Andriessen: De Staat

Andriessen (Composer), Reinbert De Leeuw (Conductor), The Schoenberg Ensemble (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: The Schoenberg Ensemble
• Conductor: Reinbert De Leeuw
• Composer: Andriessen
• Audio CD (May 28, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nonesuch
• ASIN: B000005J0K
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #214,512 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential minimalist masterpiece, April 21, 1999

By 

Justin Weaver - See all my reviews

This review is from: Andriessen: De Staat (Audio CD)

Far less cumbersome and more concise than De Materie and perhaps the most incisively poingant and subversive of Andriessen's large open-form essays in minimalism, De Staat is both a modern political satire on Plato's Republic and a simultaneous exploration of just how on-the-mark Plato was in observing music's power to move the masses. To Plato that (affect, that is) was a menace to be quenched in the ideal state; to Andriessen it is a joy to be explored, such that he takes us on a musical voyage through a sequence of modal and derived tetrachords, each with its own conjured mood, that has both set-theorists and pop/rock fans alike tapping their feet. True, some listeners may find this fortissimo, brash approach to minimalism a bit tiring after 30 minutes--but I am not one of those people. Even if you buy it to hear it once, you should check this one out!

-- Justin Laird Weaver

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Work, April 15, 2000

By 

Jeffrey Gordon (goleta, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Andriessen: De Staat (Audio CD)

Justin hits the mark in his review. Some might find it a bit brash at first, but when the electric bass comes in on it's lowest note in the "flying volkswagon" section they'll know what they waited three weeks and had their order split into forty-seven parts for.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New De Staat, January 29, 2009

By 

Ralphus (Goyang, Gynggi-Do Korea (South)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Andriessen: De Staat (Audio CD)

De Staat by Dutch minimalist (a monicker that doesn't actually fit him so well, he's so much more than 'merely' a minimalist) Louis Andriessen is surely one of the true masterpieces of late 20th century music.

This recording by Reinbert de Leeuw and the Schoenberg Ensemble was long the only readily available recording of the work. As fine as it was, and the fact it made available to listeners this fantastic work, it was not without its fluffed notes and moments of ensemble instability. And now, shockingly, Elektra/Nonesuch have discontinued it. Criminal!

I write this review less to critique this particular recording than to bring to potential buyers' attention the existence of a recent recording by the Netherlands Blazers (Wind) Ensemble which is a vast improvement. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be represented here on Amazon. It is released on their own label, NBE Live: NBECD022. Check out their website, [e-mail]. Maybe try Amazon UK.

NBE's performance is live and far more accurate and even more nuanced. Perhaps it lacks some of the raw visceral qualities of de Leeuw's recording, but it is still powerful, biting and in-your-face. If you can track it down, I HIGHLY recommend it.