Louis Andriessen's Annex

[Guido]

Does anyone know of a recording of his piece La Voce for solo cellist? The cellist is also required to speak and sing. I remember hearing it a few years ago - it's a really beautiful piece.

[pjme]

The Los Angeles PhO recently premiered Andriessen's concerto for two piano's and orchestra "The Hague Hacking". Indeed a symphonic orchestra and not an ensemble...It's Andriessens first work for (fairly) normal orchestra in 30 or 40 years!The Labèque sisters (dressed very sharply) were glittering as always and the work was ,apparently, well received. During the  rehearsals Andriessen had the strings reduced by half...Esa Pekka Salonen obliged.
Andriessen turns 70 this year. There will be plenty of concerts later - including the Dutch premiere of The Hague Hacking .

Orchestration :Orchestration: 3 flutes (all = piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 2 trombones, timpani, percussion (brake drums, cymbals, glockenspiel, guiro, rototoms, snare drum, suspended cymbals, tom-toms, triangles, tubular bells, vibraphone, and xylophone), harp, synthesizer, cimbalom, electric guitar, bass guitar, strings, and 2 solo pianos

From Louis Andriessen:

The opening of The Hague Hacking refers to an existing piece, which was in my mind while composing, but could not be tracked down immediately. I called a composer friend and sang the melody to him. 'Liszt!' he said and, after some thinking, 'Hungarian Rhapsody No.2'. I did not know the Liszt piano piece but, when one evening I watched some early Tom and Jerry cartoons again, I saw and heard my true source: The Cat Concerto. In the cartoon Tom is the piano virtuoso accompanied by an invisible orchestra.

In The Hague Hacking the orchestra starts to play, in very slow note values, yet another melody: a once popular sing-along song about the city of The Hague. The whole work, which we could call a Toccata, has been composed with the material of these two melodies.

At the end of the piece, as a kind of triumphant denouement, the sing-along song is totally deconstructed by all the musicians. The material for this 'de-composition' had been first created in 2003 for my friends, the piano duo of Gerard Bouwhuis and Cees van Zeeland, as an encore for the concert on the occasion of their 25th anniversary.

The Hague Hacking was written for the matchless pianists Katia and Marielle Labèque. Like the group Hoketus, which I founded in the seventies, they manage to make the hocketing (interlocking) sound as if it is being played by one person.

[bhodges]

Thanks for all the comments, Peter.  I just found out that the American Composer's Orchestra will do the New York premiere of The Hague Hacking at Carnegie Hall in 2010!  Details here. 

This is part of a series with a number of Andriessen's works played by the ASKO Ensemble with Reinbert de Leeuw, including Zilver, Dances, La Commedia and De Staat.  (The ACJW Ensemble will perform the last one.)

--Bruce

[Senta]

Peter, thanks from a report from this premiere. I look forward very much to hearing the piece eventually!

I think it's really great the LA Phil has given weight to his work in the last few years. Like the original poster, I also became introduced to Andriessen from their iTunes release of De Staat and Racconto and have enjoyed exploring more of his work since.

I really need to get back to looking up more of his pieces. I am familiar so far with the above mentioned, and De Tijd, De Volharding, Il Principe, and Facing Death (for sax qt). I really like his music a lot. Writing to Vermeer is next on my list to hear!

[lescamil]

Just came upon this topic and couldn't resist posting. Louis Andriessen is possibly one of my favorite living composers. RE: The Hague Hacking, I posted a performance of the Dutch premiere on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAum1WCgNfQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJZciP2kJ-I&feature=related

I also have many more videos of his music on my channel. Regarding the above performance, I think I preferred Salonen's conducting a bit more than Reinbert de Leeuw's, even though the latter is usually very good with Andriessen's music.

