulting music is melodic and seductive, featuring additional arrangements of pads and strings framing the main themes, thus bridging the juxtaposition of modern and classical elements.
In a continuation of the referential theme, these orchestral contexts also draw inspiration from the likes of Rachmaninoff, Debussy, and Chopin, often interpolating, reconfiguring, and reinterpreting the work of master composers while expanding their original intent to occupy a distinct space between classical and avant-garde genres.
These classical and symphonic elements are skillfully juxtaposed with grungy, crunchy '90s trip-hop beats evocative of Tricky, Massive Attack, Coldcut, Kruder & Dorfmeister, and Murcof, creating a unique sonic landscape.
Either speeding up or slowing down, the percussive accompaniment is neither still, nor repetitive, adding a dramatic arc to the structural orthodoxy of the entire exercise, since at different rhythms and beats per minute the mood of each melody changes as the tensegrity of the compositional structure shifts from bold to introspective, from romantic to haunted.
The name "Rubato" (fluctuating change of pace) aptly reflects this nuanced manipulation of tempo, emphasizing the mutability of time as the space for examining a delicate balance between human and electronic elements.
Bold, elegant, and emotionally generous, this release is yet another addition, and welcome contribution, to the ever-growing canon of anthologies featuring classical music re-imagined, re-configured, and re-purposed for the aural weltanschauung of a new generation.
Seen as part of such a continuing narrative, it is as modern as it is also part of a long tradition – all the more aptly to its intentions of introducing the audience to a cannon not often revisited in other contexts.
Text written by Panagiotis Chatzistefanou, Berlin, April 2024