I’ll be upfront. This Friday night concert was near perfect, the classic combination of a shorter new work acting as overture, a concerto and a symphony sounding, under Asher Fisch’s firm direction, completely novel and exciting.
WASO Composer in Residence Olivia Davies has had two world premieres in close succession, with her choral piece Murmuration performed by WASO Chorus just a few days ahead of Oscillations. Although the two works share the idea of developing a single unit, whether it be word, cell or gesture, over time, their effects could not be more different.
Oscillations is a beautifully crafted if overwhelming sonic experience that has the virtue of depositing the listener on a strange shore from which he or she can enjoy any subsequent, more familiar works in a concert program with fresh ears. It certainly proved to be the case here, with Fisch and WASO pulling out all the stops, as though to say: “Wake up! Listen!”
Oscillations is a fine achievement and deserves to be widely performed.
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