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Grant Park Music Festival Presents US Premiere of Matthew Hindson's Headbanger

Jul. 01, 2017

Grant Park Music Festival Presents US Premiere of Matthew Hindson's <em>Headbanger</em>

On July 14 and 15, Matthew Hindson’s Headbanger receives its US premiere in Chicago at the Grant Park Music Festival. The five-minute orchestral fanfare was commissioned by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and premiered in Australia in November 2001 with Kristjan Järvi leading the orchestra. Simone Young conducts the Grant Park Orchestra in the US premiere at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion.

For Hindson, the term ‘headbanger’ usually describes "an adherent of heavy metal music, and seems to come from the motion of severe head-shaking employed by audience members at heavy metal concerts.” In this piece, as in many of his works, Hindson combines elements of heavy mental music, such as 'heavy' bass lines, repeated drone notes, bass-drum figures, loud dynamics, and aggressive rhythmic motives, all within a familiar classical form. 

Other works featured during the festival include Paul Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis on July 12 conducted by Fawzi Haimor; Frank Martin’s monumental In terra pax with Carlos Kalmar leading soloists with the Festival Orchestra and Chorus on July 28 and 29; and on August 2, Kalmar conducts Joaquín Rodrigo’s Fantasia para un Gentilhombre. 

Listen to a recording of Martin’s In terra pax below:

Click below for more information on the composers:

Paul Hindemith| Matthew Hindson
Frank Martin | Joaquin Rodrigo

Matthew Hindson
Headbanger (2001)
for orchestra
pic.2.2.ca.3.2.cbsn-4.3.3.1-timp.2perc-hp-str
5’

Paul Hindemith
Symphonic Metamorphosis (1943)
on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber
for orchestra
pic.2.2.ca.2.bcl.2.cbsn-4.2.3.1-timp.3/5perc-str
22’

Frank Martin
In terra pax (1944)
Oratorio breve
for 5 vocal soloists, 2 mixed choirs and orchestra
text (Fr) from the Bible
2.2.2.2-4.2.3.1-timp.5perc-cel.2pno-str
43’

Joaquin Rodrigo
Fantasia para un Gentilhombre (1954)
according to an idea by Gaspar Sanz
for guitar and small orchestra
pic.1.1.0.1-0.1.0.0-str
22’

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