for two percussionists and chamber orchestra. Performed by percussionists Christian Dierstein and Dirk Rothbrust with the WDR Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Peter Rundel. 2015.05 World Première
Awesome. Brava. That there are artists like Saunders who, somehow from amidst the horror of a world we've created, can gift us with the continued progress of such beauty is one of the only things that makes the survival of humanity worth while. And please don't let us forget to thank the performers. Without the dedication of years developing the perception and remarkable techniques necessary to perform such works we would be blind to them. So thank you Christian, Dirk, Peter, and the whole WDR. And thank you Victor!
when i came across Rebecca Saunders, i listened first to a couple of her other compositions, before i found this one. None of them pulled me really in or inspired me in any way, but this one got me! Great sounds and a fantasic feeling for space and atmosphere. Excellent performance. Beautiful!
Rebecca Saunders without a doubt is a very great composer, and I really DO LOVE her music. But just today the question came to me how long she can go on with her current way of composing: Her recent compositions all deal with the question of colour more than with the question of content. I guess that she - like many other contemporary composers ahead of her - someday will turn to a more traditional way of treating the material she uses. Many examples come to my mind, like Ligeti in the first place, also Stockhausen, or her teacher Wolfgang Rihm.
Color (orchestration), phrasing, melody, harmony, rhythm, dynamics, form, every piece needs all these things to get from the beginning to the end. It is all important "material". Maybe the "color" here strikes you as more original than its other elements and therefore more important, but it certainly doesn't sound like any other Saunders piece I know of with just the orchestration changed. Saunders tells the story that she came to her first meeting with Rihm with some very complex material. He told her to come back next time with just one new sound.
I'm afraid to say that Ms Saunders falls into the same trap as so many of composers of today. The majority of percussion instruments can only play one note, so by filling the score with them totally limits the colour available. It finishes up becoming a matrix of what note you can use with what traditional orchestral instrument. The result: every composition sounds the same. Avant Garde is dead. Time to move on. This is completely uninspiring.
@@cliffpinchon2832 I have actually re-visited this work recently and also now seen a copy of the score. It appears I underestimated it. Sometimes you can make mistakes by criticising music on the strength of just one hearing, which is what I seemed to have done 2 years ago. In answer to your question, I listen to music from the 800's right up to music written last month.
@@cliffpinchon2832 It's an extremely good question. Avante-garde appears to have had it's day ( not that I reject that genre). I think with the death of Boulez in 2016 a void occurred at international level. And whilst I'm sure that avante-garde music is still being composed, it fails to have impact as so many options have now been exploited. John Cage started it all in my view. He wrote works that people laughed at (and still do), but he opened many doors for others to expand on which was very important. May I suggest Mason Bates as a composer I believe is breaking new ground. Integrating electronics with orchestral music effectively to a wider audience. I'd be interested to hear your views. Best regards, David A.
@@cliffpinchon2832I really appreciate and agree with your reply. Now, something different. I am a personal friend of an elderly composer who lives near me in London called William Blows. As a musicologist and failed composer, William consults me with his writing. He has written 25 symphonies none of which have ever been performed in public. He used to upload them on You Tube using Sibelius (they didn't sound good) but I have recently recommend a different system that has enhanced them enormously. This is not avant-garde music by any stretch of the imagination, but he has developed his own "style" that is unmistakably his. Something rare and something I picked up on after hearing his music before I got in contact with him 3 years ago. I am trying to promote his works as I know it would mean so much for him to have a symphony played live. I was fortunate enough to have an orchestral work performed in London many years ago so I know how much this would mean to him. I'd be interested to know your thoughts on his music as you are obviously very knowledgeable. Best regards David A.
