November 7, 2008
Much to Anticipate from These 7
- TwinCities.com (Rob Hubbard)
Intensity. Conflict. Urgency. If this sounds like some serious stuff, then you have a sense of what the composers who participated in this week's Composer Institute at Minneapolis' Orchestra Hall are trying to convey.
All week, seven composers have had their pieces picked apart and rehearsed by Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra. And, on Friday night, the Composer Institute reached its climax with a concert at Minneapolis' Orchestra Hall. It proved to be a fine display for seven promising talents, with much to recommend in each of the works performed.
...Both McManus and Ming-Hsiu Yen seem firmly rooted in the idea of music as a means toward conveying conflict. The latter's "Yun" exploded with angst before giving way to lovely interweaving lines in the woodwinds that sound like sighs of resignation. But soon a sense of dread re-emerges int the strings, making "Yun" an intriguing emotional roller coaster ride....