A wuick search of The kc star turned up Mickey Coalwell as the originator
of the bon mots.
"A late addition to the program was Susan Botti's "Within Darkness,"
for solo violin and chamber orchestra. "Within Darkness," according
to Botti, "is an exploration of the textures and intensities found
in dark spaces -- physical (the night, the forest, shadow...) and
personal (sleep reams)." Uh-huh. The work was commissioned by Orpheus
in 1999. I found it a tiresome compendium of "new music" banalities,
including screeching string glissandos, lumpish tone clusters, and
stratospheric harmonics by the solo violinist. Ho-hum. With its
pseudo-cinematic subtext, "Within Darkness" has one foot in the
avant-garde of 30 years ago and the other in a barrel of grant money.
We of the audience were not amused."
Stirling S Newberry
Mp3s: http://www.mp3.com/ssn
War and Romance Radio: http://stations.mp3s.com/stations/8/war_and_romance.html