Olivier
Group: Super Admins
Posts: 1865
Joined: Nov. 1999 |
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Posted: Mar. 29 2001, 18:33 |
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Article in The Observer about a David Bedford Premiere.
Fiona Maddocks
Sunday March 25, 2001
The Observer
David Bedford premiere AAM, Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford
David Bedford (b 1937), whose past collaborators include Mike Oldfield and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, has found rewards in a partnership with the Academy of Ancient Music. This period instrument ensemble usually specialises in baroque music but has recently begun to commission works from contemporary com posers. Bedford's Like a Strand of Scarlet was given its world premiere on a week-long tour to six venues to celebrate National Orchestra Week (an event of obscure purpose and almost invisible profile). In a programme of works by Handel, Vivaldi and Telemann, Bedford's 17-minute piece fitted well, using archlute and harpsichord as well as strings, oboes and bassoons. He builds the piece up from fragments of arpeggios, reaching a busy, contrapun tal climax. Textures are light and airy, with a baroque-like sprightly energy which he generally sustained, except in the slightly overlong slow section. The AAM gave an accomplished performance, displaying refuelled verve under its associate conductor, Paul Goodwin. This for pouring new wine into old bottles was as effective as Tan Dun's dunking old gongs into new water. But it was Henze's refreshingly re-resurrected Manon that had matured in the cask.
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