 |
|
|
Box 2684, Station D Ottawa, Canada K1P 5W7 Tel/Fax: +1 (613) 598-6954 |
|
|
|
|
Box 2684, Station D Ottawa, Canada K1P 5W7 Tel/Fax: +1 (613) 598-6954 |
Composer Jan Järvlepp creates a genuine European/American musical fusion by combining the excitement of rock and jazz rhythms with the large scale classical structures found in orchestral and chamber music. The seriousness of his well thought-out forms and the immediacy of contemporary rhythmic and melodic ideas make a potent brew that is appealing to both open-minded classical listeners and pop music listeners who are searching for something new. Sometimes the influences of world music and popular styles make themselves felt as they did in his recent flute concerto and his quintet for string quartet and mandolin.
-------------------------------------------------------
Composer Jan Järvlepp began playing pop guitar at the age of 12 and took up cello in high school at the age of 14. He also learned to play bass guitar and harmonica at this time. In university he majored in composition while developing his cello playing skills. As his studies progressed, he realized that he was not on the same wavelength as his modernist composition teachers... Järvlepp returned to his native Ottawa in 1981 after completing his doctoral studies in composition and twentieth century music at the University of California, San Diego. His composition teachers over the years were Luis de Pablo, Alcides Lanza, Will Ogdon and Roger Reynolds. Once back in Canada, Järvlepp joined the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra and has been active as a freelance cellist, composer, teacher, recording technician and contractor for chamber music groups. Once outside of the university environment, he began composing in a newer, postmodern style of neo-tonal music that would not be acceptable among the academics. Järvlepp has been delving deeper and deeper into the world of pop-influenced contemporary "classical" composition. He has completely turned his back on the avant-garde modernism that he was rigorously trained in to concentrate on postmodern style. He has also taken an interest in Hispanic, flamenco, Arab and Nordic folk styles. The result has been a variety of accessible pieces of music that appeal to a surprisingly wide cross section of the public. At times Järvlepp employs unusual combinations of instruments that have not previously been heard in the world of classical music. He has composed over 40 works for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, orchestra and electronic instruments.
------------------------------------------------------------
For its third BIS disc the Singapore Symphony Orchestra presents two novel orchestral works illustrating a stimulating amalgam of "symphonic" and vernacular idioms ably abetted by the incomparable Kroumata percussion ensemble in the Garbage Concerto.
"This interesting disc brings together two works from the murky
world of classical/rock crossover, in laudably committed performances
from the Singapore SO...Particularly memorable are the haunting
resonances of the blown bottles in the Concerto's slow movement,
while the work's lively outer movements call for barrages of
clattering noise which never fail to please the ear."
BBC Music Magazine, October, 2000
"Imagine Paul Hindemith enjoying a drunken escapade through the
aisles of B&Q, and you'll get the drift...Listen to it once, and
you'll have fun. Listen to it twice and neighbouring curtains will
twitch - I promise you."
Gramophone, September, 2000
"The second movement, The Rideau Canal at 3 a.m., is perhaps the
most memorable. It is intensely atmospheric and just plain
beautiful...The Singapore Symphony is well up to snuff and the
Kroumata percussionists are outstanding. Their work in the slow
movement is amazing"
The Ottawa Citizen, August, 2000
"rhythmic sophistication and kaleidoscopic instrumental
colour...it was amazing...The skillful, split-second execution of the
splendid Swedish percussion ensemble Kroumata, backed by an alert
SSO, brought the highly-complex, yet thoroughly-effective, spit-fire
rhythms and harmonic writing of the outer movements to bustling
life."
The Straits Times, Singapore, September, 1999
"makes use of glass jars, metal cans, plastic bottles, hubcaps, a
recycling box and a paper bag, shared around five players. Its outer
movements are clever, energetic and mildly witty."
International Record Review, September, 2000
"Kroumata, as always, rocks...an interesting release, all
told...vaguely African in feel at first, and straightforward pulse
but complex cross-rhythms."
Fanfare, Nov./Dec. 2000
"an aural train wreck"!!!!
American Record Guide, Nov./Dec. 2000
