Durata: 10'
Orchestration: 1111, 2200, timp, soprano, mezzo soprano, strings

In 2013 The Vadstena Academy was given the Guldkvasten Award which included the funds to commission a piece. The Vadstena Academy chose to commission a new piece by Tarrodi, for soprano, mezzosoprano and orchestra. The piece, called Aprilserenad (Serenade in April) was based on one of Christina, Queen of Sweden´s aphorisms. It was premiered in Vadstena Klosterkyrka on July 31, 2014 by musicians from the Vadstena Academy.

Aprilserenad - for Soprano, Mezzo and Chamber Orchestra (excerpt)

Durata: 8'
Orch: Fl 1, Fl 2/Picc, Ob 1, Ob 2/Eng Hn, Cl in Bb, Cl in Eb, Bsn 1, Bsn 2/Cbsn, Hn 1-2, Trp 1-2, 1 Perc. 

Serenade in Seven Colours was commissioned by Västmanlandsmusiken and written for Västerås Sinfonietta´s winds and percussion. The piece is premiered at the Västerås Concert Hall on November 21, 2013 

Verkkommentar: "Serenade in Seven Colours" började, kan man säga, med två inspirationskällor. Den ena var Mozarts Serenad Nr 10 för 13 blåsare, och framför allt då den 3e satsen - "Adagio" . De långa sångbara melodilinjerna mot den enkla pulsen var ett uttryck jag själv ville försöka fånga. Den andra inspirationskällan var Quiet Nights med Miles Davis och Gil Evans, en skiva jag lyssnat på intensivt under vintern och våren 2013. Från dessa två ganska skiljda utgångspunkter satte jag igång att komponera. Stycket började så småningom ta form och musiken fick eget liv, liksom flöt iväg och formades till något helt annat, även om man fortfarande kanske kan höra spår av inspirationskällorna. För min inre syn skiftar stycket i flera olika färger. Det börjar i en mörkt blå/lila ton som gradvis går över i en nästan vitt ljus. Sedan träder xylofonen in med knallröda färgstänk som så småningom med resten av ensemblen nästan exploderar i ett färgfyrverkeri; och så till sist slockar musiken ut i ett gulvitt disigt skimmer..." - Andrea Tarrodi

Serenade in Seven Colours - for Winds and Percussion (excerpt)

Durata: 20' 

Madárdal - String Quartet No 2 was premiered by the Dahlkvist Quartet on June 7, 2013, at the Mellby Atelier, Österlen, Sweden, broadcasted live by Sveriges Radio P2

Verkkommentar: "Madárdal - String Quartet No 2 beställdes av Sveriges Radio P2 och skrevs för Dahlkvistkvartetten. Verket är inspirerat av ungersk/romska och svenska folkmelodier. 
Första satsen bygger på fragment från ungersk/romska folkmelodier. Vi hör i huvudsak två - utifrån fragmenten framkomponerade - teman som flätas samman i en slags rytmisk, harmonisk och melodisk lek. Andra satsen, som långsamt flyter fram, har inspirerats av de svenska folkmelodiernas dur- och molltonalitet, och kanske kan man trots överlagringar och annorlunda harmonik ändå höra skiftningar av "Polska från Medelpad" och "Emigrantvisa"... Så tillslut, i tredje satsen, har jag låtit de två tidigare satserna med sina olika teman och fraser mötas, och ytterligare rytm, harmonik och melodik framträder. Genom hela verket har jag även låtit ungerska och svenska fågelarters läten skymta fram och de återvänder med jämna mellanrum under styckets gång. Titeln på verket, "Madárdal", är ungerska och betyder just "fågelsång". " - Andrea Tarrodi 


Comment: "Madárdal – String Quartet No 2 was commissioned by Sveriges Radio P2 and written for the Dahlkvist Quartet. The piece is inspired by both Swedish and Hungarian folk songs. Since I am half Swedish and half Hungarian I thought that it would be an interesting way of composing a piece. ”Madárdal” consists of three movements. The first movement (Allegro) is built on fragments from Romany/Hungarian melodies and gestures. The second movement (Adagio) is based on particularily two Swedish folk songs; ”Emigrantvisa” and ”Polska från Medelpad”. In the third and last movement (Allegro/Presto), the Hungarian/Romany and Swedish folk songs meet. Throughout the piece you also may hear both Hungarian and Swedish bird species. ”Madárdal” is the Hungarian word for ”birdsong”, hence the title." - Andrea Tarrodi

