Cover of Icarus at the Edge of Time
Title: Icarus at the Edge of Time [Live Performance]
Artist: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra / Marin Alsop, Conductor
Date: January 16, 2011
Style: Classical, film music
Mood: Inspiring, imaginative
This was a great concert for anyone who loves sci fi, space travel, and science in general. My favorite was Icarus at the Edge of Time which showed the importance of striving to reach your dream — with a cautionary note of the sacrifices and losses that may occur along the way. It started with author Brian Greene’s ovation-worthy introduction to some basic physics concepts — gravity, theory of relativity, space, time, black holes — needed to understand the multi-media performance. Oh, and we also shouldn’t forget an excellent narration of the story by Scott Simon of Weekend Edition at NPR. I’m still wondering how he kept track of when to read, especially in the midst of a Philip Glass score. Perhaps he had a copy of the score?
Being a Star Wars fan, my second favorite was the Star Wars Suite. One thing I did not realize was the importance the violas had in setting the rhythmic introduction to the Duel of the Fates theme. I guess I never heard that before because I’ve always listened to the version with full chorus. There were some amazing solos by the french horn and oboe, as well.
Also quite fascinating was Ceres by Mark-Anthony Turnage. This was a musical depiction of the largest of the asteroids in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
As conductor Marin Alsop mentioned at the beginning, it was a concert to inspire the kid in all of us. Overall, I felt it was really clever programming (instead of the usual classical lineup) to base a concert on a theme of science and exploration. It was definitely a concert to uplift and inspire.
Link: http://www.bsomusic.org/main.taf?p=3,1,6,4
