Word: musics
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...also a part of BankBoston's annual Celebrity Series. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the orchestra's 1988 American debut in Carnegie Hall. Led by Dutch conductor Edo de Waart, the orchestra makes its first appearance since then as they tour 11 U.S. cities, performing the music of Beethoven, Richard Strauss and contemporary composer Graeme Koehne...
...virtually all respects, the Aussies were not here to show off. Even their decision to open with contemporary South Australian composer Graeme Koehne's Elevator Music, complete with maracas, hypnotic blues lines and African drum rhythms, was not meant to be flamboyant as it was meant to be fun. It seemed that their intention was to enliven the audience...
However, don't imagine Koehne's piece to be of the modernist or neo-modernist aesthetic just because it is considered contemporary; don't think "Michel Foucault does orchestral music." Rather, the composer opts for the "Reconstructionist" aesthetic--the program notes state, "Koehne has moved towards an affirmation of traditional values and a vital opposition to what he sees as the sham iconoclasm of the avantgardist attitude." In particular, Elevator Music was inspired by the integration of jazz and popular music into orchestral music. But the piece sounds more like film music than a symphony. Koehne calls his piece...
Perhaps it is better to describe what Elevator Music is, rather than what it isn't. Unfortunately, unlike the work of Gershwin, Koehne's piece is too fluffy to be lasting. Picture a tropical island. Now add a world-class orchestra. Ditch the tuxes and toss everyone a Hawaiian shirt or a mumu. Chant "ol‚, ol‚!" You get the idea...
...never forced, were never angularly abrupt. This added to the fact that the muted vibrations of the orchestra and the sweet mellow tone of the piano actually, at times, cast more silence than resonance. Certainly, it was somewhat harrowing to hear the vast acoustics of Symphony Hall echo part music along with part emptiness...