Madàrdal - String Quartet No 2 (excerpt)

Durata: 3'30'' 

Kommentar: "Crystallites" för solo piano beställdes av Sveriges Radio P2 och skrevs för pianisten Peter Friis Johansson. "Crystallites" betyder "kristalliter". Kristalliter är små kristaller, så små att dess egenskaper inte ens kan bestämmas med mikroskop. När jag skrev stycket tänkte jag mig snökristaller som faller, som vid första anblick ser likadana ut allihop. Men zoomar man in ser man att de var och en har sin egen struktur. Stycket har också en slags fallande form. Det börjar i ett väldigt ljust register och faller successivt allra längst ned i pianots lägsta register. Stycket avslutas sedan med en kort coda - några enstaka snöflingor som blivit kvar däruppe, frusit fast..." - Andrea Tarrodi


Crystallites - for Solo Piano (excerpt)

Durata: 6'40''
Minimum 30 voices

Tarrodi´s Andrum Juli, with lyrics by Tomas Tranströmer, was commissioned by Sveriges Radio P2 and written for the Swedish Radio Choir. The piece was premiered by the choir during the Baltic Sea Festival at the Berwald Concert Hall on August the 30th, 2012. 

Andrum juli 

Den som ligger på rygg under de höga träden
är också däruppe. Han rännilar sig ut i tusentals
kvistar gungar fram och tillbaka,
sitter i en katapultstol som går loss i ultrarapid.

Den som står nere vid bryggorna kisar mot vattnen.
Bryggorna åldras fortare än människor.
De har silvergrått virke och stenar i magen.
Det bländande ljuset slår ända in.

Den som färdas hela natten i öppen båt
över de glittrande fjärdarna
ska somna till sist inne i en blå lampa
medan öarna kryper som stora nattfjärilar över glaset. 

- Tomas Tranströmer 


Breathing room: July - Eng. transl. by May Swanson

Lying on his back under tall trees
he is also up there. He rills into thousands of twigs and branches,
is swayed back and forth,
as if in a catapult seat outflung in slow motion.

Standing down by the jetties he squints across the waters.
The docks age sooner than men.
Made of splintered silver grey planks, and with stones in their bellies.
The blinding light rips its way straight through.

Sailing all day in an open boat
over the glittering bights,
he will fall asleep at last inside a blue lamp
while islands like great nocturnal moths creep over the glass


Andrum Juli - for Mixed Choir

Durata: 10'00''
Orchestration: 2222, 2200, 2perc, str. 

Lucioles for orchestra was commissioned by the Swedish Chamber Orchestra. The piece was premiered by the orchestra on March 29, 2012, at the Örebro Concert Hall.


Comment: Lucioles for orchestra was inspired by a haiku-poem about fireflies. Lucioles is French for fireflies. 

Lucioles - Eldflugor
Vid näckrosbladen
lägger eldflugorna till.
Sjön lyser inatt. 


transl.
Lucioles - Fireflies
By the lily leaves
the fireflies anchor
the lake is illuminated

Lucioles - for Orchestra (excerpt)

Durata 10'
Orchestration: 2222, 2200, 2perc, str. 

Andrea Tarrodi´s Zephyros for orchestra won 1st prize in the Uppsala Composition Competition. The piece was premiered on the 4th of March, 2010, by Uppsala Chamber Orchestra and conductor Paul Mägi.

Comment: "Zephyros for orchestra was inspired by a poem by Dan Andersson called Sång till Västanvinden (Song to the Wind of the West).
Zephyros was the god of the west wind in greek mythology." 


Sång till västanvinden

Åh, dansa, sommarstorm med djupa orglars brus
och dansa hem till Lotalam och Stenbrobergets häll!
Smek barndomsdalen, starke vän, i julis heta ljus
när Mattao och Luossa färgas röda i kväll.

Du stora storm, du är min själ, och du är utan bo,
du sett för mycket för att vila mer.
Men hälsa allt som andas i tysta dalars ro
och säg mig alla under som där sker!

