Bang on a Can plays Louis Andriessen

 

Gigantic Dancing Human Machine

 

Bang on a Can All-Stars, Icebreaker Ensemble

 

Louis Andriessen comes from one of Holland's most prodigiously musical and artistic families.  His father, Hendrick, a distinguished composer, organist and pianist; his elder brother Jurriaan was also a composer and the person who can be credited as exposing the young Louis to many different musical styles. In the early 60's he studied with Berio from whom he learnt to think about philosophy, politics and language.  The resultant works at that time show the influence of Berio, Webern, Stravinsky, Stockhausen and in particular Ravel.  In 1970 Andriessen made the decision never to compose for symphony orchestra and turned minimalism upside down with his radical musical responses to the American experimentalists Reich, Riley and Glass.  He challenged these composers' trance-like states with a European sense of edginess and angularity and the results are exciting and overpoweringly aggressive. 

 

Hoketus - the landmark of European minimalism - takes its name from the medieval art of hocketing, splitting a single melody between two groups of instruments separated in space.   Earth-shattering and tribal in its elemental power, Andriessen described this piece as a "Gigantic Dancing Human Machine."  Its recording is an international collaboration of the Bang on a Can All-Stars, members of London's Icebreaker ensemble and musicians from Andriessen's own group.   Workers Union and Hout both generate high-voltage energy out of wild unison melodies and rhythms.  The Bang on a Can All-Stars have worked closely with Andriessen over the past 10 years, including an appearance at the QEH on 7 October as part of the Andriessen Festival - Passion.  This group from the USA has established itself both a national and international reputation as pioneers of music from the cutting edge.  In 1994 they appeared at the South Bank's Meltdown festival (the year Andriessen was the Artistic Director) and in 1998 they returned and performed to a packed concert hall.

 

Cantaloupe CA21012