Martian Anthropology

Martian Anthropology

Description: 
What's the Danish word for Marshmallows?
Composers: 
Mark Applebaum
Performers: 
Stanford Symphony Orchestra
Eric Bartlett
Mark Applebaum
Scott Paulson
Steven Schick
Catalog Number: 
#617
Genre: 
experimental
new classical
Collection: 
orchestra
percussion
graphic scores
Location: 

Palo Alto, CA

Price: 
$15.00
Release Date: 
Oct 26, 2004
Liner Notes: 
View
1 CD
Applebaum, M.: Martian Anthropology 1, 2, 3 - Skumfiduser! - Dead White Males - Triple ConcertoiTunes Artist's PageiTunes Album Page
Song TitleTimePrice
1.Martian Anthropology 1, 2, 3: I. One03:59$0.99
2.Martian Anthropology 1, 2, 3: II. Two03:09$0.99
3.Martian Anthropology 1, 2, 3: III. Three05:05$0.99
4.Skumfiduser!09:27$0.99
5.Dead White Males16:59
6.Triple Concerto16:22
One Sheet: 

What’s the Danish word for Marshmallows?  If you answered “Skumfiduser” you are correct and will no doubt enjoy Applebaum’s work for orchestra and computer-generated tape of the same name.  The intellectual and audio pyrotechnics don’t end there on this unlikely new disc: “Martian Anthropology” posits that scholars from Mars visit the Earth after its destruction and piece together the entire history of civilization from three objects they dig up.  They might be anything; a wheelchair, a business card for an escort service, and a tube of Chapstick, for example.  The rest is up to you and your imagination.

Four Applebaum mega-works for orchestra and electronics are gathered here and will redefine your next symphony experience.  Listening to Ferneyhough on a sugar high does not even come close to this trip.

Reviews: 

COSMIK DEBRIS

...reducing Applebaum's opus to any definition is an easy temptation best averted as even "orchestral" seems slightly reductive. His movements are playful and energetic, as if the great Kazoo late of the Flintstones found his way onto the farm of Palo Alto and had undetected influence on the musicians as they toiled in their seats...Applebaum's creation isn't limited to its genesis; it is a valuable, powerful piece of music; for those made curious by process, it reaches near necessity.

By Erick Mertz

PHOSPHOR MAGAZINE

Someone defined his music "schizophrenic" because of all the leaps inside. Applebaum has been developing his output in many directions: from acoustic to electronic, and from jazz to orchestral, with duos, trios, quartets, chamber music and improvisations.

By Staff Review

ALL MUSIC GUIDE

Crazy and wild, this is a typical Applebaum work, entertaining yet daring. Skumfiduser! is even zanier, although this time there is no game or concept underpinning it. It is simply a 10-minute rollercoaster for orchestra and two-channel tape, one constantly trying to push the other over the edge. ... Delicate, highly textural, and ultimately bipolar (abrupt percussive interventions in the first half, very quiet choir drone in the second half), it provides the perfect conclusion, as the listener is left hanging in spiritual limbo, far away from the playfulness found in the previous pieces.

By Francois Couture