Poul Ruders wrote his Light Overture for the 100th Anniversary of the Alabama Power Company.
Light music for a light company ... get it?
Played by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Giordano Bellincampi in Auckland Town Hall, 12 July 2018.
Photo: Zouavman Le Zouave CC3.0
Poul Ruders is a prolific Danish composer born in 1949.
This piece dates from 2006, when it was commissioned to mark the Alabama Power Company’s 100th anniversary. So there’s a pun in the title: it’s a light overture because the power company provides light.
But there’s also a nod to the tradition of light music – a piece setting a festive mood.
Structurally the piece follows the form of a prelude and fugue, and it’s in five short sections which the composer calls ‘chapters’.
Recorded by RNZ Concert in Auckland Town Hall, 12 July 2018
Producer: Tim Dodd
Engineer: Adrian Hollay
