Gabriel Prokofiev, Unltd Collective - Pastoral Reflections (Beethoven: Pastorale 21) (2024) [Official Digital Download]

‘Pastoral 21’ is a contemporary exploration on what the concept of ‘Pastoral’ means to us in this time of climate crisis.It features classical string sextet alongside field recordings, electronic bass and angular beats, cantered around Gabriel Prokofiev’s contemporary response to Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony.The album opens with the original first movement of Beethoven’s famous symphony (arranged for sextet), reminding listeners of our less troubled relationship with nature in Beethoven’s time, before moving on to the modern beats of Prokofiev’s recent composition ‘Breaking Screens’, which explores ideas of consumerism, digital life and impending crisis.The programme climaxes with the five-movement ‘Pastoral Reflections’, which echoes Beethoven’s symphonic narrative, but from a contemporary perspective.