L.A. California (Television Overture) | Kees Vlak

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With his orchestral panorama “L.A.-California”, Kees Vlak wanted to create a homage to the beauty of California and the city of Los Angeles. Even though this area of America can not look back on a centuries-old tradition in the way that the great cultural regions of Europe do, it still holds a special significance because of its typically American way of life, its fascinating landscapes and the glittering world of film with its own particular flair.
Guidebook in hand, Kees Vlak takes a stroll through Los Angeles with its glamorous atmosphere and allows the images which he sees to inspire him, a musician in body and soul, to create a rhapsodic composition in which the visual impressions are transformed into sound. In six loosely linked scenes the composer tries to capture the typical flair of California which has characterised generations of its inhabitants: the morning walk along the coast of Santa Monica Bay; the magnificent and daring buildings of Los Angeles; the dream world of Disneyland, now transformed into reality; the bustle, but also the overwhelming illusions of the film studios, and - last but not least - the rousing, world-famous music of the great revue films. In his work “L.A.-California”, Kees Vlak consciously makes use of these stylistic elements and links them with his own tonal language.
The main theme of his short overture determines the thematic material of the whole composition. Dance-like episodes are linked to calmer sections in which individual instrumental soloists, but also the entire wind orchestra can develop a beautiful and magnificent melodiousness. The work is characterised by harmonic variety; the leisurely air of the folksong exists side by side with brisk dance rhythms such as we know from the Forties and Fifties.
In his composition, Vlak constantly has in mind the many wind orchestras performing at intermediate level. “L.A.-California”, located at a medium to advanced level of difficulty, is certainly as much fun to play as to listen to.
Content:
Los Angeles - Santa Monica Bay - Crystal Cathedral - Disneyland - Hollywood - Concert at the Bowl
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