''Radical Light'' is a single-movement

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l composition by the American composer

Steven Stucky Steven Edward Stucky (November 7, 1949 − February 14, 2016) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer. Life and career Stucky was born in Hutchinson, Kansas. At age 9, he moved with his family to Abilene, Texas, where, as a teenager, he s ...

. The work was commissioned by the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

with contributions from Lenore and

Bernard Greenberg Bernard S. Greenberg is a programmer and computer scientist, known for his work on Multics and the Lisp machine. Projects In 1978, Greenberg implemented Multics EmacsBernard S. Greenberg. ''Multics Emacs: The History, Design and Implementatio ...

. It was premiered October 18, 2007 at the

Walt Disney Concert Hall The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 24, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand A ...

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, with

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

Esa-Pekka Salonen Esa-Pekka Salonen (; born 30 June 1958) is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and music dir ...

leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The title of the piece comes from the poem "He Held Radical Light" by A. R. Ammons. Stucky, Steven (2007)
Radical Light: Program Note by the Composer
Retrieved May 9, 2015.

Composition

Stucky drew inspiration from the music of

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

—specifically his Fourth and Seventh symphonies, beside which ''Radical Light'' was to be first performed. Stucky wrote of this influence in the score program notes: Despite this, Stucky nevertheless remarked that "the actual sound of the music has nothing to do with Sibelius". The work is dedicated to cellist Elinor Frey.

Reception

Lisa Hirsch of the ''San Francisco Classical Voice'' lauded the work and noted the influence of Sibelius, remarking, "Stucky says that the direct influence is the structure of the one-movement Seventh Symphony. ''Radical Light'' is considerably shorter than that work, but builds organically to a spectacular climax of blazing brass and mad string figuration." 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 pap ...

'' similarly praised the piece as "encompass nga wealth of moods and orchestral colors" and wrote:

References

{{Italic title Compositions by Steven Stucky 2007 compositions 21st-century classical music Compositions for symphony orchestra Music commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic