Images

Item details

• Description +

  • Duration: 12 min.
    
    Preface
    In 1992, I started with Fredrik Duvling at the Academy of Music and Drama, University of Gothenburg, Sweden to study percussion with Bo Holmstrand and Einar Nielsen. Already the first week we started playing duo with each other and as a great inspiration we had the Danish percussion duo Safri Duo. We studied several works our Danish role models had in their repertoire such as the arrangement of Ravel's Alborada del gracioso, Re-Percussion by Per Nörgård and Miinoru Miki's Marimba Spiritual in a version for two percussionists.
    
    Today, almost 30 years later, Fredrik and I have worked closely with composers who written a fantastic personal repertoire for us who have followed us on numerous tours and recordings. When we talked about the future after this summer's tour, Fredrik suggested:- Why don’t you write something for us?
    
    Musicians who have played together for a long time often become a mirror image of the other player, perhaps it is most clearly seen among percussionists? When timing, phrasing, nuances and movements work in the interplay, the musicians become shadows of each other.
    
    With the first movement of Images, I want to create a dreamlike atmosphere where the musicians become a shadow, an echo of each other. The second movement is very rhythmic where the percussionists become a mirror image of each other with unison rhythms that energetically drive the music to the virtuoso ending.
    
    Daniel Berg

• Instrumentation +

  • Vibraphone and Marimba

• Watch+

  • Performed by Rhythm Art Duo (Fredrik Duvling & Daniel Berg)

• About the composer +

  • Daniel Berg is a Swedish composer, musician, and professor in classical percussion at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and at the Academy of music and drama in Gothenburg.
    
    In his passion to promote the marimba as a solo- and chamber music instrument, Daniel has worked intimately with a number of composers who have written original music for the instrument. This includes more than 300 world premier for solo and chamber works. Daniel Berg is a marimba artist of Bergerault and Elite Mallets.
    
    As a composer Daniel has written a lot for solo marimba like Mistral (for Michael Burritt), Phoenix (for Robert van Sice) and Yán Jiâng (for  the Taiwan World Percussion Competition). His music for percussion ensemble have been appreciated and often performed like Kroumata (for sextet) and Arctic Nights (for quintet) - all published by Edition Svitzer.

• Reviews +
  • Review (Percussive Notes, October 2021)
     
    “Images” is an excellent piece for two percussionists to showcase their virtuosity and tandem performance abilities. This piece creates a mysterious atmosphere that develops into an exciting second half. The marimba and vibraphone’s voices are both used effectively, displaying a variety of techniques that add to the interesting soundscape created by the piece.
    
    
    About the piece, the composer writes, “Musicians who have played together for a long time often become a mirror image of the other player; perhaps it is most clearly seen among percussionists? When timing, phrasing, nuances and movements work in the interplay, the musicians become shadows of each other. With the first movement of ‘Images,’ I want to create a dreamlike atmosphere where the musicians become a shadow, an echo of each other. The second movement is very rhythmic where the percussionists become a mirror image of each other with unison rhythms that energetically drive the music to the virtuoso ending.”
     
    —Cassie Bunting
• Credits +

  • Art work (Photo): Bengt Berglund
    Front Cover: Ronni Kot Wenzell
    Photo (Daniel Berg): Jon Liinason
    Engraving: Johan Svitzer / Daniel Berg
    Printed in Copenhagen, Denmark
    Copyright © Edition SVITZER
    www.editionsvitzer.com

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