The New York Times (The Arts) Sunday, November 19, 1989

John Rockwell:
Brooklyn Ensemble And Moondog's Return



From either inclination or a lack of opportunity, composers who frequent New Music America festivals do not normally write for symphonic forces. Not all the festivals have even offered such extravaganzas. But this year's 10th-anniversary festival gathered itself together Thursday night for a Brooklyn Philharmonic program at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Majestic Theater - which has already proven itself a fine acoustical venue for such events.
Actually, the billing was the Brooklyn Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, even if some 50 musicians were mustered for Moondog's music at the end. But except for Robert Moran's score for only 12 players, all the music was orchestrally conceived.

The newsiest aspect of the evening was the return to New York concert life of Moondog, also known as Louis T. Hardin. Mr. Hardin is best remembered by old-time New Yorkers for his habit of standing on Avenue of the Americas in the 1960's dressed in full Viking regalia. He also had a cult following among composers, chief among them Philip Glass, and it is possible to hear elements of Mr. Glass's style in Mr. Hardin's simple reiterations.

The most charming ("Paris," "New Amsterdam" and "New York") evoked the bustle and energy of those cities on a somewhat more expansive scale than the other pieces.