Cultural Dysfunction

Item details

• Description +

  • In those days when I was writing Cultural Dysfunction, the dominant themes in society were the refugee crisis, the rise of right-wing populism, integration, fear of the impact of the cultural clash and society's reactions.
    
    Naturally, this certain atmosphere thus shaped me and inspired me to write this work. Discord and collision in people's living spaces, where differences collide, and at the same time acclimatisation.
    
    My imagined sound world was permeated with irrelevant motifs merging into each other, contrasts converging and uniting, and force through physical effort. While composing this virtuoso work, I was inspired by the playing of pianist Felix Nagl and percussionist Lucas Gerin, whereupon I dedicated the work to these two artists.
    
    Emil Kuyumcuyan

• Instrumentation +

  • Required Instruments
    
    Percussion:
    Vibraphone (normal)
    Vibraphone (prepared) - preparation: ad. lib.
    It’s possible to play on one unprepared vibraphone if two vibraphones are not available.

    Thai Gongs (E, B flat, d, e flat, e, g flat, a, b flat)
    Flexatone (preferably high)
    Tam-tam
    2 Turkish or Chinese Cymbals
    Japanese Bowl
    Siren Whistle (e.g., Acme Siren Whistle)
    Music Box with punch card (ad. lib.)
    Piano:
    Grand Piano
    Siren Whistle

• Watch+

  • Performed by Lucas Gerin (percussion) Felix Nagl (piano)

• About the composer +

  • Istanbul-born Emil Kuyumcuyan (kuːjuːmdʒuːjɑːn) is a percussionist, composer and electronic musician with Croatian, Greek, Armenian, and African roots. His original identity as a musician is shaped by influences of contemporary-classical, jazz and Anatolian music, which blend into a unique performing language.
    
    Emil tours as a soloist; he creates concert programs consisting of percussion music with new commissions, existing repertoire and his own compositions. He performed as a soloist with AskoSchönberg Ensemble and Choeur de Radio France. He also tours as a member of Les Percussions de Strasbourg and Trio K/D/M and as a guest performer with ensembles including Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Modern, Boulez Ensemble, Ensemble Ascolta, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Opera de Paris and Slagwerk Den Haag to name a few. Besides his compositions, his concert repertoire includes masterworks from J.S. Bach to living composers' newest pieces. He regularly collaborates with contemporary composers and is active in the multimedia performance and musical theatre fields. In 2019 he made his first audiovisual creation, entitled "I S T A N B U L | the roots", a multimedia performance inspired by the city.
    
    The eclectic musician performs as a percussionist, primarily in the contemporary-classical music scene, and composes instrumental and electronic music. The acclaimed percussionist won first prize at the Tromp International Percussion Competition, the most noteworthy percussion focused international competition. His other accolades include first-prize as a soloist at the Stockholm International Music Competition and a prize for his trio at the International Percussion Competition Luxembourg.
    
    In 2023 he released his first electronic album, It's Not About Me, by WIC Recordings, which incorporates elements of IDM and Drum and Bass while still showcasing his classical music background. He also composes for more diverse instrumental and electronic formations and has received commissions from the Philharmonie Cologne (KoelnMusik), Kunststiftung Baden- Württemberg, IPEA Competition Shanghai, and the World Marimba Competition Stuttgart.
    
    Emil Kuyumcuyan shares his artistic expertise worldwide and is regularly invited as a judge in international competitions; he is also a passionate teacher. He is a Tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and since October 2023, he is the Professor for Percussion at the HFMDK Frankfurt (the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts). Born in a mélomane house in Istanbul and growing up listening to many musical genres, Emil began his musical education at 12 years old at the Mimar Sinan State Conservatory in Istanbul, where he started playing the trombone before discovering his passion for percussion. In the early periods, while studying in the busy schedule of the conservatory, he learned the profound classical music culture and theory. He also discovered his early and significant musical influences from Metal, Jazz and Contemporary Music, through artists like Metallica, Dave Holland Quintet, Esbjörn Svensson Trio and Pierre Boulez.
    
    After finishing high school, he went to study percussion at the "The State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart" where he learned from Marta Klimasara, Klaus Dreher, Jürgen Spitschka and Harald Löhle. Later, his musical affinity led him to study in France with Jean Geoffroy at CNSMDL (National High Conservatory Of Music And Dance Of Lyon).
    
    Emil has been endorsed by Kolberg, Yamaha and Turkish Cymbals.
    
    Besides all these, he loves to spend time with family and friends, is a Ramen lover, loves to cook, loves the sunshine, a walk in autumn, Paris, linguistics, reading, and doing unneeded stuff.

• Reviews +

  • Review (Percussive Notes, February 2025)

    This is a whirlwind of a piece! Although the score calls for two vibraphones, if only one is available, the prepared vibraphone part can be played on a normal one. There are no instructions on how to prepare the vibraphone; it is left up to the player’s discretion. The music box listed is also optional as it only plays at the very end of the work.

    This piece was written to reflect the discord happening in the world, with interjections and melodic motifs that do not really fit together. The piano part requires an advanced pianist with strong rhythmic skills. The percussion part is the same. Very often the clashing motifs are sudden bursts of fast thirty-second notes and strongly syncopated rhythms. Strong four-mallet playing is a definite requirement for this work. With the interplay between the two performers, there will need to be a very strong sense of communication and knowledge of the other’s part. The percussionist must also be adept at switching instruments very quickly, particularly between the two vibraphones.

    The piece begins with fast moving scalar and arpeggiated lines in both parts. Over the first section, the rhythms begin to calm and the work slows, although those fast notes will interject throughout the work. The middle section is meterless and free, where although note values are used, they are more for the purpose of staying together. This section consists mainly of block chords in the piano with the percussionist using the bowls, the gongs, and vibraphone for their sustaining purposes. The next section is mixed meter with big block chord interjections that slowly take over until both parts are performing loud dissonant and syncopated chords in unison. The piece ends with the piano playing sustained octave C’s in the low range, and the percussionist finishes it with a loud hit with a bass drum mallet on the low-end strings of the piano.

    This work would be a huge undertaking for any duo. The rhythmic complexity and overall technique needed would make this a great work for a graduate-level or chamber recital. With its contemporary feel, it would also go well on a new-music ensemble concert. Its whirlwind nature and fast-moving notes are sure to please any audience and will show off the technical prowess of the performers. Thank you to Kuyumcuyan for offering a brilliant concert work to our repertoire.

    —Josh Armstrong

• Credits +

  • Front Cover graphics and layout: Nicola Lee
    Printed in Copenhagen, Denmark
    Copyright © Edition SVITZER
    With support from Koda’s Cultural Funds

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