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Title: Great Sound, No Substance
Review: Much of contemporary music (by composers who are still active) have little going for it other than individuality. Salonen knows how to work the orchestra and he produces some astonishing sounds. The music is indeed original, even if does on occasion sound a little like Rautavaara. But the Variations seem disjointed with one dazzling episode following another with any sense of continuity or cogency. It seems that the Variations would be just as effective if it were ordered randomly. The music isn't academic, but one comes away with the impression that the work could be a series of unrelated examples from an advanced orchestration textbook. Ultimately the music is highly individual, but unmemorable. Great performances though.
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