When Ludwig van Beethoven sat down in 1803 to write his “Triple Concerto,” he did it the old-fashioned way, working alone and featuring three traditional classical instruments in the solo roles: violin, cello and piano.
But more than 200 years later, when double-bassist and composer Edgar Meyer gathered with two of his musical colleagues to undertake a kind of follow-up, their approach and the resulting work diverged in striking ways.
Most unusual was the unlikely combination of solo instruments, which are virtually never spotlighted individually in classical concertos, let alone together: double bass, banjo and tabla (Indian drum).
“It is certainly the only work of its kind and probably will always be the only work of its kind,” said Jeffrey Kahane, the Colorado Symphony’s former music director.
He will lead the symphony in three performances this weekend, as it joins just a handful of other ensembles so far that have performed the “Triple Concerto” for Bass, Banjo, Tabla and Orchestra.
Taking the solo parts will be the 2006 work’s co-creators — Meyer, Bela Fleck on banjo and Zakir Hussain on tabla, all three among the leading exponents of their instruments in the world.
Although the composition draws on the varied musical heritage of each of the three performers, it nonetheless fits comfortably into the classical tradition and stands on its own as a distinctive musical work.
“In a wonderful way, it is very much the product of three musical minds,” said Kahane, who led the world premieres of two of Meyer’s previous concertos. “And it’s amazing that Edgar, through his great skill as a musician, was able to find a way to frame that in an orchestral context that really works.”
Unlike the efforts of some popular musicians who attempt crossovers into classical, there is nothing forced, artificial or hokey about this work.
The reasons are simple. All three of these musicians, especially Meyer, have rich histories of working in the classical realm. And the origins of this collaboration came not out of some record label’s zeal for cross-promotion but from a genuine desire, even drive, on the part of the three musicians to collaborate.
Meyer acknowledges that there are disadvantages of such a joint effort, but he believes the advantages far outweigh them. Plus, it’s what all three are used to.
“There are things that Beethoven can do working alone that you can’t do with two or three people,” Meyer said. “But this type of thinking comes from jazz, bluegrass or Indian music — working in ensembles where people form the music together.”
Meyer and Fleck have collaborated since 1983, when they first jammed together outside an ice cream store in Aspen. The two musicians have long respected Hussain’s playing and talked about working with him.
But it was the opportunity to team for this concerto, which was written for the inauguration of the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, Tenn., that brought them together.
It’s an unlikely combination of instruments, especially the incorporation of the tabla, which is not even part of the Western musical tradition, yet it works.
“There’s actually something quite magical about the tonal combination of the three instruments, as improbable as it sounds,” Ka- hane said. “On paper, you look at it, and you go, ‘Are you kidding?’ In fact, it’s a fantastic color combination.”
The work’s musical language follows in the modern tradition of Aaron Copland and other 20th-century American composers without mimicking it — solidly tonal and transparent yet in no way neo-Romantic.
“Actually, there are very, very few moments where there is any kind of mass sound from the orchestra,” Kahane said. “It’s really mostly rather chamber-musiclike in its texture.”
This latest triple concerto veers in many ways from that of Beethoven. But if the composer, one of the most daring musical innovators ever, were alive today, it’s a good bet he would tune right into its originality and daring.
Kyle MacMillan: 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com
