Ryan Latimer: Antiarkie

From Tom and Jerry’s pugilistic pantomime of Liszt’s Second Hungarian Rhapsody to Bugs Bunny’s drag sashay as a Wagnerian Valkyrie, the classical canon provided a wellspring of comically absurd scenarios, with music to match, for the creators of Looney Tunes. Ryan Latimer was first introduced to orchestral music through these cartoon soundtracks and pays homage to them with his 2018 composition Antiarkie, from which the title of this “portrait album” for NMC Recordings is derived. Like the diabolical weapons of the ACME Corporation, Latimer’s tonal language is kinetic, cunning, deviously antic, and remarkably successful in delivering its comedic payload.