Louis Andriessen

chalkpie · 07-10-2015

Dutch composer (Born 1939, Utrecht, Netherlands). I've been getting into his music lately and thought some of you might enjoy his art. He takes the minimalists approach to composition (vaguely) and injects some serious testosterone in it, maybe even add a 1/2 TBS of PCP or bath salts

. When I first heard "De Staat" I had a big grin on nearly the entire time because there are bits in it that we as prog lovers have grown to love and appreciate - you'll know what I mean when you hear it - I won't spoil all of the fun. But I will say that if you lean towards the dark spectrum of prog such as Magma, Crimson, Present, UZ, Blast, Shub Niggurath, etc, you might get a kick out of this piece. "De Staat" was written in 1972 - 1976, btw.

http://www.theguardian.com/music/tom...al-music-guide

**thedunno** · 07-10-2015

Great composer! I love 'de staat'. I think it dates much earlier then 1992. 1976 I think. I rather like 'Hoketus' too; a great minimal piece.
Check this version out by Bang on a can.

Furthermore I recommend his operas 'De Materie' and 'Rosa". Especially the first is considered to be his magum opus by many.

He is fairly well known in the Netherlands as a modern composer but he also suffers a lot from the current 'classical music desease', which is a blind admiration for the past and an almost complete neglect for today. His latest orchestral piece 'Mysteriën' has only been played once by 'het konkinklijk concert gebouw orkest' for which it was especially written. It got some great reviews but was never performed again.
Here's a recording of that piece.

**Steve F.** · 07-10-2015

I own "Die Staat", which I like very much and I once saw a piece of his performed that I dis-liked very much.

**walt** · 07-10-2015

I have De Staat and Hoketus.Good stuff.

**Udi Koomran** · 07-10-2015

I bought "De Staat" after reading about it on the Recomended Records catalog in the early 80's
I recall ordering partly cause it was described with some resemblance to Soft Machine Third
well I am still sractching my head regarding that reference but hey the music is great !

chalkpie · 07-10-2015

^ C'mon - you don't think this sounds exactly like "Moon in June"? What's wrong with you?

**Udi Koomran** · 07-10-2015

Frankie what is the best version of this ?

this is the one I have on vinyl
http://www.discogs.com/Louis-Andries...elease/1480554
is the nonsuch edition a diffrent performance ?

chalkpie · 07-10-2015

That's a good question - but I will say that the performance by the Schoenberg Ensemble that I posted is a little loose in a couple of sections - the part at around 8:28 for example - could be tighter. Spot has a few versions so I am going to check them out and report back.

And yes, your version is definitely different - looks like you have the Netherlands Wind Ensemble.

chalkpie · 07-10-2015

Thanks for that info Thedunno. I've only heard "Hoketus" once but I did enjoy it - need more time with that. Those operas huh? Cool. Its good to get some perspective on this cat from a local. That's a bit of a shame that he is swept under the carpet, but that's just the way it is with a bunch of composers. Even Ives and Mahler never saw their full appreciation - that happened years later.

**Totemist** · 07-10-2015

Andriessen - I've kinda 'investigated' this stuff about 8-10 years ago. Honestly most of his compositions and his 'aggressive minimalism' approach gave me a true headache.. but he is fine composer (in my opinion) and I agree some of the folks here might enjoy this stuff. I like his 'M is for man, music, Mozart', especially the first part. It is more delicate, and work for me.

**Smörgåsbord** · 07-10-2015

De Staat is amazing. Still looking for something in his œuvre that is on par with it. It think it's head and shoulders above his other works. But that just me; my knowledge of modern composition is spotty.

**Totemist** · 07-11-2015

Another thing about Andriessen is the story that James Grigsby once met him, actually made a pilgrimage to him while UTotem have been in Europe. They had a conversation and as a result, Grigsby began write the great 'City of mirrors', which evolve Jazz with contemporary classical. By that mean, Andriessen importance is huge... at least, in my opinion.