Sonic Rebellion: Alternative Classical

Various (Artist, Composer, Conductor, Orchestra, Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Various
• Orchestra: Various
• Conductor: Various
• Composer: Various
• Audio CD (August 1, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos
• ASIN: B000TRA46Y
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #247,938 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #12 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Modern, 20th, & 21st Century > Composers > Scelsi, Giacinto

Track Listings

1. Glass - Symphony No. 4, "Heroes" (Marin Alsop; Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra)

2. Penderecki: Threnody For The Victims Of Hiroshima (Antoni Wit; Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra)

3. Nancarrow: Toccata for Violin and Player Piano (Boris Berman)

4. Cage: First Interlude

5. Werner Henze - Fünf Nachtstücke (Peter Sheppard Skaerved, Aaron Shorr)

6. Scelsi - Quattro pezzi per orchestra (Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken; Hans Zender)

7. Riley - In C

8. Wuorinen: Second String Quartet

9. Varèse: Déserts - Third Electronic Interpolation (Maryse Castets, Christopher Lyndon-Gee; Polish National Radio Symphony Orch.)

10. Crumb - Songs, Drones, And Refrains Of Death (Nicholas Isherwood, Ensemble New Art, Fuat Kente)

11. Ligeti - Six Bagatelles for Wind Quintet (Albert Schweitzer Quintett)

12. Gubaidulina: Silenzio

13. Plaetner Beta

14. Adams: Shaker Loops - A Final Shaking (Nathan Gunn, Marin Alsop; Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra)

15. Rautavaara: Piano Con. 1

16. Pärt: Fratres For Strings & Percussion (Tamas Benedek; Hungarian State Opera Orchestra)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Start the revolution, November 17, 2007

By 

Dean R. Brierly (Studio City, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sonic Rebellion: Alternative Classical (Audio CD)

Even people who like classical music tend to run screaming when they hear names like Penderecki, Ligeti and Cage. But it's hard to blame them. The majority of concert halls and classical music stations play it safe, programming little but such familiar composers as Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, etc. Nothing wrong with those gentlemen, but anyone looking for something a little more experimental is pretty much on their own. They couldn't do better than check out this sampler of alternative classical music that's guaranteed to blast some fresh sounds into complacent ears. It features no less than 16 modern composers of intimidating reputation, yet adventurous listeners will be surprised at how accessible and engaging their music can be. All of the pieces on this disc are easily digestible, even for those unfamiliar with music that takes unusual melodic twists and turns. Space limitations prevent listing all the tracks, but I have to call out Philip Glass' "Heroes Symphony," based on the Bowie/Eno recording, for its lush, atmospheric tonalities. Likewise Penderecki's "Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima," one of the darkest, yet most moving pieces of music ever written. Jørgen Plaetner's "Beta" is a wild electronic soundscape from some dark, unfathomable id, while Arvo Pärt's "Fratres for Strings & Percussion" exudes hypnotic serenity. All of the compositions explore strange and compelling sound textures, and while a fair share of them veer into atonality, they do so in surprisingly lyrical fashion. For my money (heck, this CD costs less than a fancy Starbucks drink), this is the classical music bargain of the year.