To the disappointment of many, the traditional wood-and-brass-based sound of classical music has been remarkably inhospitable to new technology in recent years. With electronic instruments finding little place in the concert hall and orchestral conductors apprehensive about all things digital, it's little wonder that even the most virtuosic DJs and turntablists have distanced themselves from symphonic form.
Leave it to a science and music double-concentrator to help bring the two estranged genres together.
"There is something deeply mathematical about music," said Hans Dietrich '08, a cellist from Visalia, Calif. "There's no reason digital artists shouldn't play alongside the classically trained."
Earlier this month, Dietrich joined 60 college-age musicians from across the continent at Carnegie Hall for a world premiere of DJ Radar's "Concerto for Turntable." The program - which also featured miniatures from eminent electronic composers such as Laura Karpman, an Emmy-award winning film and videogame scorer, and the NYU-schooled Alex Halpern - culminated in the Arizona native's piece, an electro-symphonic opus transcribed by orchestrator Raul Yà ñez.
Even at the project's inception, finding a common language for both classical musicians and turntable maestro was a task rife with potential pitfalls. For one, Radar's solo instrument, an acoustically enhanced record player capable of "scratching" and "looping" a wide range of notes, was better lent to improvisational performances. "I knew that to collaborate with an orchestra I would have ... to communicate with these musicians using a written format," said Radar in an e-mail.
Notating the turntable's complex musical configurations in sheet music form - and in a manner accessible to violinists, cellists and flutists alike-had only been attempted a few times before, and once by Radar himself. When globetrotting composer/pianist Yà ñez took a break from his regular post as a jazz musicology professor at Arizona State University, the young protégé knew he'd met his match. Both sensed a historical link between the baroque concertino and the mathematical patterns of the modern instrument. Radar now traces his style to the late works of 17th century composer Arcangelo Corelli. Together, Radar and Yà ñez set to task, translating the apparatus' blips and beeps to the page and tapping its classical potential.
The metaphysically titled, "Antimatter," marked the pair's first creative output. Unveiled in 2001 at the Grammage Auditorium in Tempe, Ariz., the work set a precedent for larger-scale compositions, an ambition later realized under the unlikely auspices of a caffeinated soft drink.
Red Bull's interest in the turntable project stemmed from its latent appeal to college-age music lovers, a demographic in keeping with the drink's target consumers. "We want to bring young people to know where music's headed," wrote media coordinator Ellen Applen in an e-mail to The Herald. "And this is it."
Pooling resources with Radar and Yà ñez, who were then drafting a three-movement concerto for turntable and orchestra, Red Bull appropriated a venue suitable for the work. They aimed high: an Oct. 2 premiere at New York's Carnegie Hall, with acclaimed conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos and a batch of carefully selected musicians, or "The Red Bull Artsehcro" ("Orchestra" spelled backwards).
Dietrich discovered the audition call posted to the door of Steinert Hall last May. He'd been practicing in private lessons with Brown cello instructor Daniel Harp, and intrigued by the chance to play alongside Radar at Carnegie Hall, went home to prepare the requisite videotape.
"It was finals period, so I couldn't make the audition in person," he said, adding that balancing a science exam with a Hindemith sonata wasn't too bad. "You make time for the things you love."
In addition to the recital, Red Bull asked that contestants personalize their entries with videotaped answers to more personalized questions. "The non-conformist group will be comprised of students who study classical music, but (whose) interests go beyond their obvious talents and into hip hop, electronic music, fashion or pop culture," specified the notice.
Such attention to diversity seemed fitting. "Yeah, I had to answer the 'what other passions do you have?' question in just a few minutes," Dietrich said. "That in itself intrigued me enough to audition."
Of the 300 entries, 65 were chosen-many from prestigious conservatories in the Northeast-though a few hailed from England, Canada and Turkey. Dietrich heard of his acceptance in early July, a success greeted with equal enthusiasm by his parents.
"My family's pretty musical," he said, "and I think they were pleased with the excuse to visit Carnegie Hall."
The cellist arrived in Manhattan before the concert to rehearse with Radar, Kitsopoulos and the others selected. Delegates from Red Bull welcomed them at the swank W Hotel. "There was a limitless supply of their drink, so we were all pretty jumpy and excited," joked Dietrich. In just a few afternoon sessions, the musicians mastered the piece.
The concert was met with a near-full house. Dietrich remains confident about future opportunities to perform.
"Every time you go to these events, you can't help but feel motivated to keep playing," he said. And if clues from Red Bull hold any ground, musicians may even have a national tour on the horizon.
"There's been talk of taking the Turntable concerto on the road, " he added with a wink. "We'll see what comes my way."
