Purple Haze gets classical treatment
Esprit Orchestra takes on Hendrix for 30th anniversary concert
The late rock guitar virtuoso Jimi Hendrix wasn’t just a terrific musician. His composition skills rocked, too.
Alex Pauk, artistic director and conductor of the Esprit Orchestra, has chosen “Purple Haze” as one of two “bonbons” to decorate the final concert of the year’s program March 28 at Koerner Hall.
The other non-traditional treat for a classical orchestra is Marius Constant’s creepy and innovative theme for the sci-fi TV show The Twilight Zone.
Pauk says these two pieces, which are featured among five compositions being performed at Esprit’s last concert celebrating its 30th year of playing New Music, “are not throwaways.
“They are entertaining but they also have serious purposes. Both are embedded in our minds.”
As for Hendrix, Pauk says, “I think ‘Purple Haze’ is a powerful piece of music; the melody is pulsating, touching the core of our being.
“To reach people is the one thing composers desire.”
In 1989, after hearing Kronos Quartet perform a version of the classic Hendrix song composed by Steve Riffkin, Pauk asked for an adaptation by Riffkin for a stringheavy orchestral rendition.
It was a huge success and Pauk decided to play the piece, which Esprit has only performed one other time, at the celebratory concert. Strings will replace the guitar and the raging solo will be performed on violin by concertmaster Stephen Sitarski. “The Twilight Zone” is also a 1989 adaptation, this time by the original composer, Constant, at the behest of Pauk. Pauk has commissioned many new works by composers over the past three decades. Included in this program are Denis Gougeon’s “TUTTI,” which celebrates Esprit’s spirit, and Erik Ross’s “Burn,” which is a boisterous call to live life large. Composer Zosha Di Castri, whose composition “Alba” opens the evening, will receive the prestigious 2012 Jules-Léger Prize for New Chamber Music before the performance.