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The world inhabited by Graeme Koehne (pronounced "kir-nir", sort of) is a remarkable synthesis of the traditional classical and the modern degenerate. I use the term "degenerate" in view of the perception among composers, performers and audience alike in their tendency to make clear separations of influence between two extremes: the high culture of classical tradition (the ivory-tower snobbery) and the low culture of popular entertainment (tainted by exploitative commercialism).

Where the influences of pop, easy listening and soundtrack music are all too easily dismissed or neglected by composers, Koehne grew up with both the formative imprimatur of the classical (Tchaikovsky and Chopin were two early Romantic influences) as well as the contemporary, in the form of pop-influenced 1960s movie and cartoon music, which has resulted in a refreshingly open, unhackneyed and unhieratical synthesis in his writing. Koehne is by no means alone in this endeavour: the Beatles-inspired Latvian composer Imants Kalnins wrote his Fourth Symphony, "Rock" (recorded by the Singapore SO on BIS CD-1052), both as a form of aesthetic expression, as well as a polemic for political protest.

Koehne's approach is also reflected in his cheekily unconventional and self-deprecating titles, an intentional irony that "classical" music need not always (pretentiously) follow the usual institutions of nomenclature with opus numbers and keys, but rather embraces the rival tradition so that each might benefit the other. Take, for instance, his orchestral trilogy of Unchained Melody (1990), Powerhouse (1993) and Elevator Music (1997), essentially the composer's decade-long experimentation in fusing the enjoyability and exuberance of pop music into a classical tradition, drawing from a rhythmic and melodic wellspring of pop and injecting them into the symphony.

The meaning in the title Unchained Melody itself can be read on several levels, not the least of which is the composer's sentiment of releasing himself from aforesaid baggage of tradition. The musical result is a ten-minute symphonic perpetuum mobile which has a strong swing-influenced "big band" feel to it, not unlike John Adams channeling Henry Mancini. The next instalment, Powerhouse (the title comes from a piece by Raymond Scott, by way of the Bugs Bunny cartoon composer Carl Stalling) is subtitled "Rhumba for Orchestra", which features a series of catchy syncopations of woodwinds and strings over a clavé beat and repeating four-note motif.

The final work of this triptych, Elevator Music, harks back to the funky 50s rhythm-driven "beat music" of John Barry and Les Baxler. The Sydney Symphony brought it with them on their 1998 tour of the USA and gave its premiere at Carnegie Hall, and fittingly, here they put all three works on record with a joie de vivre and confidence under Takuo Yuasa which is utterly idiomatic of Koehne's rich orchestrations and driven rhythms. It's not often you hear an orchestra having so much fun, or feeling yourself so compelled to get up and wiggle to classical music, but here it is.

And that's not all. Inflight Entertainment is the curiously-titled concerto for amplified oboe and orchestra, densely scored and chock full of melodic ideas, served up in symphonic proportions (running to almost thirty minutes in three movements.) It was written for Diana Doherty, the Principal Oboe of the Sydney Symphony who also won a Mo "Classical Performer of the Year" Award in 2001 giving its premiere. In a way, Inflight Entertainment is almost a signature piece of Doherty's, and on this disc, she fixes you straightaway with her limpid tone and expressive eloquence of phrasing in dialogue with the orchestra.

With Takuo Yuasa holding the orchestra taut in the outer movements and elegantly flowing in the central movement, Doherty never lacks for virtuosic bravura, striking a perfect balance in the music's dichotomy between the imperative and the contemplative, and nowhere more so than in the second movement where she brings out the gush in Koehne's unashamedly romantic writing. In typical Koehnerian fashion, this section has gone through several name changes over the years, too. Initially called Obligatory Pastorale, in reference to the classical stereotype of an oboe placed in a "pastoral" setting, it was renamed Horse Opera within the context of Inflight Entertainment. In late 2003 on Doherty's solo instrumental album Souvenirs (ABC Classics 980 046-3), it was then re-recorded as a standalone track under the monicker Way Out West. Either way, it is the same piece of music which Doherty herself has described as "that big rolling hills, Marlboro-country feel to it."

Both Unchained Melody and Powerhouse have been recorded and released in 1995 (before Elevator Music was written) by the Adelaide Symphony under David Porcelijn (ABC Classics 442 349-2). The digital sound in this new Naxos issue, however, has a wider dynamic range and the closely observed recording reveals a greater amount deal of detail in Koehne's writing. The Sydney Symphony possesses a fine body of sound, which is here given a splendid acoustic presence here by the Naxos engineers.

Koehne's surprisingly accessible music alone makes this disc a prime recommendation for anyone interested in exploring beyond the "classical", and there's bags of finger-snapping, toe-tapping pleasure to be had. Adding to this the magnificent accounts by Yuasa and Doherty (who, in all fairness, have this field all to themselves, at least until the Tasmanian Symphony comes along in their Australian Composers Series) as well as superb technical recording, and you have a truly unmissable Naxos release.

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