Philharmonia Orchestra & Vladimir Ashkenazy - REMOTE GALAXY by Flint Juventino Beppe (2013) [Hi-Res]

Can the dualism of life, nature and art be expressed in pure music? This is the question the multi-talented composer Flint Juventino Beppe – formerly known as Fred Jonny Berg – has set out to answer. The album Remote Galaxy is a journey in time and space, a journey given meaning by the album's music and philosophy. The music is uncompromisingly honest, with a genuine power of its own. Using well-known acoustic technology, the composer takes us to some unusual and, for most of us, unknown places.

Remote Galaxy continues the journey of 2L's Grammy nominated album Flute Mystery, and again the Philharmonia Orchestra is conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy to interpret these adventurous scores. The composer's deep spiritual interest in nature, philosophy and space is as central in the universe of Remote Galaxy as it was in Flute Mystery. Beppe's music leaves a unique fingerprint in the artistic world: there is quite simply nothing like it.

The individual and inventive nature of his orchestral works demands a rich palette of instruments and an extended use of woodwinds, brass and organ. As solo instruments, the intense but delicate sound of the clarinet, the scope of the flute's range of expression and the special characteristics of the rarely used viola da gamba make for an inimitable atmosphere captured in 2L's innovative surround sound technology.

The whole spectrum of Beppe's musical philosophy is mirrored in his works: 'It's really as simple as it is complicated – I breathe in what life has to offer, and breathe out what I have to offer life. I have given up trying to grasp what actually happens in the process from impression to expression.' Beppe is diagnosed with Tourette's and Asperger's syndromes, and his approach to life is self-reflective and as uncompromising as his music: 'When I take a look at the mountains or the sky, I realize I cannot spend my time on anything but grandness. It's that or nothing.'

'It is really as simple as it is complicated - I breathe in what life has to offer, and breathe out what I have to offer life. I have given up trying to grasp what actually happens in the process from impression to expression.' (Flint Juventino Beppe)

Philharmonia Orchestra
Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductor
Emily Beynon, flute
Mark van de Wiel, clarinet
Ralph Rousseau, viola da gamba

Recorded at Watford Colosseum, May 27-28, 2012
Recording produced and balance engineered by Morten Lindberg