Marilyn Nonken

by Peter Burwasser

Classical/new

If new music is at a crossroads, Marilyn Nonken stands at a prominent corner. The New York pianist's artistry represents a special direction, unafraid of the modern aesthetic, unwilling to follow the retrograde path of so many of her contemporaries. Which may sound like a recipe for dry, academic music, but that preconception is smashed by the power, passion and sheer athleticism of Nonken's playing. She uses stark, metaphoric language to describe her craft, speaking of "taking off the training wheels and jumping off the cliff." When Nonken was still a student at the Eastman School of Music, she was already leaving behind the standard repertoire, which was being played by "a million and five other pianists." Instead, she began to tackle such mountains of notes as the piano sonatas of Boulez and Stockhausen. "It wasn't physically easy, and the scores looked like a puzzle at first," she says. "You teach yourself a new way of playing, but it is worth it to get to the other side." When the physicality, sensuality and intellectualism of a performance cohere, Nonken says she achieves a transcendent state, which she hopes to share with her audience.

The material that fills Nonken's recitals has come to be known as "the new complexity," including many pieces written for her. She brings a sampling of the genre to her Chamber Music Now! concert at the Convention Center this weekend which will feature Jason Eckardt's exotically beautiful "Echoes' White Veil," and premieres of pieces by locals Richard Belcastro, David Laganella and David Feurzeig. The concert is preceded by readings from Hawthorne, Emerson and Thoreau, after which Nonken will play a work inspired by these American masters of letters, Charles Ives' great "Concord" Piano Sonata.

Sat., March 5, 7 p.m. readings, 8 p.m. concert, $10-$15, Pennsylvania Convention Center, 12th and Arch sts., 215-605-9988.