‘Jukebox’ music
series harmoniously orchestrated
By
Lauren Williams
Online Forty-Niner
Assistant Opinion Editor
While typical minimalist music may often be associated with simplistic, repetitive
melodies and a limited number of instruments used in a piece, the final performance
of the Minimalist Jukebox series by the Los Angeles Philharmonic transcended
listeners into a euphoric state of bliss that only the most powerful music
can hope to obtain.
Despite the venue’s now famous sleek and austere exterior, consisting
of ephemeral-looking wavy silver panels, the warm honey-colored interior is
intimate and inviting, creating a relaxing atmosphere and a milieu that allows
listeners to peacefully reflect on the performance.
The first pieces performed were the selected scenes from the opera Akhnaten,
composed by Philip Glass.
Akhanten, the third in a cycle of three operas, is the story of Akhanten, the
pharaoh of Egypt in 14 B.C. and husband of Nefertiti, who is depicted immediately
after his father’s death throughout his own life to his untimely death
that results from his revolutionary monotheistic approach to religion.
While viewers had no visual cues to explain the detailed story of the pharaoh,
Glass succeeded in conveying the seriousness of the first act of the opera
by immediately introducing the piece with a slow and somber melody by the cellists
and later evoking the reverent, religious tone of the opera by using a choir
to sing the serious lyrics, some of which were actually written by Akhanten
nearly 34 centuries ago.
The second piece performed was Harmonielehre by renowned composer, John Adams.
Harmonielehre, translated to mean “the book of harmony,” is reflective
of Adam’s tongue-in-cheek attitude toward the famous serialist composer
Arnold Schoenberg, whose dissonant 12-tone music was rejected by Adams, who
preferred instead to use the harmonious method of minimalism.
The piece was strikingly different from the powerful, serious quality of the
Glass performance, beginning with a lighter, upbeat attitude and stirring a
wide variety of emotions within the listeners throughout the course of the
performance.
The orchestra consisted of much more variation in instrumentation than Akhanten,
indulging in a wider array of sounds and emotions. While the Glass piece was
able to sustain the audience in the tense, spiritual emotion of the opera piece,
Harmonielehre guided listeners through a versatile landscape of sensations.
The fantastic acoustics and moving music is something that left listeners with
a strong sense of the power and influence music can have on the human soul.
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