For Four Orchestras
For Four Orchestras | ||||
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Studio album by Anthony Braxton | ||||
Released | 1978 | |||
Recorded | May 18 & 19, 1978 at the Hall Auditorium Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH | |||
Genre | Jazz, Contemporary classical music | |||
Length | 114:30 | |||
Label | Arista A3L 8900 | |||
Producer | Michael Cuscuna | |||
Anthony Braxton chronology | ||||
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For Four Orchestras is an album by American jazz saxophonist and composer Anthony Braxton recorded in 1978 and first released on the Arista label a triple LP.[1][2][3] The album features a composition by Braxton written for four separate orchestras recorded in quadraphonic sound which was subsequently rereleased on CD on The Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton released by Mosaic Records in 2008.
Reception
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [4] |
The Allmusic review by Brian Olewnick awarded the album 1½ stars stating "Unfortunately, the results don't live up to expectations. "Composition 82" is written in an extremely dry academic style with little differentiation of its course. It is quite conceivable that a performance by a more polished orchestra or, better yet, one made up of creative improvisers would be a substantial improvement. And one must keep in mind that the piece is designed to place the audience in a central position, surrounded by the orchestras, and thus able to hear musical ideas and fragments tossed back and forth from one group to another. Still, the musical material itself sounds routinely dreary and uninspired, as if Braxton was declaring that he too could write music as sterile and vapid as his European contemporaries. One might more charitably, however, write this effort off as an interesting experiment that failed; ideas appear herein that would bear far more beautiful fruit in later works".[4] Reviewing the rereleased recordings for All About Jazz Clifford Allen observed "The work moves in cycles based around single chords, and though certainly a lot busier than Morton Feldman's later orchestral works, there is an affinity for instrumental flurries presenting themselves in relation to a steady and central pulse. Furthermore, though the number of musicians participating, one never gets the sense of an overbearing sonic weight. Rather, each orchestra operates as a separate but interactive living organism, conducted and arranged in specific relation to the others. ... Braxton's Four Orchestras expand a color field without pushing those colors too far out of the canvas' edges".[5]
Track listing
All compositions by Anthony Braxton
- "308M-64 / 30 / C4DM(R)- Z (For Four Orchestras) [Composition 82]" - 114:
Personnel
Instrument | Orchestra I | Orchestra II | Orchestra III | Orchestra IV |
---|---|---|---|---|
conductor | Kenneth Moore | Gene Young | Robert Baustian | Murray Gross |
violin I | Francine Swartzentruber Shelley Fowle Lilyn Graves Lorraine Adel Robert Scarrow |
Barry Sargent Zabeth Oechlin Edward Shlasko Steven Schuch Audrey Hale |
Karin von Gierke Stanislav Branovicki Susan Demetris Monique Reid Judith Bixler |
Peter Jaffe Diane Cooper David Wilson Pamela Stuckey Mary Bolling |
violin II | Marriane Smith Marcus Woo Amorie Robinson Jennifer Steiner Kathy Blackwell |
Lori Fay Andra Marx Alison Feuerwerker Ellen Ziontz Lauri Gutman |
Sally Becker Elizabeth Welch Susan Brenneis Julie Badger Jane Moon |
Shannon Simonson Lynda Mapes Margaret Morgan Johnathan Dunn Jennifer Doctor |
viola | Naomi Barlow James Thomas Sarah Bloom Rachel Yurman |
Amy Leventhal Jeffery Durachta Kathleen Elliott Helen McDermott |
Nanci Severence David Rogers Dee Ortel Beth Thorne |
Norin Saxe Theodore Chemey Alex Guroff Igor Polisitsky |
cello | Steven Harrison Elizabeth Warren Suzanne Wijsman Elizabeth Knowles |
Tom Rosenberg Steven Drake Dawn Wilder Sarah Binford |
Carol Elliott Aaron Henderson Matthew Wexler Michele McTeague |
Kathy Kelly Daniel Kazez Carole Stipleman Steven Wise |
bass | Mark Shapire Suzanne Tarshis Leon Dorsey |
Michael Talbert Robert Adair Mikkel Jordan |
Jeffrey Hill Matthew McCauley Jeffrey Soule |
Arthur Kell David Seckinger Daniel Savage |
flute and piccolo | Celeste Johnson | Leonard Garrison | Betsy Adler | Virginia Elliott |
alto flute | Joel Karr | Wendy Tarnoff | Adam Kuenzel | Carol Goodwillow |
clarinet | Michael Zakim | David Hostetler | Bela Schwartz | James Colbert |
clarinet and E♭clarinet | John Guest | Marty Rossip | David Bell | Marta Schworm |
bass clarinet | Mark Gallagher | Cynthia Douglass | David Ballon | Carol Robinson |
oboe | Pamela Hill | Carolyn Hove | James Hois | Michael Harrison |
English horn | Cameron McClusky | Giselle Lautenbach | Bernard Gabis | Claudia Patton |
bassoon | Allen Smith | Ann Kosanovic | Deanna Kory | Mark Gross |
trumpet | John Bourque David Driesen |
Alan Campbell Thomas Gotwals |
Dave Rinaldi Chris Kerrebrock |
James Kirchenbauer William Camp |
trombone | Robert Asmussen Richard Ruotolo Mark Kaiser |
David Fogg Ann Mondragon David Stocklosa |
Bradley Cornell Kadie Nichols Mark Adams |
Brian Campbell Eileen Jones Erik Johnson |
tuba | Barry Jenson | Brian Bailey | Steven Box | John Lomonaco |
harp | Cynthia Mowery | Naomi Markus | Nancy Lendrim | Susan Kelly |
percussion | John Gardner Andrew Collier Stephen Pascher |
David Wiles John Kennedy Philip Seeman |
Galen Work Gregg Linde Victor Thomas |
Andre Whatley Charles Wood Derek Davidson |
References
- ↑ Anthony Braxton discography accessed March 17, 2015
- ↑ Filippo, R., Enciclopedia del Jazz: Anthony Braxton accessed November 3, 2016
- ↑ Anthony Braxton Project: 1971-1979 Chronology accessed November 7, 2016
- 1 2 Olewnick, Brian. For Four Orchestras – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
- ↑ Allen, C., Anthony Braxton: The Complete Arista Recordings - Review, All About Jazz, January 19, 2009