If you make a stew from hushed, ultra-romantic passages, jazzy piano,
Queen's "Radio Ga Ga," the Coronation Scene in "Boris Godunov," throw
in some Orff, the closing scene of "Mefistofele," soulful violin solos
and waves of orchestral gushing, what do you get?

Perhaps something tasteless, maybe a schlocky exploitation of the audience,
or even Andrew Lloyd Webber as performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Or, in case of Tolga Kashif's "The Queen Symphony," something enjoyable,
sort of fascinating, and - in the end - an integrated work, which stands
on its own, independently of its multiple sources and influences.

Kashif composed the work as variations on six songs from the top of
the Queen hit parade, he conducted the Royal Philharmonic in the Royal
Festival Hall premiere in November, and EMI has already released the
resulting CD. As Queen's Brian May said, expectations of "mere orchestral
arrangements" are way off.  Instead, he said, the work is something
"monumental...  and quite outrageous."

That's not quite right, but May is correct about what "Queen Symphony"
is not.  "Monumental" is a poor substitute for "big string sound and
huge climaxes," aided ably by the Crouch End Festival Chorus.  "Outrageous"
crossover stopped shocking decades ago.  But yes, this is not "mere
orchestration," far from it.

Kashif, who has been straddling pop, rock and classical for some time
now, has come up with a true symphonic work, a veritable oratorio, not
only in its sound, but in substance as well.

As "Bohemian Rhapsody," "We Are the Champions" and "Who Wants to Live
Forever" march by in brief, but clear quotations, the lion's share of
the music is Kashif's own.  It is a work that pushes romantic excess to
the limit (and, at times, beyond), but it also contains a great deal of
whatever it is that separates music from Muzak, expressions of feelings
from "audio architecture."

Janos Gereben/SF
www.sfcv.org
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