[Originally published by the Toronto Star]
A lot of people talk about how lucky we are to have a boutique orchestra devoted to the performance of contemporary work. And we are. The problem is, Esprit Orchestra only produces four concert per season and, by those numbers, there is a lot riding on every show.
With Thursday night’s program of two world premieres, a Canadian premiere and one rarely performed work, it was like watching Flying Wallendas walk a high wire without a safety net.
The first half outshone the second in works that were easier to grasp and less abstract. An example was “Over Light Earth,” which is an eerie two-part behemoth inspired by paintings by Rothko and Pollack. Like Morton Feldman before him, Icelandic composer Daniel Bjarnason transformed the conception of the paintings into a sonic canvas, with each movement responding like artifacts tinged with elements of old Hollywood noir. It was incredibly effective and proves why Bjarnason is a name so commonly repeated amongst contemporary and indie music fans alike.
[Excerpt]
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