The Logic of Birds

The degree to which David Arner liberates himself from  pre-determined constraints and sends it soaring might only be imaginable if you heard his concert of improvised piano music at The Stone in Manhattan last night, or if this effort was guided by someone who had this privilege.  For those who missed this momentous event, I offer a step-by-step guide.

1.  Imagine writing your signature with a pencil on a sheet of lined paper and the many constraints imposed upon you before you lift your pen:

The paper dictates the shape and the dimensions of the field of operations.  The lines dictate the orientation, the spacing within this field, and the proportions of image to space.  You determine the shape of the letters (no constraints), the size and width of the letters (constrained), and the darkness or lightness of your touch (within the paper’s tolerance).

2. Imagine writing your signature on a sheet of paper without lines.

Now only the shape and the dimensions of the field of operations are determined before you lift your pen.  In addition to the liberties identified above, you orient your paper in any direction, choose whether to honor the right angled rigidity of the paper, and select your orientation.

3. Imagine writing your signature in the sand on a beach.

Borders and other constraints dissolve.  You are free to determine the size, shape, orientation, style, and pressure of your signature.                               

4. Imagine this beach in outer space – liberated from the gravity-bound constraints of Earth experience.

The sand-writing analogy only describes Arner’s starting point, not his destination.

5. Imagine Arner drawing with not one, but ten implements simultaneously. Each finger served the fullness of his musicality in the instant of its stirring.

6. Imagine this drawing embracing the myriad conditions provided by the setting. Instead of beach, sea, sun, wind, and shadow, Arner probed the innards of his grand piano as well as the keys, unleashing wondrous percussive and melodic opportunities.

Flights and songs of birds served as this concert’s inspiration.  Arner’s expressive freedom seemed the perfect embodiment of avian disregard for human-contrived borders and rational systems.  Yet, for me, the concert exceeded the untethering of music from compositional norms.  It demonstrated that human emancipation from constraint does not necessarily indicate explosive and destructive fury.  Arner yielded to an alternative ordering system.  He discovered the logic of birds.  Last night, he shared the glorious expression of this revelation with his audience.

Linda Weintraub, September 2009