The ''Icarian Rhapsody'' is a single-movement composition for string orchestra by the American composer

Mason Bates Mason Wesley Bates (born January 23, 1977) is a Grammy award-winning American composer of symphonic music and DJ of electronic dance music. He is the first composer-in-residence of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and he has also bee ...

. It was composed in 1999 and was first performed November 14, 2003 by the Oakland East Bay Symphony under conductor Michael Morgan. Bates, Mason (1999)
Icarian Rhapsody: Program Note
Retrieved July 21, 2015.

Composition

The ''Icarian Rhapsody'' has a duration of roughly 12 minutes and is composed in one continuous movement. The title of the work is inspired by the character Icarus from

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

. Bates wrote about this inspiration in the score program notes:

Reception

Reviewing the world premiere, Joshua Kosman of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

'' described the ''Icarian Rhapsody'' as "an appealingly crafted work for strings" and called it "lovely to hear and ingeniously constructed, even if the actual thematic material seemed a little thin." In 2013, Charles T. Downey of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' also described the piece favorably, saying, "sonic and rhythmic effects were piled up by minimalistic repetition until the voyage finally dissolved in a few wispy contrails of harmonics." Aaron Keebaugh of the ''Boston Classical Review'' similarly called it "a kaleidoscope of effects" and wrote:

References

{{italic title Compositions by Mason Bates 1999 compositions Compositions for string orchestra Rhapsodies