On September 25, this year’s Ultima festival in Oslo will close with the world premiere of a dazzling and virtuosic new work for percussion trio and orchestra by Rolf Wallin.
Mountainwave has been commissioned by SISU Percussion Ensemble and is an extended orchestral version of Stonewave, a work the Norwegian composer wrote for the group in the 1990s. It will be performed with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra conducted by Ingar Bergby. The concert also features Wallin’s percussion fanfare Frap, as well as Adieu, a musical tribute to Lutoslawski by Arne Nordheim.
Stonewave is one of the earliest pieces in which Wallin applied fractal mathematics to generate his musical material, a technique he has continued to use ever since. The composer describes the resulting rhythmic and melodic patterns, constantly varying, as suggestive of ‘an invisible ritual’.
SISU Percussion Ensemble has enjoyed a long and productive relationship with Wallin, performing and recording many of his works including a portrait album of his music - TWINE - on the Nonclassical label earlier this year.
