Crazy, Loud

De Staat also hews toward a rock sensibility.

by Peter Burwasser

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Published: May 12, 2010

The ancient Greeks must have had a much more intense relationship with music than we do today. In The Republic, Plato warns against "a new kind of music ... any alteration in the modes of music is always followed by alteration in the most fundamental laws of the state." Dutch composer Louis Andriessen deplores the fact that Plato's formulation cannot be applied today, but was inspired enough to set the words to music in his modern masterpiece De Staat. Andriessen's music is virtually unknown to Philadelphia audiences, which perhaps explains why a healthy throng of the musically curious came out to hear De Staat on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in May.

Then again, the appearance of new music superstar John Adams as conductor could have accounted for some of the draw. He opened the concert with his own music, the three-movement Son of Chamber Symphony, a work which seemed to gain in focus as it progressed, concluding with a crisp, bouncy finale of lucid texture. Superb pianist Jeremy Denk joined the ensemble, a well-rehearsed pickup group of New York City music students, in the neoclassical Concerto for Piano and Winds by Igor Stravinsky. Denk dispatched the piece with tremendous panache.

Stravinsky's spirit imbued the entire program. Andriessen is a self-acknowledged devotee, and he freely borrows gestures and rhythms from the Russian master. But De Staat also hews toward a rock sensibility, with electric guitars in the mix, improvisation and some crazy loudness. Andriessen sets up the musicians as if on a battlefield, in a nearly symmetrical configuration, flanked by trombones, trumpets and horns hurling blasts at one another, in a bellicose version of medieval antiphonal brass choirs. Despite the high volumes he actually achieves a balanced sound, with the assistance of mics and amps, an unusual sight at a so-called classical music concert.

Andriessen deserves credit for mixing diverse influences to create what has become a classic of the European minimalist school. But the subtle references to Stravinsky are a dare; can anyone create something as wild and powerful as the (nearly) century-old The Rite of Spring? So far: no. It's a good guess even Andriessen would agree.

(p_burwasser@citypaper.net)

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