Notes and Editorial Reviews
The two works on this release are relatively easy-going affairs that attempt, with some success, at melding various aspects of popular music--Imants Kalninš's "Rock" Symphony with its bizarre instrumentation, and the "garbage" in Jan Järvlepp's Garbage Concerto. The music is quite interesting to listen to, but whether these works hold up over time is anyone's guess. The problem here, and it seems to be a problem with most hybrid genres, is one of miking. Järvlepp's Garbage Concerto (1996) makes use of metal cans, glass jars, plastic bottles, hubcaps, and the like. This isn't Edgar Varèse or Frank Zappa; the music is tightly controlled and thoroughly tonal. But the miking on the solo instruments tends to be distant, as in the Garbage
Read more
Concerto's slower, mellower second movement. It seems that these engineers, more used to recording standard orchestras with a handful of strategically placed microphones, didn't know how to mike glass bottles or hubcaps. Sometimes they're too close; other times they're quite a bit farther away. The orchestra's settings, however, are right on the mark. Imants Kalninš's "Rock" Symphony (his Symphony No. 4) is a much better recording. The work itself is a more minimalist conception in which Philip Glass and John Adams emerge as clear sources of inspiration. In the overall unpredictable scheme of things regarding new music, listeners should find both of these works congenial and fun--just be prepared to fiddle a bit with the volume settings while you listen.
--Paul Cook, ClassicsToday.com Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Garbage Concerto by Jan Järvlepp
Conductor:
Lan Shui
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Kroumata Percussion Ensemble,
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Date of Recording: 09/1999
Venue: Victoria Concert Hall, Singapore
Length: 27 Minutes 20 Secs.
2.
Symphony no 4 "Rock" by Imants Kalnins
Conductor:
Lan Shui
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1972; Latvia
Date of Recording: 09/1999
Venue: Victoria Concert Hall, Singapore
Length: 44 Minutes 27 Secs.
Sound Samples
Garbage Concerto: I. Dance of the Wind
Garbage Concerto: II. The Rideau Canal 3 a.m.
Garbage Concerto: III. Rain Dance
Symphony No. 4, "Rock Symphony": I. Allegretto
Symphony No. 4, "Rock Symphony": II. Andante tranquillo
Symphony No. 4, "Rock Symphony": III. Grave molto
Symphony No. 4, "Rock Symphony": IV. Moderato rubato
Customer Reviews
Be the first to review this title
Review This Title
