Perth Concert Hall

March 1 2014

The Perth International Arts Festival came to a close on Saturday night with the premiere of new work A Symphony for Perth composed by ‘America’s most wired composer’, Tod Machover. Between the Desert and the Deep Blue Sea sought to create a sonic portrait of Perth, but offered us more than a mere reflection of our city. Machover, a Pulitzer Prize nominated composer, acts as a conduit to harness the notable sonic aspects of Perth and presents us with a work that is not only shaped by the composer but by his interactions with the people of the city.

The premiere was preceded by the performance of the soundtracks from several video games, examples of a composition for digital, fictionalised spaces. These works for digital environments ranged from the one-dimensional adventure soundtrack of Uncharted (2 & 3), to the cheeky noir of Lucasarts’s Grim Fandango. The West Australian Symphony Orchestra were in fine form, energetically conducted by Carolyn Kuan, but were ultimately limited by the works themselves, most of which were comprised...