Record of the day: Louis Andriessen, “De Stijl”
Louis Andriessen
“De Stijl” (Cd Elektra/Nonesuch 79342-2)
Do you think contemporary classical music is boring or unapproachable? It means that you haven’t heard a single note of the
Dutch composer Louis Andriessen, author of explosive scores full of references to jazz, boogie-woogie, black music but also to Stravinsky, Berio, Cage and structuralism.
How is it possible to unite such disparate influences? First of all you have to be a genius (and Andriessen is) and know how to dose it well
the elements combining organizational complexity and spontaneity of the final result; in the case of “De Stijl” the score is constructed according to rigorous numerical proportions derived from the dimensions of a painting by the painter Piet Mondrian, whose life the piece is inspired.
Although it is mathematically perfect, the music of “De Stijl” has an extremely physical impact capable of shaking, shocking, overwhelming with its unstoppable rhythms and the big band sounds of the polychrome instrumental ensemble chosen by Andriessen, strongly oriented towards the sounds of brass, sax and percussion, which requires performers versed in different musical genres (in this recording they are the great musicians of the Schönberg Ensemble masterfully directed by Reinbert De Leeuw).
Third painting of the gigantic work “De Materie” designed by Andriessen together with director Robert Wilson, “De Stijl” can also be performed as an independent piece, capable of making you jump on your seat.
Alternating very violent sounds with rhythmic moments entrusted to the electric bass, drums and honky-tonk piano (on which
relentless sequences of eighth note boogies, an actress with a detached voice reciting an icy rap), passages that seem to come out of a Gil Evans record and others that refer to Motown records (much loved by the author), “De Stijl” will win you over all instant, as will certainly be the other song on the album, “M Is for Man, Music, Mozart” composed on lyrics by the English director Peter Greenaway to celebrate Mozart’s bicentenary.
Over mischievous verses inspired by the world of science, the alphabet and characterized by Greenaway’s love for symmetries and lists, Andriessen builds another pulsating organism nourished by jazz and minimalism, which compared to “De Stijl” has a much larger dimension playful and ironic, excellently rendered by the bizarre voice of Astrid Seriese.
Carlo Boccadoro, composer and conductor, was born in Macerata in 1963. He lives and works in Milan. He collaborates with soloists and orchestras in different parts of the world. He is the author of numerous books on musical topics.
This text is taken from “Lunario della musica: A record for every day of the year” published by Einaudi, courtesy of the author and the publisher.