Playing Conlon Nancarrow’s Canons for Ursula, Canon B is a bit like patting your head and rubbing your stomach, according to pianist Imri Talgam. The piece requires that you split your brain in half to get your left hand to play a melody in one tempo and the right to play it in another, until eventually the two link up. Nancarrow had originally written the work—and many of his others—to be performed by player piano, which doesn’t require a human’s hands. But once Talgam discovered his jazzy, rhythmic music, he knew he wanted to translate it so he could play it on piano. For this House Music series video, Talgam puts his efforts on display, performing the canon with expert precision.

Talgam became acquainted with Metropolis through Artistic Director Andrew Cyr, whom he met at Orléans Concours International, which is a piano competition dedicated to 20th century works. He was the first prize winner, and the experience helped him grow as a performer of contemporary music. Since their meeting, Talgam and Metropolis quickly developed a close relationship; he’s performed many solo concerts and chamber orchestra collaborations.

In addition to its complicated, alluring musical texture, Canons for Ursula, Canon B enticed Talgam because of the composer’s story. Nancarrow, an American composer, is still widely unknown in the country: As a member of Boston’s Communist Party, he volunteered to fight in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Republic, but when he returned to the United States, he wasn’t welcomed, and he ended up moving to Mexico City. He was one of the first composers to compose mainly for player pianos, but he worked mostly in isolation in his garage. He was exploring polyrhythmic music in a way that hadn’t been done before, and Talgam has always been fascinated by this. He chose this piece to perform for House Music for two reasons: Nancarrow’s isolation almost mimics our own during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the upbeat, lighthearted feeling of the music provides a much-needed playfulness. — Vanessa Ague

 
Episode: 12
Date: May 7, 2020
Artist: Imri Talgam
Instrumentation: Piano
Work: "Canons for Ursula, Canon B"
Composer: Conlon Nancarrow
Location: Harlem, NY
 

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