BMOP Concert
Feb. 19th, 2005 12:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariI went to the Boston Modern Orchestra's Minimalism concert tonight. It was wonderful. I've always found plenty to like in minimalism, and BMOP's program managed to highlight many of the things I like best. Granted, there is a bad side to minimalism, but it's hard to argue with the striking beauty of several of the pieces associated with it.
Common Tones in Simple Time - John Adams
I don't always like John Adams - his really good pieces are absolutely wonderful, while his bad pieces are truly atrocious. This was one of the good ones. I really liked the shimmery, lush, and multifaceted sound of this piece. Motifs and timbres faded in and out of the sound mass in a way that was both clear and subtle. Sometimes I found it difficult to determine exactly which instruments were contributing which elements to the music. Oddly enough, this piece imitated characteristics of electronic pieces.
Symphony No. 3 - Philip Glass
This symphony was for string orchestra alone, and I think having a less homogenous group of instruments would have greatly improved it. This piece was very typical Glass, and really not one of his better efforts. His non-opera music has a tendency to be kind of flat in texture: there's only really one layer, one thing going on at a time. There's almost nothing below the surface, even if it is a very attractive surface. I really felt with this piece that he had done all this before, both in the sense of "he's been doing the same thing for the last five years", and in the sense of "he's been doing the same thing for last five minutes".
Shimmer - Elena Ruehr
I have so far liked everything of Ruehr's that I've heard. This piece was also for string orchestra, and was a lot better than Glass'. Shimmer had warmth and openness as well as a really good feel for what will sound great on strings. It also had a great balance between melody/motif and harmony/texture. And the use of snap pizzicato towards the end was terrific.
Tehillim - Steve Reich
This piece thoroughly kicked butt. I have always really liked Reich - he's my favorite among the minimalists. He's certainly the most interesting. Tehillim has four female singers, lots of percussion, and a pared-down orchestra and it sounds amazing. The orchestration and the fact that the singers are not using vibrato gives the sense that the music is both ancient and new. The texts are from four psalms and are sung in Hebrew. The singers' lines overlap in ways that produce rhythms both fluid and complex. It's an absorbing and radiant work.
I also saw Dr. Bell and Ms. Olmstead at the concert, and was able to have a good chat with them at intermission. It always makes me feel good to see former teachers. And it's reassuring during this anxious time.
Common Tones in Simple Time - John Adams
I don't always like John Adams - his really good pieces are absolutely wonderful, while his bad pieces are truly atrocious. This was one of the good ones. I really liked the shimmery, lush, and multifaceted sound of this piece. Motifs and timbres faded in and out of the sound mass in a way that was both clear and subtle. Sometimes I found it difficult to determine exactly which instruments were contributing which elements to the music. Oddly enough, this piece imitated characteristics of electronic pieces.
Symphony No. 3 - Philip Glass
This symphony was for string orchestra alone, and I think having a less homogenous group of instruments would have greatly improved it. This piece was very typical Glass, and really not one of his better efforts. His non-opera music has a tendency to be kind of flat in texture: there's only really one layer, one thing going on at a time. There's almost nothing below the surface, even if it is a very attractive surface. I really felt with this piece that he had done all this before, both in the sense of "he's been doing the same thing for the last five years", and in the sense of "he's been doing the same thing for last five minutes".
Shimmer - Elena Ruehr
I have so far liked everything of Ruehr's that I've heard. This piece was also for string orchestra, and was a lot better than Glass'. Shimmer had warmth and openness as well as a really good feel for what will sound great on strings. It also had a great balance between melody/motif and harmony/texture. And the use of snap pizzicato towards the end was terrific.
Tehillim - Steve Reich
This piece thoroughly kicked butt. I have always really liked Reich - he's my favorite among the minimalists. He's certainly the most interesting. Tehillim has four female singers, lots of percussion, and a pared-down orchestra and it sounds amazing. The orchestration and the fact that the singers are not using vibrato gives the sense that the music is both ancient and new. The texts are from four psalms and are sung in Hebrew. The singers' lines overlap in ways that produce rhythms both fluid and complex. It's an absorbing and radiant work.
I also saw Dr. Bell and Ms. Olmstead at the concert, and was able to have a good chat with them at intermission. It always makes me feel good to see former teachers. And it's reassuring during this anxious time.
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Date: 2005-02-21 05:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 04:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 10:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 03:14 pm (UTC)I am a big Reich fan--love the colors he uses.
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Date: 2005-02-21 04:51 pm (UTC)Speaking of Reich, you should definitely check him out if you like music with a spiritual underpinning. His more recent pieces are very much inspired by and involved with Jewish spirituality. Tehillim is a good example, actually, and I know it's been recorded. And although it's not as spiritual, I would highly recommend "Different Trains".
Do you know the music of Arvo Part? He's kind of similar to Taverner, thought I actually prefer Part. The Te Deum CD is a really good one, as is Tabula Rasa.