SKU: ST.AC13

ISBN 9790220202667.

Arranged for Wind Quintet. Score and Parts.

SKU: HL.49016219

ISBN 9790001146449. UPC: 884088202538. 9.0x12.0x0.195 inches.

The chiaroscuro-technique developed by painters of the Italian renaissance served to intensify contrasts and effects of optical depth. In Klar/Obskur, I tried to transfer the general idea of this technique on the rather unusual instrumentation of two double-reed woodwinds and piano. On the one hand, a clear, well articulated playing is characteristic for these instruments, on the other hand, they have an often underestimated potential of 'twilight': air-sounds and fragile, shady colours have a especially attractive when being produced by double-reed instruments (which are often, and superficially regarded as being less capable of differentiated sounds than flute or clarinet). The piano, too, has a broad bandwidth of possibilities between percussive and delicate playing to complement the woodwinds which, in return, can absorb and continue the fading piano sounds.The beginning introduces the two contrasting elements that form the basic material for the piece: a clear, sharp chord, followed by fragile, dim sounds. The changes between these elements as well as their combination and amalgamation produce an enormous spectrum of colours and gesture. After this 'motto-like' opening follow four quite clearly separated short sections, each of them being characterised by a well-defined texture: a partly almost imperceptible air-sound passage, a short sequence of microintervallic notes, a burst of virtuosity and a recourse to the fragile sounds of the beginning.The second, longer main part consists of three sections merging subtly into each other: a short unisono-passage, marked elastic [federnd], is being dissolved into its basic elements; from these remainders, a confrontation of low, 'arcane' bassoon and piano sounds and a strongly ornamented melodic line of the oboe emerges, leading to a short but powerful climax. The piece is concluded by an extended, relaxed epilogue, containing a short piano solo and a duet of oboe and bassoon and, finally, a quotation of the 'elastic' character of the middle section.Benjamin Schweitzer.

SKU: FG.55011-508-8

ISBN 9790550115088.

Kimmo Hakola's Wind Quintet op. 96 (2017) was commissioned by the Kimito Island Music Festival. The composer sees that making the ensemble ultimately breathe and express itself as an organic, coherent subject should be the aim in composing for wind quintet. The normal chamber-music configuration is not a sufficient basis for me in composing a wind quintet: the instruments have to be compressed, reduced, even crushed together so that, in pairs and different combinations, they produce new, viable audio units. Collision often generates something new. Kimmo Hakola has gone through a number of styles and influences in his career as a composer, his idiom expanding at times to embrace Romanticism, Orientalism and klezmer. He has attained international recognition with an output that spans various genres from intimate solo works to full-length operas such as La Fenice (2011) commissioned by the Savonlinna Opera Festival. Many of his works are expansive and epic: his Piano Concerto (1996), for instance, clocks in at 55 minutes. Hakola says that he sees music as drama. His dramas explore almost Shakespearean extremes, from moments of raging sound and fury and violent battles to quiet moments of meditation and heart-rending monologues.

SKU: P2.10005

The capitol city of Lincoln, Nebraska is full of beautiful parks of various shapes and functions, most of which are connected through a series of elaborate bicycle paths. The Parks of Lincoln is a reaction to five of these parks, each very different in aesthetic and appeal. From the windy shores at Holmes Lake Park through the activity-filled playgrounds of Antelope Park (and making a few other stops along the way) to finally end in the expansive rolling prairies of Pioneers Park, The Parks of Lincoln takes its audience on a captivatingly fun-filled journey from one side of Lincoln to the other in a whirlwind of excitement and emotion.