European American Music Distributors Company is a member of the Schott Music Group

Julian Anderson’s The Comedy of Change at Oberlin

Aug. 29, 2012

Julian Anderson’s <em>The Comedy of Change</em> at Oberlin

Scored for 12 instruments and originally created as both a dance and concert work, Julian Anderson’s The Comedy of Change pays homage to Charles Darwin’s classic book The Origin of Species. It sees a performance at Oberlin conducted by Tim Weiss on September 28. Akin to the natural world undergoing significant change through time, this work echoes the theme of evolution with contrasting movements offering distinct styles, characters, and sound worlds that transform as the work progresses. The first six movements of the work are marked by great musical variety, while the last movement attempts to bring all of these different kinds of music into a single harmonious whole.

Jointly commissioned by the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and the Rambert Dance Company, the work was first performed by the Asko Ensemble and staged by the Rambert Dance Company with choreography by Mark Baldwin. On November 2010, The Comedy of Change had its US Premiere on the New York Philharmonic's Contact! new music series. Steve Smith wrote in the The New York Times on the performance:

Mr. Anderson’s vivid imagination and technical creativity were evident throughout, in effects ranging from elementary (shredded newspaper) to cerebral (a synthesizer pitched at a microtonal variance to the ensemble). The expressiveness of the musical gestures made sense, given that the piece was written on a commission from the Rambert Dance Company. Hearing it performed with such finesse and assurance made you hope that [Alan] Gilbert will come to explore more of Mr. Anderson’s oeuvre in programs to come.

Additional information on Julian Anderson and his work can be found at www.fabermusic.com

Julian Anderson
The Comedy of Change (2009)
for 12 players
fl(pic.afl.bfl).cl(bcl)-hn.tp-perc-harp-synth-str
23'

News