interstitial ˌin-tər-ˈsti-shəl adjective
: of or relating to the spaces between intervals, sections or segments (interstices)
_________
The word interstitial has appeared in 22 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on March 3 in the music review “The Bloom Is Still on Claire Chase’s Monumental Project” by Seth Colter Walls:
The evening concluded with a performance of Edgard Varèse’s “Density 21.5,” the 20th-century classic that has motivated Ms. Chase’s 21st-century pursuit of new repertoire. That brief work’s stark cries of heraldry served as a moving, climactic end to a show that was paced to entertain.
In progressing without breaks for applause over 75 minutes, this concert’s movement from one piece to the next was, at times, too smooth. Brief tape-music compositions by Bahar Royaee and Mr. Lorenzo (who also contributed an LED artwork titled “Light Flute” to the staging) were presented casually — essentially serving as interstitial music, while Ms. Chase darted between platforms inside the Kitchen’s space. Though as far as downsides go, this occasional sense of being too charged-up is the right kind of problem for an organizer to have during a multidecade initiative as demanding as this one.
_________
