The Minimalists [Import]

Here are an assortment of works from various composers with their own aesthetics and styles, collected under the rubric of minimalism. Perhaps one of the benefits of this recording, besides being full of some very fine music, is that it shows just how broad this musical category has become.

Certainly Terry Riley's "In C" could fit (and in many ways helped define) the label. It's steady pulse and slowly changing harmonic structure (and it's improvisatory nature) helped launch the movement away from serialistic abstractions, and had a major impact on a generation of composers and listeners. And it still maintains it freshness now, close to fifty years after it was written.

Perhaps the work here that most stretches the label is Kyle Gann's tribute to New Orleans and cry of anger over its destruction due to Hurricane Katrina and government ineptitude (how much to blame on each I'll leave up to the reader). "Sunken City (Concerto for Piano and Winds in Memorandum New Orleans)" is full of stylized jazz riffs, with echoes of Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton and the upbeat spirit of Mardi Gras before sinking into a sustained lament over the city's ruin. An effective piece, if a little too long in the tragic second part for me to maintain interest.

There is also Steve Reich's "City Life." This is one of my favorite Reich pieces, fully evocative of both the energy and loneliness of life in the Big City. This arrangement for winds suits the music well and adds a bit of jazziness to the proceedings, as well as a audile connection to Stravinsky's Symphonies of Winds Instruments," particularly in the opening chorale.

Louis Andriessen's hyper "Worker's Union" is accurately described as "a kind of `In C' for hooligans". It's raw and powerful, and I loved every minute of it. David Lang goes the other direction in his quiet and wonderfully evocative "Street." And things wrap up with John Adam's joyous outburst of energy, which sounds good in just about any arrangement that I've heard.

It only remains to be said that Orkest De Vohlarding, and pianist Geoffery Douglas Madge in Gann's work, plays this music with style and affection. I hope to hear more form this ensemble. Enjoy!

› Go to Amazon U.S. to see the review  4.0 out of 5 stars