The Independent 29th November 1995
Music, English Chamber Orchestra, Barbican, London
If names are the consequences of things – as Gavin Bryars states – then what can we make of minimalism? Commissioned by Philips Classics Productions for Julian Lloyd Webber, it seemed well fitted out to match the particular strengths of his playing. Above telling changes of harmony, the soloist unwound a thread of melody. Bryars writes skilfully for the strings. The concerto was subtitled Farewell to Philosophy, an idea given musical substance through allusions to Haydn symphonies.
NICHOLAS WILLIAMS
