The CCS specializes in "music that dares to explore." In fact, if they do say so themselves, "Over the past twenty-two years under the visionary leadership of founder and artistic director, Dr. Edwin London, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony has steadily climbed to the summit of new music's Mount Olympus."

In other words they specialize in challenging contemporary classical music, with an emphasis on brand new music. Over the years the "distinguished new music ensemble in residence at Cleveland State University" has performed over 160 world premieres. Last night's performance featured not one, but two virgin pieces out of the four performed in a sprightly hour-and-thirty-minute show.

In the broadest sense I am oriented toward popular rather than "classical" music, but I love the astringent ardor of artiness, novelty in general, and can always appreciate extraordinary musicianship of any flavor. Besides, in the best public arts tradition, CCS's shows are free and held in the charming Drinko recital hall, so I had little to lose.

In celebration of the composer's 90th birthday, the show opened with Arthur Berger's "Chamber Music for 13 Players," an angular "neo-classic twelve-tone" piece from 1956 with lots of flute squiggles from Sean (who is damn good, by the way). At only nine minutes long, the interesting-if-random-seeming burps, fulminations, squiggles, and noodling shot by quickly.

The second item was the world premiere of an exceptionally lovely and evocative piece created for CCS by young (b. 1959) L.A.-based composer Eric Muhl, entitled "Consolation." Dreamy, slow, ambient, the contemplative composition "scored for chamber ensemble with solo violin and piano" was influenced, according to the composer, by the events of September 11.

As the final preternaturally quiet note trailed off into hushed infinitude, the nearly-full house of musicians, composers, students, and passers-by who had stumbled in out of the cold, sat for a frozen moment, visibly moved. The model-thin blonde composer bounded down the steps to the performance space below; the audience burst into cathartic applause, overcome by what had just befallen them. The musicians seemed astonished as well and applauded with equal enthusiasm.

The remaining two pieces were interesting but inevitably anticlimactic after the Muhl triumph. David Taddie's "5 Haiku," another world premiere, was written for soprano Christine Schadeberg, who performed it capably and pleasingly, though it too seemed a bit random in a contemporary, Asia-influenced way. The show wrapped with Howie Smith's "Time/Windows," featuring smoking trumpet soloist Ray Sasaki, whose lyrical, buttery tone at times evoked New Orleans, at others, somewhere much farther away. The next CCS show is March 25; I'll be there. I wasn't, but that's another story.