Gander: Monsters and Angels
These six works by Austrian composer Bernhard Gander demonstrate the composer s high level of musical craftsmanship and brilliant, original manner of combining modern composition with rock and hip-hop. The works are performed by ensembles including the Arditti Quartet, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, and ORF RSO Vienna, among the leading interpreters of new music.
These works, scored for a wide-range of ensembles, attest to Gander’s compositional craft and finesse. His diverse influences outside the world of contemporary composition and classical, European ‘high’ culture, e.g. the jazz of Dave Brubeck, the rock of Frank Zappa, hip-hop and horror movies, shape his music in such a way that it produces a novel, yet deeply authentic sound.
Upon listening to Gander’s music for the first time, one is struck immediately by its force and accompanying humor. At times both programmatic and absolute, the compositions’ buoyant might, present in the works for orchestra, as well as those written for chamber ensembles, make for a rewarding and enjoyable listen.