Vicki Ray premieres Subotnick’s ‘Other Piano’

AT the admired “Piano Spheres” series, the rarely exposed world of contemporary piano music, delivered by masterful players, is the raison d’etre. But Vicki Ray’s recital at Zipper Concert Hall on Tuesday, closing the 13th annual season, pushed the instrument toward other spheres, specifically the domain of legendary electronic / computer music composer Morton Subotnick’s imagination.

The world premiere of Subotnick’s “The Other Piano” was the main attraction in a generally balanced, boldly played program. Dedicated to the late, great space-and-time-loving composer Morton Feldman and written for new music champion Ray, “The Other Piano” is a disarmingly contemplative adventure on the electro-acoustic trail. Among other projects, Subotnick has been an effective peacemaker between conventional, physical instruments and digital processes.

Before the premiere, a bit of archival music was presented for historical context. Subotnick’s short “Prelude,” written 50 years ago, is a ripe Webernesque piece for unadulterated piano. Next came the adulteration, engineered by the composer himself at an onstage, wired-up equipment table.

In the beguiling “The Other Piano,” the pianistic materials are kept minimal, the better to let the notes breathe and be spun into the three-dimensionality of “surround sound.” Sometimes the piano sound is prolonged and scattered; at other times it becomes source material for more radical alterations of timbre and pitch. But always, the piano -- and this pianist -- is the expressive constant at the core.

Away from Subotnick’s work, James Tenney’s “Essay (after a sonata),” with material and inspiration from Ives’ “Concord Sonata,” provided the most happily haunting moments of the evening, with its slow accumulation of notes, hung in space for us to savor and question.

weekend@latimes.com