BEST OF 2008 - Time Out New York

Ulysses was composed in 1983. The scene where Ulysses, disguised, strings his bow, after his traitorous suitors have failed, thus winning back his kingdom and his wife, struck me (above and beyond its conclusive force in the story) as the most visually compelling theatrical scene I had ever witnessed.

Its presence as pure movement suggested treatment of the subject as a full-length ballet, and the first complete performance, by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project on October 3, 2003, makes possible an evaluation of the score. The theatrical viability of the piece is still an open question which I hope the musical representation will pose.

- John Harbison