5 glass bottles
5 plastic jugs
5 metal cans
3 metal hub caps
1 plastic “blue box”

“What new sounds?” is a question that has been posed by the Ottawa Symphony more than once. Before our 3D StringTheory project, there was garbage.

Inspired by the contents of a recycling bin and the then-new-ish notion of household recycling, Ottawa composer and Ottawa Symphony Orchestra cellist, Jan Jarvlepp, started tinkering. Over the course of a few years, Javlepp and his father built a variety of homemade instruments from recyclable items, and Jan composed a concerto to feature the talents of 5 percussionists.

Commissioned for the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, the work—Transformation, as it was initially known—was premiered in 1996 under the baton of Music Director David Currie. While manufactured materials and products have evolved, so too has garbage. And since 1996, the Garbage Concerto—with some instrument adaptations—has been heard around the world.

About the composer

Jan Järvlepp began playing pop guitar at the age of 12 and took up cello in high school at the age of 14. He also learned to play bass guitar and harmonica at this time. In university he majored in composition while developing his cello playing skills. As his studies progressed, he realized that he was not on the same wavelength as his modernist composition teachers.

Järvlepp returned to his native Ottawa in 1981 after completing his doctoral studies in composition and twentieth century music at the University of California, San Diego. His composition teachers over the years were Luis de Pablo, Alcides Lanza, Will Ogdon and Roger Reynolds. Once back in Canada, Järvlepp joined the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra and has been active as a freelance cellist, composer, teacher, recording technician and contractor for chamber music groups. Once outside of the university environment, he began composing in a newer style of neo-tonal music that would not be acceptable among the academics.

Järvlepp has been delving deeper and deeper into the world of pop-influenced contemporary "classical" composition. He has completely turned his back on the avant-garde modernism that he was rigorously trained in to concentrate on the emerging neo-tonal style. He has also taken an interest in Hispanic, flamenco, Arab and Nordic folk styles. The result has been a variety of accessible pieces of music that appeal to a surprisingly wide cross section of the public. At times Järvlepp employs unusual combinations of instruments that have not previously been heard in the world of classical music. He has composed over 80 works for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, orchestra and electronic instruments.

http://www.janjarvlepp.com/

Curators | Nos conservateurs

Dr. David Gardner
Ottawa Symphony Historian | Historien de l’ Orchestre symphonique d’ Ottawa

Alain Trudel
Ottawa Symphony Music Director | directeur musicale

Read All About It!

Read the programme notes written by Dr. David Gardner for the Ottawa Symphony premiere of Garbage Concerto in 1996.

More Fun Facts about Jarvlepp

Listen to the first commercial recording of Jarvlepp’s Garbage Concerto by BIS  Records AB of Sweden, featuring the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Jarvlepp acknowledges the Ottawa Symphony premiere as pivotal to this recording.

Hear a preview of Jarvlepp’s forthcoming album, Concerto 2000 and Other Works, being released Summer 2020.