Simon Steen-Andersen's latest orchestral work grosso is composed for amplified quartet, Leslie speaker, and orchestra. The work was premiered at Donaueschinger Musiktage in 2024, and on that occasion the composer described the work:
"Having spent the last 10 years working primarily with multimedia, found material and theatrical formats, I wanted to focus on some of the sounds and musical ideas that often ended up in the background in service of broader concepts or theatrical elements.
The idea of found material or ready-mades remains the starting point in grosso, but in terms of the musical and physical properties of specific instruments and objects, such as their pitch selection, layout, mechanics, timbre, and resonance.
At the centre – almost as a fifth performer – stands a Leslie speaker, the legendary double-rotary speaker system associated with the Hammond organ. Not just its signature pulsation and Doppler effect, but also the mechanical sounds of its inner workings are examined and followed as musical motifs. The protagonists of grosso could be said to be two old, iconic machines; the Leslie speaker and the orchestra ..."
Find more information about the upcoming performance at ManiFeste here.