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Creshevsky (born 1945) studied with Boulanger and Berio, and is the former head of the Center for Computer Music at CUNY. He has been exploring 'hyperrealism' (his own term) since the early 1970s. He mentions Conlon Nancarrow and Pierre Schaeffer as antecedents; one might also hear textures reminiscent of Philip Glass and some of the more experimental popular genres (techno/electronica), though without their insistent beat. The Matrix also comes to mind, but perhaps more for its alienation from the natural world than for any specific references.

The sounds the composer has chosen to work with (on this disc at least) are all familiar from the Western European musical tradition. The vocal production is 'European classical' and so are the instruments -- piano, electric guitar and orchestral woodwinds prominent among them.

One aspect of hyperrealism is the creation of virtual super-performers from the recorded sounds, 'instrumentalists' and 'singers' who can perform higher, lower, louder, softer and (especially) faster than is physically possible. The effect is both liberating and unsettling [listen -- track 3, 0:00-1:02].

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Copyright © 22 September 2004 Malcolm Tattersall, Townsville, Australia

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