Review of 'Ominous Machine' in SF Classical Voice
Local Connections Abound at SFCM's Chamber Music Tuesday
Author: Rebecca Wishnia
“L’Arc Trio, a group of SFCM alumni (violinist Maria van der Sloot, cellist Christine Lee, and pianist Jung-Eun Kim), presented the pandemic-delayed world premiere of Vivian Fung’s Ominous Machine. Fung, originally from Canada, now teaches at Santa Clara University, and in the Bay Area, her music is always on. Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, the San José Chamber Orchestra, and the Telegraph Quartet are just a few of the groups who will play her work this season.
It’s easy to see the appeal. Ominous Machine clowns like a Rube Goldberg machine; at every juncture there’s an unexpected delight. Tiny motifs, fiercely virtuosic, interlock in an unforgiving jig. You catch a glimpse of a color here, a texture there, but in a flash, it’s gone. The system freezes, as if a kid has pocketed a domino and now the rally won’t go. It’s only a pity that this piece, five years in the making, lasts five minutes. Indeed, Fung has since expanded the material into a quartet. With luck, it’ll be played here soon.”