Louis Andriessen's Annex

[Mirror Image]

The lotus blooms at midnight, grasshopper.

Umm...okay?

[karlhenning]

Found a recording by Icebreaker of De snelheid, a piece which thus far I know only by name . . . .

[lescamil]

Icebreaker plays James Poke's arrangement of De Snelheid, which is not a satisfying arrangement at all. If at all possible, look for a disk put out by BBC Music Magazine which contains mostly pieces by John Adams, with a lone Andriessen work, which is De Snelheid, with Oliver Knussen conducting the ASKO Ensemble. That is the best commercially available recording of De Snelheid (I have one on a long out of print LP that is better). I think it is a really powerful work when played by a larger ensemble (like it was meant). You can also hear it on YouTube here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68GxdpbSUJA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4NzxpNnSe0&feature=related

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Looking for a good intro to this composer, but recordings seem to be thin on the ground.

Who (or what) does he sound like, generally?

[Karl Henning]

Looking for a good intro to this composer, but recordings seem to be thin on the ground.

I'm probably repeating myself... but I'd still go with De staat and Hoketus. Think Steve Reich, if he were more Stravinskyish.

[lescamil]

Looking for a good intro to this composer, but recordings seem to be thin on the ground.

Who (or what) does he sound like, generally?

This should help you out immensely:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/tomserviceblog/2012/oct/15/louis-andriessen-classical-music-guide?intcmp=239

I'm a pretty big Andriessen fan and most of this is spot on in my opinion.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Thanks for that. The guide that it's part of (25 modern composers) looks quite interesting too.

[lescamil]

Thanks for that. The guide that it's part of (25 modern composers) looks quite interesting too.

Yeah, they're quite good. Even the ones featuring composers I'm very familiar with have a lot of good stuff I wasn't aware of.

[snyprrr]

To me, Andriessen sounds like the soundtrack for Logan's Run or something. I have the disc of his String Quartets, and I like their type of Impressionism very much, but the 'whole band' unisons still sound like prog rock soundtrack music to me. Help!

[lescamil]

To me, Andriessen sounds like the soundtrack for Logan's Run or something. I have the disc of his String Quartets, and I like their type of Impressionism very much, but the 'whole band' unisons still sound like prog rock soundtrack music to me. Help!

The string quartets aren't really the best place to start. That's more for after you already have gotten to know him. Do check out that link I posted. It's pretty comprehensive as to where you should start. Also, who says that repurposed prog rock is so bad? Sometimes he uses that sort of sound to great effect, without sounding cheesy.

[Marc]

Found the (probably) first vinyl recording of De Staat, released by Donemus in 1977.
Other works are Il Principe, Il Duce and Hoketus.

Performed by the Hoketus Ensemble, Nederlands Kamerkoor and the Dutch Radio Wind Ensemble.
Best known names are a.o. Adinda de Nijs, Roberta Alexander, Marjanne Kweksilber, Reinbert de Leeuw and Andriessen's late wife Jeannette Yanikian (bass guitar). Conductor is Lucas Vis.

Never re-released on compact disc, alas.

Not the best sound for modern ears, very harsh, but still: I hope you like it!

http://www.mediafire.com/?i45nc84fpyf57ml

[lescamil]

That's a great LP. The performances of Lucas Vis (there are two) are my favorite recordings of De Staat. I love Reinbert de Leeuw for just about everything, but Vis outdoes him here. De Staat and Hoketus are both great pieces to get to know Andriessen. There's a great recording of Bang on a Can doing Hoketus that everyone should get that likes Andriessen.

[springrite]

Thank you, Karl!

[Karl Henning]

A pleasure, Paul!

[Karl Henning]

There will be a performance of De staat here at the Boston Conservatory (an institution distinct from the NEC, nota bene) in February.

Heck, yeah, I'm going!

[lescamil]

There will be a performance of De staat here at the Boston Conservatory (an institution distinct from the NEC, nota bene) in February.

Heck, yeah, I'm going!

Please report back here with a review!


Hopefully in April I'll be seeing a performance of De Materie at the LA Phil with Reinbert de Leeuw conducting. I've had this on my calendar for over a year. I saw La Commedia here a few years back and I expect the same caliber of performance!

[Karl Henning]

Please report back here with a review!

Alas, I had a conflict.  Hated like damn that it should be so, since Louis was here in town for the festivities himself.

Well, that is another reason why I am glad that I am no longer beholden to the museum gift shop!

I bought that disk years ago, and only for a performance of Louis Andriessen's De Snelheid, which is supposedly the piece John Adams was thinking of when he wrote Short Ride in a Fast Machine. It would make sense, given that they both have an incessant woodblock throughout the piece, and speed is a key element (de snelheid translates to "velocity"). The performance on this CD is a bit sloppy, but I've spoken with Andriessen before, and he says that this performance is just how he likes it. He says he prefers a rougher, more visceral performance of his works. Buuuuut, this thread isn't about Andriessen...

I am glad to know it (about the performance on this disc, which is on its way).  I have De snelheid on the Argo disc, but I seem to recall someone expressing reservations about it.

[lescamil]

Hopefully in April I'll be seeing a performance of De Materie at the LA Phil with Reinbert de Leeuw conducting. I've had this on my calendar for over a year. I saw La Commedia here a few years back and I expect the same caliber of performance!

I did end up seeing this, and it was sadly not even close to the caliber of performance, and it was partly for a sad reason. A member of The Crossing, the vocal ensemble that performed in the work, collapsed and passed away during rehearsals, shocking everyone. As a tribute, they performed the work with an empty chair on stage. Sadly, the work did suffer as a result, since there was an obvious part missing (it calls for 8 solo voices), and the performance was far from polished. Can't blame them for trying to persevere and perform the work in his memory, though.

[not edward]

The mention of Knussen's recording of De Snelheid pushed me into revisiting a few of Andriessen's works today (De Snelheid, De Staat, and the Bang on a Can disc of Workers Union, Hoketus and Hout).

De Tijd, which I don't think I'd heard before, I found really fascinating. The slowed-down progress, the (rather Stravinskyan) bell-like sonorities, and the carefully judged dissonance builds something very distinctly different.

[Karl Henning]

Cool!  I need to revisit that 'un, too.