Orchestra I.S. | Opacity

In the optometrist’s chair and being asked, “this one or this one, this one or this one, this one or this one,” the doctor is working towards the right prescription. The one that brings clarity, and with this clarity, with the right glasses, you can see each and every leaf on the Autumn tree. This is music of the classical period, clarity over abstraction, simplicity over ornamentalism. But clarity is not always preferred, and not always possible. This concert puts the spectrum of clarity on display. On one end, Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 is a 20th century nod to the transparency of a much older music, while on the other, three Longy composers, Tristan Johnson, Alex Van Sant, and Rose Williams, use varying degrees of blur, obscuring narrative and meaning, to convey their 21st century truths.