Bachtrack: Coppens combines the swinging and driving register of colorful percussion and fierce woodwinds with a hint of tragedy, then he achieves a fundamentally human balance between exuberance and melancholy.

 

The sound of Music for Orchestra is most extraordinary: the layered writing is undeniably modern, but the structural and harmonic flow is utterly accessible. In the language of Coppens, where the great feeling modeled on the canon merges with the sensuality of light music, it is as if the eras overlapped. The language of tradition abounds in jazz accents to gradually form an original unity.

 

Coppens' writing draws the maximum from the soul of each of the instruments. The use of the saxophone and the piano, for example, has nothing to do with a composer's "trick", but on the contrary adds nuances that raise this symphonic choreography to a higher level. The motifs that remain suspended also form an interesting fact for musicians who all benefit from a tailor-made identity. In this respect, the work does full honor to its title: Coppens treats the orchestra in the manner of a democratic principle, with a rich coloring as its repercussion.

 

Adrien Perruchon conducted the Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen well, which was obviously having fun. However, not all parts were perfectly mastered. Obviously, it is a question of repeating the work a few more times to make its swinging character more natural. Since Coppens regards Music for Orchestra as the first movement of a large-scale symphony, one can only hope that the composer gets the chance to create the other movements.

 

A revelation such as Music for Orchestra is enough to ensure the success of the evening