I was also at the recent US premiere of La Commedia, which was 2 weeks ago. It was performed much better than the premiere was (which I heard via radio), but that is to be expected, since world premiere performances can have variable quality. Here is a review:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/04/music-review-la-commedia-at-the-green-umbrella-concert-at-disney-hall.html

I have heard most of Andriessen's recorded discography and I certainly cannot get enough of it (I am a bit of a Dutch music geek in general, despite not being Dutch). I am looking forward to hearing his newest work "Life", which was written for Bang on a Can (I believe). The work I return to the most is De Materie, which I would say is one of the greatest works of the 20th century.

[snyprrr]

I just got this great little Attacca cd of Andriessen's SQ music as performed by the now defunct Schoenberg Quartet. I've somehow managed to consciously avoid LA's music, though, I don't know how ubiquitous his style is (have I heard it in a commercial). I thought he was supposed to be the pre-emminent European Minimalist, and so, I guess I assumed his style. But, either way, I still haven't heard any of his best known works (I will have to YouTube it).

So, I was particularly interested in trying out this quite famous name in my preferred setting.

Quartet in Two Movements (1957) sounds to me like the opening theme of Debussy's SQ as penned by Messiaen and Ohana (probably more the latter). Literally, the Debussy theme (the first two, famous bum bum) is treated to a sinuous, Pijper-type, integrated metamorphoses. I was really impressed by this 18 year old's effort. The thick, sensuous (sensual?) chords definitely remind me of Ohana's Messiaen-type Mediterraineanism (ha!).

However, LA's first real SQ comes 30 years later in the form of the one movement Facing Death (for 4 amplified strings; 1990), which, I thought, was going to bear typical hallmarks, or whatever, or, be some big Minimalist thing, but what it starts off as is a monophonic riffing based on Charlie Parker's Ornithology. There is a definite bop swing here, what one might expect from a Schuller Late Phase.

Perhaps the piece's title is a bit misleading. Facing Death is really a pretty sweet 20min bop SQ, believe it or not! I have heard no more satisfying example of what LA produces here, and there's nothing kitschy about it. This is a serious good time, very unique, and boldly entertaining in a very smooth, highbrow way. A true Jazz SQ, I would say. Bravo!

Next we have Garden of Eros (2002), which furthers the comparison to Ohana for me. A Feldmanesque melody is treated to a lush garden of plush harmonies. Nothing here says Minimalism to me, it's just very sophisticated and lovely music. The same goes for the next piece, ...miserere... (2006), which takes a different track, but with equally beautiful and relaxing results. Again, if LA is known as a Minimalist, I never would have pegged him as that from this cd. Perhaps the level of composition these days is such that composers can pretty much just do whatever they want, and do it with style (especially the vanguard).

The cd fills out with Bach's Prelude in b minor, from the WTC, "arranged for string quartet with the first six bars augmented with a viola part by Igor Stravinsky, now completed by Louis Andriessen" (2006). It's nice (Duh!), and I'm sure I'll enjoy comparing this to the Mozart transcriptions.



So, once again, if you're an LA fan, I don't know if this music is characteristic or not, but, it bespeaks the voice of a typically mature, Modern Composer. Perhaps there is a more urbane and worldly Norgard at work here? Either way, I think this disc is recommendable to a very wide range of tastes. Classy!

[karlhenning]

Over the weekend I listened again to the Bang on a Can versions of Workers Union and Hoketus.  While they both require virtuosity that is compelling on its own terms, I think Workers Union will perhaps get more play.  Hoketus probably drives some listeners mad with its spare construction: for much of the piece the musicians are rocking back and forth on just two notes (i.e., based on the medieval hocket), making it perhaps for hardcore minimalists only.  But Workers Union gets more interesting with each hearing. 

--Bruce

Very interesting to revisit this old post, Bruce . . . as I now have this Bang on a Can recording.  I actually want to go back and revisit the California EAR Unit recording, which I think I remember being a bit tighter, with a higher energy level.  I'm still fonder of Hoketus, myself (but then, you know, I remember turning the pages of the score in the graduate composers' seminar led by Louis in Buffalo).

