Under Construction Journal Issue 6.1 UNDER CONSTRUCTION JOURNAL 6.1 | Page 15

possibly making arrangements for the after-show party. Jurowski turns, catches the eye of a percussionist,
and with a robust downbeat brings a loud thump from the baggy bass drum. The lights dim and the
audience (respectfully) falls silent.
Introduction: 'Grim Eye'
On paper, the title of the first movement, Introduction: 'Grim Eye', shows the composition's street-wise
credentials. Does this 'grim eye' belong to Gabriel Prokofiev; a composer representing a generation of
artists battling against an unfavourable cultural environment with grim determination? Is 'grim eye' a
stylised rewriting of 'grimy' (as in 'dirty', 'smudged' or 'polluted') in reference to the 'dirty-scratchiness' of
the turntablist's techniques or the rugged West Bronx neighbourhood that gave rise to hip-hop? Can the
title be read as 'Grimey' (as in 'similar to Grime') and understood as an instruction to play in the style of
the London-born sub-genre of hip-hop within which the composer operated when writing songs for the
British rapper and Grime artist 'Lady Sovereign'? Whichever connotation one prefers, on the score, the
instructions are clear: page one, top left, is marked 'play stark, dark and tough'. 13
Respecting the composer's wishes, Jurowski establishes a strong four-in-a-bar feel at the
paradigm electro-house tempo of 140bpm. A forte double bass and bass clarinet low C accompanies
another blow on the bass drum. Suddenly, a cymbal crash, together with a thunderous gong strike
demands a response from an unwelcome guest: a guest that, unbeknownst to the orchestra, begins to
capture their every sound. The turntablist's opening salvo rejoins with a growling reversed gong and
double bass sample with white-noise scratches. The orchestra sits tacit, listening to this developing,
unfamiliar sound world. It is they who speak next; their tonal C now mutates into a discordant, low wind
and brass sforzando G with F#, accompanied by fortissimo rotor toms and splash cymbals. Again the
turntables silence the orchestra, this time with reversed gong and cymbal samples and a lengthened
scratch phrase of increasing virtuosity. A general pause allows both protagonists a moment of breath-
catching and the audience a fleeting moment of reflection. Brass and low winds resume their discordant
semitone attack while struck-reeds and shakers offer a harsh ritualistic warning to the new-comer.
Timpani, harps and brass add to the dark diffuse texture. The turntablist climbs into a higher register,
finding ever more rhythmically creative responses to suppress this imposing array of instruments intent
on silencing an outsider.
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Prokofiev, Concerto for Turntables, I: Introduction: 'Grim Eye'.
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