Washington Post: P-CE "liberated Copland's score"

The Washington Post sings praise for the Post-Classical Ensemble's live musical performance of Aaron Copland's score during the screening of The City (Sunday, October 14, 2007, at UMD's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center):

The live performance liberated Copland's score from the film's low-fidelity recording and made the music an equal partner with the film's images and words, presenting dated propaganda but with considerable dramatic power. The Post-Classical Ensemble synced precisely with the film (a challenge Gil-Ordonez likened to "conducting an opera where the singers are robots") and vividly rendered Copland's striking music.

Click on The Washington Post logo to read the full article (Tuesday, October 16, 2007; Page C03):

Washington Post: No Coats, Ties or Stuffed Shirts

Watch out, Washington, warns The Washington Post -- as it piles on pre-performance praise for the Post-Classical Ensemble's live musical performance of Aaron Copeland's score during the screening of The City (Sunday, October 14, 2007, at UMD's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center):

"We insist on moving outside the parameters of classical music." The result: unpredictable, idea-rich concerts designed to challenge the audience. Post-Classical is still well off the beaten path, but audiences are starting to grow -- and they're as diverse, says [Joseph] Horowitz, as the music itself...

[Angel] Gil-Ordonez... [i]s a kinetic performer onstage, using his entire body to guide the ensemble. His conversation is just as animated... He says, classical music needs to recover the freewheeling atmosphere it had before it became, well, classical. "When you went to a concert 200 years ago, it was the event of the week. You were there to meet your friends, to talk -- even during performances! At the premiere of Beethoven's Ninth, people jumped up shouting in the second movement: Aarrgghhhh! Like Mick Jagger!

"And this is the key: We have to recover this sense of spontaneity. I am still hoping somebody in the audience will just sing aloud some of the music while I'm conducting."

Click on The Washington Post logo to read the full article (Friday, October 12, 2007; Page M05):

Baltimore Sun: Bringing 'The City' back to life

The Baltimore Sun's music critic Tim Smith heralded the P-CE's live performance of Aaron Copland's score alongside the 1939 World's Fair film documentary The City.

Smith notes:

That's still not all. After the presentation, the audience will get to step, you might say, directly into the film itself. The movie's last sequence, promoting a new kind of model city built from scratch, includes footage of one such place - Greenbelt, which this year celebrates the 70th anniversary of its creation under the guidance of the Resettlement Administration during the era of the New Deal. After the screening of The City, there will be a field trip by bus to Greenbelt for a panel discussion and dessert reception.

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Naxos: Artist of the Week: Angel Gil-Ordonez

Classical music leader Naxos published a close-up feature on the Post-Classical Ensemble's musical director, Angel Gil-Ordonez on its website.

Naxos notes:

Angel Gil-Ordóñez has attained an outstanding reputation among Spain’s new generation of conductors as he carries on the tradition of his teacher and mentor, Sergiu Celibidache...

In 2006, the King of Spain awarded Mr. Gil-Ordóñez the country’s highest civilian decoration, the Royal Order of Queen Isabella, which is equivalent to a knighthood, for his work in advancing Spanish culture in the world, in particular for performing and teaching Spanish music in its cultural context.

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Angel Gil-Ordonez Among WDC Chefs

Super Chef online magazine cited P-CE musical director Angel Gil-Ordonez among those important to Washington, DC-based chef and restaurateur Jose Andres.

Chef Andres had been listed among this year's Power 150 in the October issue of Washingtonian Magazine.