Thunderstuck

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Thunderstuck is a one-movement orchestral composition by the American composer Christopher Rouse. The piece was completed December 29, 2013, and premiered October 9, 2014, in Avery Fisher Hall, New York City. [1] [2] The premiere was performed by conductor Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic, and the work is dedicated to both. [1]

Contents

Composition

Styles and influences

The style of Thunderstuck celebrates rock and roll music of the 1970s. In the program notes, Rouse called the work "a nine-minute concert opener that reflects my continuing love of the popular music of my younger years. Rock music has had an influence on several of my works, but none more so than this one." [1] Its conception is similar to that of Rouse's 1988 percussion ensemble piece Bonham , a tribute to rock drummers and named after Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. [3]

Thunderstuck directly references the 1978 Jay Ferguson song "Thunder Island", which partially inspired the work's title. [1] David Allen of The New York Times has also compared the piece to the music of Jefferson Airplane. [3]

Instrumentation

Thunderstuck is scored for three flutes, three oboes, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four French horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, harp, timpani, percussion (three players), and strings (violins I & II, violas, violoncellos, and double basses). [1]

Reception

Reviewing the 2014 premiere of Thunderstuck, music critic Lewis M. Smoley lauded the work, saying, "Permeated with syncopated and chugging rhythms, brash outbursts and colorful orchestration, the music splashed across the sonic spectrum, energized by youthful vigor, and at times evocative of the music of Aaron Copland or Roy Harris." [4] Despite criticizing the premiere performance, David Allen of The New York Times also praised the piece, saying, "It's designed to be a fun concert opener, and it is." [3] Eric C. Simpson of the New York Classical Review was slightly more critical, saying, "Rouse says the work is meant to be 'engaging and fun.' It is both those things to some degree, though it is also completely out of left field, both in general and for Rouse specifically. Suave, punchy, and almost oppressively consonant, it sounds as though it could accompany a training montage in a boxing movie." [5]

Related Research Articles

Christopher Chapman Rouse III was an American composer. Though he wrote for various ensembles, Rouse is primarily known for his orchestral compositions, including a Requiem, a dozen concertos, and six symphonies. His work received numerous accolades, including the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award, the Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition, and the Pulitzer Prize for Music. He also served as the composer-in-residence for the New York Philharmonic from 2012 to 2015.

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The Flute Concerto is a concerto for flute and orchestra by the American composer Christopher Rouse. The work was jointly commissioned by Richard and Jody Nordlof for flutist Carol Wincenc and by Borders Group for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. It was completed August 15, 1993 and premiered October 27, 1994 at Orchestra Hall in Detroit, with conductor Hans Vonk leading Carol Wincenc and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The piece—specifically the third movement—is dedicated to the memory of James Bulger, an English toddler who was infamously murdered in 1993 by two ten-year-old boys.

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The Symphony No. 6 is a symphony for orchestra by the American composer Christopher Rouse. The work was commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and was completed in the composer's Baltimore home on June 6, 2019. It was first performed in Cincinnati Music Hall by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conducted by Louis Langrée on October 18, 2019. Written as a personal epitaph, the symphony was Rouse's last completed work before his death in September 2019.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Rouse, Christopher. Thunderstuck: Program note by the composer. 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  2. ↑ Huizenga, Tom (September 3, 2014). "Great Expectations: A New Season Of New Music". NPR . Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Allen, David (October 10, 2014). "The Rock Beat of His Youth, Echoing Again in August Precincts: Rouse's World Premiere and Batiashvili Plays Brahms". The New York Times . Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  4. ↑ Smoley, Lewis M. (October 9, 2014). "New York Philharmonic/Alan Gilbert; world premiere of Christopher Rouse's Thunderstuck, Haydn's Drum Roll Symphony; Lisa Batiashvili plays Brahms". Classical Source. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  5. ↑ Simpson, Eric C. (October 10, 2014). "Batiashvili and Brahms triumph in mixed Philharmonic program". New York Classical Review. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
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