Rock meets classical as Perth explores music by Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly, James Ledger and Andy Akiho.

Soft Soft Loud: the music of Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly, James Ledger and Andy Akiho

Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle, WA

February 13, 2014

Bryce Dessner (guitar), Margaret Blades and Alexandra Isted (violins), Nicole Forsyth (viola), Matthew Hoy (cello), Andrew Rootes (bass), Emily Clements (flute), Ashley Smith and Phil Everall (clarinet), Allison Wright (trumpet), Sean O’Brien (trombone), Louise Devenish (percussion), Daniel Susanjar (drums), Alessandro Pittorino (organ), Timothy Young (piano)

Ohio-born Bryce Dessner is a guitarist and co-founder of Brooklyn-based indie rock band The National. He has also studied classical guitar and flute, obtained a masters degree in music from Yale University, worked with composers like Steve Reich, David Lang and Philip Glass and been influenced by everything from Baroque to rock. He’s currently composer-in-residence at Muziekgebouw Frits Philips in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

So while there were definitely elements of Dessner the rock guitarist in his performance of his own Feedback Counterpoint for solo electric guitar, there was above all, both here and in his two other compositions featured as part of this sell-out Fremantle Arts Centre courtyard concert, evidence of Dessner the fluent, fluid and highly inventive...