Workers union louis andriessen woodpecker

Robert Black, Bass
David Cossin, Percussion
Lisa Moore, Piano and keyboards
Mark Stewart, Electric Guitar
Wendy Sutter, Cello
Cristina Valdes, Celeste
Evan Ziporyn, Clarinet, Saxophone, Harpsichord
Andrew Cotton, Sound Engineer
Special Guest
Terry Riley, Keyboard and Vocals

 

 

In a last-minute substitution for the scheduled Hout, the bracing squad of Bang on a Can All-Stars showed decisively that Louis Andriessen’s Workers Union is probably one of the masterpieces of the ’s.

I recall hearing it years ago by the Netherlands’ delirious Orkest de Volharding, but perhaps as time has passed, the renegade brilliance of the score has led to even clearer, more incisive performances such as the one here. What impressed right off was the transparency of the six voices; Andriessen has much more to offer than non-stop aggression, and the Bang on a Can musicians negotiated his tense, yet spare exercise with complete verve.

The rhythmic demands are intense, with the me