Andrea Tarrodi: Four Elements
By Ralph Graves
If you’re not familiar with the name Andrea Tarrodi, then you probably don’t follow the classical music press. In addition to winning multiple prestigious awards in her native Sweden, Tarrodi’s music has captured a world audience in a very short time. And no wonder. Her style is both accessible and challenging.
This release features some of her more recent works. It includes Choryn – Harp Concerto (2020), and the Symphony in Fire, Water, Earth, and Air (2021). It also features two shorter works from 2020, Fanfare, and Tarot Garden.
The Nordic Chamber Orchestra commissioned or co-commission all four of these compositions. So be assured these are authoritative performances. Choryn, with harpist Delphine Constantin-Reznik, is an effective evocation of synaesthesia, or experiencing one sense through another. It’s an exotic soundscape where everything seems strangely distorted and yet makes perfect sense.
Equally ambitious is the Symphony in Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. Tarrodi composed it while isolated during the pandemic. The opening music captures the unsettled emotions of that time: urgency vs. status, panic vs. discipline, and isolation vs. companionship. As the symphony moves through the elements, these emotions are gradually transformed. And then, in the final movement — Air — they dissipate like clouds in the sky.
I can’t really describe Tarrodi’s music, because it’s so unlike anything else. And yet it all works. Every single note. The only way to understand her work is to experience it. And this release is an excellent place to start.
Andrea Tarrodi: Four Elements
Nordic Chamber Orchestra; JoAnn Falletta & Patrik Ringborg, conductors
Delphine Constatin-Reznik, harp
dB Productions dBCD 204
