Alternative Energy is a symphony for electronica and orchestra in four movements by the American composer Mason Bates. The work was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, for whom Bates was then composer-in-residence. It was premiered by the orchestra under conductor Riccardo Muti at Symphony Center in Chicago, February 2, 2012. [1] [2]
Similar to Bates's first symphony Liquid Interface , Alternative Energy chronicles environmental devastation of the Earth over a large timespan. Bates described the meaning of the work in the score program notes, writing:
Alternative Energy is an 'energy symphony' spanning four movements and hundreds of years. Beginning in a rustic Midwestern junkyard in the late 19th Century, the piece travels through ever greater and more powerful forces of energy — a present-day particle collider, a futuristic Chinese nuclear plant — until it reaches a future Icelandic rainforest, where humanity’s last inhabitants seek a return to a simpler way of life. [1]
The symphony has a duration of roughly 25 minutes and is composed in four movements: [1]
Alternative Energy is scored for electronica and orchestra, comprising three flutes (2nd doubling alto flute, all doubling piccolo), three oboes (3rd doubling English horn), three clarinets (2nd doubling E-flat clarinet), three bassoons (3rd doubling contrabassoon), four French horns, three trumpets, two trombones, bass trombone, tuba, three percussionists, harp, piano, and strings. [1]
Reviewing the world premiere, John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune praised the mature accessibility of the piece, despite noting, "While I found the piece enjoyable and entertaining, I do wish Bates would dig deeper harmonically, challenge himself and his audience rather more. Navigating the fine line between accessibility and complexity, he continues to opt too readily for the former, in my view." [2] Lawrence A. Johnson of the Chicago Classical Review similarly criticized the work. Despite lauding an "engaging, artless audacity" to Bates's music, Johnson wrote:
Yet I confess I found much of Alternative Energy overblown, slick and superficial, centered on surface sonic glitz and "hip" populist riffing with little musical substance at its core. Bates' music is concentrated on pulsing rhythms and shifting beats almost to the exclusion of everything else. Ultimately, that doesn’t have a whole lot to offer over the long term, much less enough to sustain a 25-minute symphony for large orchestra. [3]
Joshua Kosman of the San Francisco Chronicle was more positive, however, describing the symphony as "fantastic" and opining, "Bates [...] writes music that is simultaneously old-fashioned in its outlook and bracingly new in its demeanor, and it satisfies the same urge for accessible novelty that people find in the other arts." [4]
Mason Wesley Bates is a Grammy award-winning American composer of symphonic music and DJ of electronic dance music. He is the first composer-in-residence of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and he has also been in residence with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony, and the California Symphony. In addition to his notable works Mothership, Anthology of Fantastic Zoology, and The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, he composed the score to Gus Van Sant's film The Sea of Trees. In a 2018 survey of American orchestras, he was rated the second-most performed living composer.
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Heimdall's Trumpet is a concerto for trumpet and orchestra by the American composer Christopher Rouse. It was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for its principal trumpeter Christopher Martin. The piece was completed January 21, 2012 and premiered December 20, 2012 at Symphony Center in Chicago.
The Violin Concerto is a concerto for violin and orchestra in three movements by the American composer Elliott Carter. The work was jointly commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony and the violinist Ole Bøhn. It was completed February 26, 1990 in Waccabuc, New York, and was premiered May 2, 1990 in San Francisco, with conductor Herbert Blomstedt leading Bøhn and the San Francisco Symphony. The piece won the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition.
The Violin Concerto is a concerto for violin and orchestra by the American composer Mason Bates. The work was commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and violinist Anne Akiko Meyers. It was premiered December 7, 2012, with Meyers and the Pittsburgh Symphony performing under conductor Leonard Slatkin.
Mothership is a single-movement composition for orchestra and electronica by the American composer Mason Bates. The piece received its world premiere March 20, 2011 at the Sydney Opera House by the YouTube Symphony Orchestra under Michael Tilson Thomas, with featured improvisatorial soloists Paulo Calligopoulos on electric guitar, Ali Bello on violin, Su Chang on zheng, and John Burgess on bass guitar. The premiere was broadcast live on YouTube and garnered nearly two million viewers.
