![]() The back half of the program was just as rewarding, especially as it underlined the connections between Conrad’s putatively distinct artistic disciplines. (If the String Orchestra of Brooklyn starts a Kickstarter to fund a studio recording, I’m in.) I found the effect sublime, and I wanted to hear the piece again immediately. Figures that had seemed like small bits of filigree expanded – creating longer melodic lines snaking inside and around Conrad’s drones. ![]() In the finale, all the members of the orchestra played together. Over the course of the 45 minutes, listeners heard each sub-group alone, as well as in brief conversations with a partner ensemble. Photograph: MoMAīefore each portion of the orchestra handed off drone duties, there were brief moments of overlapped playing – and it was at these junctures that the subtle harmonic movement of Conrad’s piece was most evident. String Orchestra of Brooklyn play Tony Conrad’s Empire for Strings. A quickly rising, silvery figure for violin escaped from the dreamy tone-cloud of the first ensemble, while bowed bass notes punctuated the more staccato writing for the second group. With the String Orchestra of Brooklyn divided into three collections of six or seven players, musicians in the various sub-groupings played noticeably different harmonies and gestures. Originally conceived as a companion/response piece to Andy Warhol’s eight-hour film Empire, Conrad’s modular score for Empire for Strings can also be played in a reduced, 45-minute version (which is what the artist and MoMA had always intended to present at this date).įrom its opening clutch of sustained tones, the piece offered a familiar hit of Conrad’s drone aesthetic – but it also contained some surprises. And the concert showed why this particular composer’s work is going to outlive his own history as a performer. Once an appropriately solemn minute of silence had been observed at the evening’s outset, the mood in the auditorium quickly turned ecstatic.
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