"At 12 minutes it was, if anything, too short. I left wanting more."
Excerpts from review by by Peter Connors
For Bachtrack
The Hallé boldly prefaced two of the most familiar pieces in the orchestral repertoire with a little-known modern work for electronics and orchestra. American composer Christopher Cerrone’s programme note alarmingly referenced noise more than music. Was this going to be a harsh piece of experimentation that we were obliged to sit though in order to enjoy our Mozart and Tchaikovsky? Roderick Cox’s brief introduction was much more alluring. He invited us to let go of expectations of melody and rhythms but to expect a collage of sounds. We might think of relaxing into the music as in a wonderful yoga class; we should take a deep breath and perhaps close our eyes.
Cox conducted the world premiere of The Insects Became Magnetic in Los Angeles in 2018 and clearly knows how to help listeners into the work as well as to marshal a large orchestra. Listening to The Insects was indeed a wonderful experience. It began with electronics plus bowed vibraphones creating a mysterious but beautiful sound which was enhanced when the stings and then the rest of the orchestra joined in. They created gorgeous waves of sounds which felt deeply relaxing – definitely music and not noise. At 12 minutes it was, if anything, too short. I left wanting more.
Read review in full here
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