Nothing for minimalists

I`ve started to get really excited (even freaked out) about next week`s AMG concerts; we`ve never done anything like this before. I`m always for trying something new, but this program with music by two living composers is "boldly going where no Basel Symphony Orchestra has gone before". So let me calm down and get coherent: our next program features works by Thomas Newman,  "It Got Dark" and Terry Riley, "The Sands" and features the Kronos Quartet as soloists. Why am I so excited? All three (respectively six) of the aforenamed artists are very much alive today and enjoy something like cult status in the musical world. Callifornia meets Basel? Why not?

Thomas Newman comes from a  musical family (father, uncle, cousin - all successful composers) and is best known for the more than eighty film scores he has written (American Beauty, Scent of a Woman, Finding Nemo, Fried Green Tomatoes, etc). He`s also a friend of David Harrington, first violinist  of the Kronos Quartet, for whom he wrote "It Got Dark". This piece he compares to  "picture postcards"-  ephemera- taken from his memories and is written in movements. I`m very curious about the pictures he`ll evoke.

The second piece on the program, "The Sands" was written by Terry Riley for the Kronos Quartet. Riley`s productivity seems nearly inexhaustible- the list of his compositions goes on and on. Known as a founder of the "Minimal Music" movement, he has become, to my way of thinking, a larger than life figure. I `ve been looking through the web for examples of his music and other writings and what I`ve found shows me a man of extraordinary intelligence, warmth and  spirituality. It`s going to be a real pleasure and stimulus to have him here while we work on "The Sands" and "In C". "In C" is a fascinating, hypnotic work which is a great introduction to Terry Riley. I just loved the comments I read while listening to "In C" on Youtube. They show which audiences listen to and love Riley- take a look and listen . I think you`ll have fun.

On the whole, Riley`s  music is so much more than meets the eye/ear that the term "minimal" is not completely accurate. Come and hear for yourself. I`ll be looking for you on Wednesday and Thursday for our concerts and on Thursday for the "Third Half" and afterward at the Casino Lounge. It`ll be fun to rub elbows with the stars.