Ty när du kommer dansande jag hör en gammal sång,
en psalm, ett skratt, en snyftning från myrarna och sjön.
Tag om och om refrängen, jag vill sitta natten lång
vid öppna dörrar stilla som i bön.

Din sång i natt är stoj och glam ur glädjedruckna hus
och låt av horn, fiol och flickors skratt.
Och det som ej har ord det är förborgat i ditt sus
och sång som ej har toner har din natt!

O, västanstorm, en gång när jag är kvitt med vägen min
och stilla vid den mörka dörren står,
då skall du liksom be för mig när jag tyst går in
i det land dit sol och nätter icke når.

Dan Andersson (1918)

Zephyros - for Orchestra (excerpt)

Durata: 6' 
Setting: Tenor & Violoncello 

"Sorg och Glädje" for tenor and violoncello was commissioned by the American Mirror Visions Ensemble as part of their concert programme "Sounds of Swedish Poetry". Lyrics are by Johan Ludvig Runeberg. The piece was dedicated to tenor Scott Murphree and cellist Mimi Brundin-Sunnerstam. It was premiered by them at in Paris on May 7, 2015. 

The poem:

Sorg och glädje båda 
bodde i mitt hjärta, 
sorg i ena kammarn, 
glädje i den andra. 
Oförsonligt skilda, 
rådde än den ena, 
än den andra ensam. 
Se'n den enda kom dit, 
lär hon öppnat dörren 
och förenat båda, 
ty min sorg är sällhet 
och min glädje vemod

- Johan Ludvig Runeberg 1870


Sorg och Glädje - for Tenor and Violoncello (excerpt)

Durata 8'30''
Str: minimum 54321 

Paradisfåglar - Birds of Paradise was written for Musica Vitae in autumn 2008. The music was inspired by one of the Planet Earth films about the strange and beautiful birds of paradise.

Paradisfåglar - for Strings (excerpt)

Durata 6'00'' 

Lullaby for Hedvig was commissioned by Trio Trivium. The piece was premiered in 2007 and has since then been performed by the trio several times.

Comment: " The piece was dedicated to my niece Hedvig, born in 2006. The melody theme was based on the letters in her name, H, E, D and G. " - Andrea Tarrodi

Lullaby For Hedvig  - for Flute, Violin and Guitar (excerpt)

Durata: 11'00''

Pausoli´s song was commissioned by Nordland Musikkfestuke and was premiered by Christian Lindberg and Roland Pöntinen on the 3rd of August in 2009 at the Nordland Music Festival in Bodø, Norway. 

Comment: "When I was 4 years old I used to have an imaginary friend called Pausoli. When Nordland Musikkfestuke offered me the opportunity to write this piece I decided to bring Pausoli back to life." 

Pausolis Song - for Trombone and Piano (excerpt)

Durata: 7'00''

I augusti, sensommar - In August, late summer was written for the Helikon Chamber Trio consisting of Christian Lindberg on trombone, Jens Lundberg on bandoneon and Andrea Tarrodi on piano. The piece was premiered on the 22nd of July 2010 at the Musicaldas Festival in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. 

Comment: I augusti, sensommar was inspired by Sommarboken (the Summer Book), by the finish author Tove Jansson. 
A chapter in the book is called "I augusti" (In August). 

I augusti 

Det är fortfarande sommar men den lever inte längre, den har stannat av utan att vissna och hösten är inte färdig att komma 

Det som fortfarande blommade var rött eller gult, starka färgfläckar över tången, inne i skogen fanns några väldiga vita rosor som slog ut och levde ett dygn i andlös prakt

Ur Sommarboken av Tove Jansson


( In August 

It is still summer but it does not live any longer, it has stopped without withering and autumn is not yet ready to come 

The flowers that still blossomed were red or yellow. Deep into the woods a few white roses bloomed and lived for one day only in all their glory )


I Augusti, Sensommar - for Bandoneon, Trombone and Piano (excerpt)

Durata 5'30''

NåLå won 1st prize in the ENM(Ensemble for New Music) composition contest and was premiered in april 2009. The piece was also recorded on C-Y Contemporary Records. 

Comment: "NåLå could be described as a strange and melancholic lullaby. The lyrics consists of two nonsense words, Nå and Lå. The piece was written during a stay in Valencia, Spain and was dedicated to my niece Astrid, born in 2009."

