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S.E.M. Ensemble

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Orchestra Reviews

For about an hour, "Atlas [Eclipticalis]" seemed confined by its method.  The same sounds came round again and again: soft clouds of strings and woodwinds, blasts of brass and percussion, Mr. Tudor's sparse and jagged figures. And yet something did eventually happen. Static sonorities shifted, intangible events solidified; collective images began to appear amid shapeless sound.  I was reminded of orthodox Easter service: across expanses of tedium, an epiphany rises in the back of the mind.

- Alex Ross, The New York Times, November 7, 1992


Nothing I’ve heard an orchestra do in years has been more original, more surprising, and more exquisitely etched at the same time.

- Kyle Gann, The Village Voice, June 9, 1998


The concert’s clear highlight was another American premiere, “Violin and Orchestra” (1979), twice the length of its predecessors at close to an hour. Beguiling in its ceaseless variability, the piece presented constant reminders of Feldman’s sophisticated handling of timbre. Hana Kotkova the sublime soloist, played with spirit and nuance, handling treacherous microtonal passages with gracious ease. Here and throughout, Mr. Kotik and his players provided lucid support.

- Steve Smith, New York Times, November 7, 2012