INDY'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTING ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
Orkestra Projekt
by Chantal Incandela
OP ended their fifth season with a program entitled “Indulge in a Little Madness” and of course the works reflected that title. Dmitri Kabalevsky’s The Comedians started the fun off. This entertaining suite sounded like music you might hear at a fair or in a cartoon, and the ensemble seemed very attuned to this playful work. Richard Strauss’s Til Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks was another orchestral work arranged for the eight-member group, and kudos to them for pulling that difficult work off. Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ work of pure insanity, Eight Songs for a Mad King, was last, and appropriately so. The score for this work calls for the singer to screech and yell, and for a violin to be smashed, which caused this string player to tear up. With no real melody, it was pretty much madness all the way throughout, yet this didn’t seem to bother the audience one bit — they showed their appreciation with a standing ovation. It goes to show what a progressive audience OP has, and also that people really can appreciate and enjoy new music, no matter how far out it is. Musical organizations in Indy, take note! —Chantal Incandela