Brisk

Esa Pietilä

13 views

Duo

2018

13 min.

Cello

Percussion

Pitched Percussion

Strings, bowed

Program Notes: From the very start of the composing process, the work started to sound Japanese in my mind's ear. I could not find a specific reason for this, but perhaps the idea came from the sound marimba, which for me easily reminds Far Eastern colours. Be it as it may, the work was planned to be a playful race or contest of the solostic qualities of both the cello and the marimba. This race would show the instruments as equal partners. The work takes the duo through different textural landscapes and dares the instrumentalists to virtuoso playing and even improvisation. A large, 5.5-octave marimba supports the low register of the cello. Though the work is virtuoso, even wild, there is a place for more tranquil, contemplative moments. I fell that Zen and the peacefulness of a Japanese garden are present in this work. – Esa Pietilä, 2018
Recording Notes: Recorded live by cellist Eeva Rysä (principal solo cellist of Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra) and percussionist Kazutaka Morita (percussionist at Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra)