Tuesday night’s performance of John Corigliano’s “Circus Maximus” at Boettcher Concert Hall was a visceral experience, the memory of which is sure to linger for some time.
The spacious, surround- sound masterpiece for large wind ensemble is as exhilarating on a primal level as it is inventive and sophisticated in construct.
As performed by the University of Colorado’s Wind Symphony and the Colorado Wind Ensemble, the eight- section work was a wild ride through a contemporary musical landscape that envelops its audience. From the outset — trumpets, sax, horns and percussion sounding boldly from unexpected locations all around the hall — the blended wind-band successfully mastered the highly original, theatrical composition.
Conductor Allan McMurray’s astute command of the eclectic, strongly rhythmic score recalled the violent entertainment experience of ancient Roman arenas and a parallel reflection of today’s predilection for similarly brutal amusements — the $10 billion video game industry a case in point.
Played without pause, this commentary on cultural decadence also included moments of respite. The fourth movement — “Night Music I” — was a wonderfully creative contemplation on the quiet, suspended sounds of the forest, while the work’s meditative “Prayer” imparted serenity before a furious, bruising conclusion.
But the overall effect of “Circus Maximus” is an impressive sensory assault that is best balanced by lighter musical fare.
Indeed, the remainder of the all-American program, performed mainly by a talented posse of students and faculty from CU-Boulder’s College of Music, was a perfect foil to Corigliano’s third — and most recent — symphony.
CU grad Dave Grusin and the CU Jazz Ensemble I stole the show with his re-imagining of Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story” Suite. Under the direction of John Davis, the jazz-infused arrangement bore out Grusin’s pleasing paraphrase of Bernstein’s score through a number of swinging solos solidly delivered by several members of the ensemble, as well as Grusin on piano.
The concert opened with Ferde Grofe’s pictorial “Grand Canyon Suite” — including a luminous solo from concertmaster Felip Lazovski — that marked Akira Endo’s last time conducting the University Symphony Orchestra. Endo retires from his post as CU-Boulder’s director of Orchestral Studies in May.
