Liquid Interface


Liquid Interface is a symphony in four movements for electronica and orchestra by the American composer Mason Bates. The work was commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra and was premiered February 22, 2007 in Washington, D.C., with the orchestra led by conductor Leonard Slatkin. The piece is dedicated to composer John Corigliano.

Composition

Style and inspiration

Bates first drew inspiration for the symphony from bodies of water. Bates detailed this inception in the score program notes, writing:
The form of Liquid Interface thus follows the progression of water in a world of increasing global warming. The third movement "Crescent City" also features a musical tribute to the city of New Orleans through the use of Dixieland swing.

Structure

Liquid Interface has a duration of roughly 25 minutes and is composed in four movements:
  1. Glaciers Calving
  2. Scherzo Liquido
  3. Crescent City
  4. On the Wannsee

    Instrumentation

Liquid Interface is scored for electronica and orchestra, comprising three flutes, three oboes, three clarinets, three bassoons, four French horns, three trumpets, two tenor trombones, bass trombone, tuba, three percussionists, harp, piano, and strings.

Reception

Reviewing the world premiere, Andrew Lindemann Malone of The Washington Post lauded the work, saying it "surpassed in sheer sonic beauty even the works by Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky that rounded out the program." Malone further remarked:
Joshua Kosman of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "the electronic parts of Liquid Interface are simultaneously noteworthy and yet not really the point of the exercise. They are, rather, one additional resource among many that Bates uses in service of a cogent and beautiful musical narrative." Margaret Sandresky of the Winston-Salem Journal said, "Aside from the wide variety of electronic sound, his orchestration of the piece was dazzling." John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune also praised the piece, remarking: