Just returned from an interesting night of music. The Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra made a rare appearance away from Powell Symphony Hall to make their debut at The Pageant. The SLSO had never before played The Pageant, which is one of the area's top concert venues for, um, non-classical music. Works by modern composer Glenn Branca bookended the program. Branca is composing a new symphony and the orchestra performed its first movement. His style is unabashedly post-minimalist avant garde, so the music was often cacophonous and brash. Works by Frank Zappa(!) and Edgard Varèse followed, then the orchestra exited and the stage was reset for the second half of the program.The rest of the evening was devoted to Branca's "Symphony No. 13 (Hallucination City)" for 100 (!) electric guitars and percussion. It was a sight to see; 100 guitarists on stage, divided into 4 SATB sections all playing loud, cacophonous, atonal sheets of sound. It was challenging listening and not for everyone, to be sure. Good stuff...
(ironic that I would be listening to a straight-ahead jazz CD as I write this. Tadd Dameron with John Coltrane, "Mating Call" from 1956. A classic.)
1 comment:
i must say that there are very few things i love more than a guitar and 100 of them should be just awesome. when the words cacophonous and atonal are in the same paragraph however I'm pretty sure I'm glad i missed them!
Post a Comment