The background for this interview clip is from De staat, of course:

http://www.youtube.com/v/77sojb1Fv1Q

[lescamil]

I think the Bang on a Can recording of Hoketus is the best, for a number of reasons. It has far more bite to it, which is ultimately what Andriessen wants from the work. You can really hear the sharp attacks of the bass guitars, for example. The California EAR Unit recording is rather dull in comparison, and it doesn't seem to highlight the actual hocket effect as well (I tested it on my high end speakers).

[karlhenning]

Thanks for your thoughts.

[karlhenning]

Anyone know De Tijd?

IIRC, I was late to arrive at that week's seminar . . . I don't remember hearing any of the piece, but I think I remember some of the discussion of its structure . . . .

[lescamil]

Anyone know De Tijd?

IIRC, I was late to arrive at that week's seminar . . . I don't remember hearing any of the piece, but I think I remember some of the discussion of its structure . . . .

De Tijd is definitely a different piece in Andriessen's work list. The whole piece seems to emanate out of that initial huge chord at the start of the piece. It ultimately seems like a slow, gradual procession that can be tough going through at first, but if one really concentrates on it, the payoff is huge. The integration of women's voices is sort of the glue that holds the piece together, in my opinion. Also, his use of percussion is worth noting, also.

[karlhenning]

I've ordered a Used - Very Good copy, so we shall see. Thanks!

[lescamil]

I've ordered a Used - Very Good copy, so we shall see. Thanks!

Which recording? There is one on Nonesuch and there is another on Attacca. Both are with Reinbert de Leeuw conducting the ASKO-Schönberg Ensemble. Both are great, in any case, but there are slight differences of course.

[karlhenning]

That on Nonesuch.

What are the differences, would you say?

[lescamil]

That on Nonesuch.

What are the differences, would you say?

Just mostly slight differences in the balance of the instruments. The Attacca recording is a bit brighter in sound and seems to have a bit more detail, and the Nonesuch recording has a bit of a mellower sound. This is to be expected, for the Attacca recording is live.

[karlhenning]

De Tijd is definitely a different piece in Andriessen's work list. The whole piece seems to emanate out of that initial huge chord at the start of the piece. It ultimately seems like a slow, gradual procession that can be tough going through at first, but if one really concentrates on it, the payoff is huge. The integration of women's voices is sort of the glue that holds the piece together, in my opinion. Also, his use of percussion is worth noting, also.

De tijd is fabulous!  Best thing of Louis's that I've heard yet.  Bits of it (favorably) reminded me of Svadebka and Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum, but the piece is all Louis's own, and a thoroughly enjoyable listen throughout its arc.

[karlhenning]

Not sure about the spoken bit in De stijl. Yes, the text is interesting enough, and it's only two and a half minutes (call it 10% of the piece's duration).  My gut feels that it is something which will get tiresome with repeat visitations to the piece . . . and thus something of an albatross around the neck of an otherwise splendid piece.

[lescamil]

Not sure about the spoken bit in De stijl. Yes, the text is interesting enough, and it's only two and a half minutes (call it 10% of the piece's duration).  My gut feels that it is something which will get tiresome with repeat visitations to the piece . . . and thus something of an albatross around the neck of an otherwise splendid piece.

If one listens to it within the entire piece De Materie, and if one hears it spoken by the great Beppie Blankert spoken in Dutch (as can be heard on an old Attacca CD and a live recording on the Radio4 website), it sounds all the more convincing and effective. Gertrude Thoma's English rendition gets a bit tiresome, I agree. I can't emphasize more it's place within De Materie, though. If one listens to it within the entire 2 hour work, one can hear its connection to the other three movements of the work, especially the movements that bookend it.

[bhodges]

Happy Birthday, Louis Andriessen - he's 72 today.

Time for Workers Union! 

--Bruce

[karlhenning]

Hout!