Located in the UK
Located in the USA
Located in Europe
- Kevin Volans
Akrodha (1998)
- Chester Music Ltd (World)
Commissioned by the Swedish Concert Institute
Dedicated to Jonny Axelsson
Programme Note
As is often the case with percussion music, this piece was written blind, so to speak: the first draft is little more than a proposal to the percussionist who lets the composer know what is possible and what isn’t. Despite working with percussion for a number of years I have always underestimated both the percussionists’ abilities and the demands I make on them. What may appear as a moderate piece on the keyboard is amplified a hundredfold in difficulty and effect when translated, say, on to drums.
I wrote Akrodha (the title is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘freedom from anger’) for Jonny Axelsson in 1998. When I arrived to rehearse with him, I rested in the adjoining room while he warmed up. Suddenly I heard what sounded like a whole tribe of drummers going wild next door. It turned out I had written, to my embarrassment, an unspeakably difficult piece, and Jonny, without a murmur, had followed my demands to the letter.
The piece is in two movements, one with metal instruments and one with drums, and is dedicated to Jonny.
Kevin Volans
I wrote Akrodha (the title is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘freedom from anger’) for Jonny Axelsson in 1998. When I arrived to rehearse with him, I rested in the adjoining room while he warmed up. Suddenly I heard what sounded like a whole tribe of drummers going wild next door. It turned out I had written, to my embarrassment, an unspeakably difficult piece, and Jonny, without a murmur, had followed my demands to the letter.
The piece is in two movements, one with metal instruments and one with drums, and is dedicated to Jonny.
Kevin Volans
Media
Scores
Score sample
Reviews
[The] recital was a showcase of Volans' imagination, his ability to draw an almost infinite array of patterns and effects from a relatively limited range of unpitched instruments. The 1985 She Who Sleeps with a Small Blanket is already a bit of a classic. The brief and violent Asanga (1997), however, and the expansive and wonderfully intricate Akrodha (1998) are not so well known, but clearly should be.
24th November 2004
Discography
Jonny Axelsson Plays Volans & Sharman
- Labelj a p r
- SoloistJonny Axelsson
- Released31st January 2011