Liquid Interface is a symphony in four movements for electronica and orchestra by the American composer Mason Bates. The work was commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra and was premiered February 22, 2007 in Washington, D.C., with the orchestra led by conductor Leonard Slatkin. The piece is dedicated to composer John Corigliano.
The B-Sides is a symphony in five movements for electronica and orchestra by the American composer Mason Bates. The work was commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony and conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, with support from the Ralph I. Dorfman Commissioning Fund. It was premiered May 20, 2009 at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, with Michael Tilson Thomas leading the San Francisco Symphony.
Anthology of Fantastic Zoology is an orchestral symphony by the American composer Mason Bates. The work was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, for whom Bates was then composer-in-residence. It was premiered June 18, 2015 at Symphony Center in Chicago, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performing under conductor Riccardo Muti, to whom the work is dedicated. The piece is based on the eponymous book by Jorge Luis Borges.
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Nyx is a symphonic poem by the Finnish composer Esa-Pekka Salonen. The work was jointly commissioned by Radio France, the Barbican Centre, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, and the Finnish Broadcasting Company. It was premiered February 19, 2011 in the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, with Salonen conducting the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. The piece is titled after the Goddess Nyx from Greek mythology.
Envoi is a single-movement orchestral composition by the American composer Christopher Rouse. The work was commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra with additional contributions from Thurmond Smithgall. It was first performed May 9, 1996 in Atlanta Symphony Hall, Atlanta by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under conductor Yoel Levi. The piece is dedicated to Rouse's mother, who died in the summer of 1993.
The Rise of Exotic Computing is a composition for sinfonietta and electronica by the American composer Mason Bates. The work was commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and was premiered by the orchestra April 5, 2013.
Fanfare Ritmico is a single-movement orchestral composition by the American composer Jennifer Higdon. The work was commissioned by The Women's Philharmonic as part of The Fanfares Project. It was given its world premiere in March 2000 by conductor Apo Hsu and the Women's Philharmonic.
Night Ferry is an orchestral composition in one movement by the British-born composer Anna Clyne. The work was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, for which Clyne was then composer-in-residence. It was first performed February 9, 2012 at Symphony Center, Chicago by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under conductor Riccardo Muti. A live performance by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andrew Litton was recorded at the Barbican Hall in January 2013 and issued along with four other Clyne works in 2020.
Auditorium is a 2016 composition for electronica and orchestra by the American composer Mason Bates. The work was commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony with support from Larry and Michèle Corash. Its world premiere was given by the San Francisco Symphony conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado on April 27, 2016. The piece is dedicated to Larry and Michèle Corash.
All These Lighted Things (three little dances for orchestra) is an orchestral composition by the American composer Elizabeth Ogonek. The work was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, for which Ogonek co-serves as Mead composer-in-residence with the composer Samuel Adams. The piece was given its world premiere by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Riccardo Muti on September 28, 2017.
The Low Brass Concerto is a concerto for four solo low brass instruments and orchestra by the American composer Jennifer Higdon. The work was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for their renowned low brass section and co-commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra. It was composed in 2017 and was first performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Riccardo Muti on February 1, 2018.
Triathlon for Saxophonist and Orchestra is a saxophone concerto written in 2020 by the American composer John Corigliano. The work was commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony with support from Michèle and Larry Corash, to whom the piece is dedicated. Its world premiere, initially delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, was given by the saxophonist Timothy McAllister and the San Francisco Symphony conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall on April 7, 2022.
Fountain of Youth is an orchestral composition written in 2019 by the American composer Julia Wolfe. The music was commissioned by the New World Symphony and Carnegie Hall, with additional support from a consortium of orchestras including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and the San Francisco Symphony. Its world premiere was performed by the New World Symphony conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas at the New World Center in Miami Beach, Florida, on April 26, 2019.
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