Rec.:Colorado Symphony Orchestra
First off I'd suggest reading the program notes for this one on Libby Larsen's website. Not because they are remotely needed to enjoy this pice, but because they are interesting. This is another unqualified success of a symphony as far as I'm concerned, which isn't too surprising to me as I've enjoyed Libby Larsen's work since I first heard it. She is my favorite type of modern composer, the kind who seems to look at all the tools available to composers over the years and pick which ones work for the situation without binding her compositional identity to it.
I'm gonna forgo the play by play for this symphony and just talk briefly about each movement before you go out and listen to this... which you should. The first movement (Solo-Solos) takes the idea of solos and kind of rethinks it with the solo lines being spun in to the orchestra, the idea that the soloist needs the support of the orchestra in order to work. The second movement (One Dance, Many Dancers) is something I've actually wanted to do for a while, which is a stylistic theme and variations idea. In additions to varying the content of the melody the style of dance that is used for each variation changes.
The third movement (Once Around) fits a more modern scherzo movement feel: aggressive, loud, and brief. The finale is a great musical representation of the title, which is The Cocktail Party Effect. It bustles with activity and ambiguity, with little snippets of melody floating around for the listener to try and pick out. The orchestration in all the movements is amazing, but I in particular like it in this finale.
Sorry, I know it is brief on the details today, but what can I say, for something this good I'd rather you just go listen to it rather than read my dumb ass trying to explain it. So do yourself a favor and listen to more Libby Larsen, starting with this one.
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