Jans Strauss leads an explosive collection of the best players from around the world in the Royal Califa Philharmonic Orchestra. Choosing to bring to life avant-garde and experimental pieces, Jans Strauss--having conducted other orchestras worldwide--decided to gather the best players on the planet with the intention of performing only the most cutting edge and avant-garde compositions. Wanting to be isolated from the mainstream pressures and demands of the big city and government, Strauss formed the Royal Califa Philharmonic Orchestra on an isolated and peaceful island just off the coast of Madagascar--Seychelles. Avoiding press and publication due to artistic reasons, the RCPO has created this page to serve as a small glimpse into their works. The page at various times will feauture work from the past and from their present. As of May 2005, Strauss is preparing the Orchestra for one of its most ambitious projects to date--a collaboration with the hardcore/experimental band AURELIUS with the hope of creating a vast avant-garde soundscape that is both challenging to the listener as well as soothing.
---Current Recordings:
Battle Hymn of Badung (Anon. 1982-)
Jans Strauss:
'One of the most challenginly sparse pieces we have attempted to date. An amazing composition for gamelan, hand bells, french horn, a small string section, and trap kit. The composer made some very specific notes in the score concerning the arrangement. It mentioned that while the particular use of the trap kit may seem odd at first, that it is monumentally the most important voice in the piece. This piece serves as a reminder of the bloody end of a military coup in the city of Badung. The composer notes that the trap kit symoblizes the key suicide bomber that ended the battle by taking the life of the leader of the controlling military. Quite appropriate, once the context is fully understood."
--read a special interview with french horn soloist Hon. Tyrone D. Whitfield III in the blog section--