NåLå - for Flute, Recorder, Mezzo Soprano, Harp and Glockenspiel (excerpt)

Durata: 4'30'' 

Piano
Percussion - Tamtam, glockenspiel

"Eldklotter" for piano and percussion was commissioned by Smålands Musik & Teater. The piece was premiered during the inauguration of Jönköpings new concert hall Spira. The piece was inspired by Tomas Tranströmer´s poem "Eldklotter" ("Firescribbling"). 

Eldklotter 

Under de dystra månaderna gnistrade mitt liv till
bara när jag älskade med dig
Som eldflugan tänds och slocknar, tänds och slocknar
-glimtvis kan man följa dess väg
i nattmörkret mellan olivträden

Under de dystra månaderna satt själen hopsjunken
och livlös
men kroppen gick raka vägen till dig
Natthimlen råmade.
Vi tjuvmjölkade kosmos och överlevde. 

- Tomas Tranströmer 


EldklotterDEMO

EAM - Den Ensamme

Durata: 5'00'' 

Natt (Night) for mixed Choir was premiered by Hägerstens Chamber Choir with conductor Kerstin Börjeson in Uppenbarelsekyrkan, Stockholm in 2009. It has since then been performed several times by Hägerstens Chamber Choir. The recording is from a concert in Värmland, Sweden. The piece was based on Harry Martinson´s poem 'Natt'. 


Natt - for Mixed Choir

Durata 8'00''
Minimum 16 voices 

Lume was premiered in February 2009 by The Royal College of Music in Stockholm´s Vocal Ensemble. The piece has since then been performed by Eric Ericsons Chamber Choir several times. 
'Lume' is the Italian word for light. 

Lume - for Mixed Choir (excerpt)

Durata: 10'00'' 

Miroirs - String Quartet No 1 was premiered on October 16 2011, at the Grünewald Hall, Stockholm Concert Hall, by members of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Comment: "Miroirs - String Quartet No 1 was inspired by one of Isaac Grünewald´s wall paintings in the Grünewald Hall at the Stockholm Concert House. In the painting, two people are seen facing each other and appear to be conversing. Throughout the piece, different themes and phrases can be heard "conversing" and imitating each other, like reflections in a mirror. The word 'miroirs' is French for 'mirrors'." 

Miroirs - String Quartet No 1 (excerpt)

Durata: 10'00'' 

Comment: Chàrites for harp and percussion was written for Laura Stephenson and Daniel Kåse. The piece was inspired by one of Isaac Grünewald´s wall paintings in the Grünewald Hall at the Stockholm Concert House. The painting depicts three women who appear to be dancing in a sort of trance-like way. It´s almost as if they are dancing in their sleep. Many of Grünewald's paintings in the Concert House are inspired by Greek mythology. The painting with the three dancing women makes one think of Greek mythology´s Three Graces, goddesses of dance, feast and joy. In Greek the Three Graces are called 'Chàrites' - hence the title. 


Charites - for Harp and Percussion (excerpt)

Durata: 15'00'' 
Orchestration: 1111, 1110, 2perc, hrp, pno, str. 

Andrea Tarrodi´s master´s exam piece Näktergalen - The Nightingale was premiered by KammarensembleN at the Royal College of Music on the 4th of June 2009. The piece has also been performed in Amsterdam at the Icelandic Music Days in 2011. The piece is based on a story by danish writer H.C. Andersen. 

Story: The Emperor of China hears that one of the most beautiful things in his own land is the song of the nightingale. He sends his courtiers to take a nightingale from the nearby forest and present her as a guest at court. The bird can communicate with the humans and agrees to come, but when the Emperor is given a mechanical nightingale covered with jewels, he loses interest in the real bird, which flies back to its home. The mechanical bird breaks down. When the Emperor is taken deathly ill, the real nightingale appears and its song so moves Death that he turns away and the emperor lives on. 

Näktergalen - for Chamber Orchestra (excerpt)

Durata: 10'00''

Akacia was released on record in March, 2011, dB Productions. 

Comment: "I wrote Akacia on commission for Trio KMW, during the summer of 2009. At that time I spent most of my days in the Swedish archipelago, and its beautiful and dramatic landscape had a strong impact on the piece. Akacia is comprised of two simple melodies: one first presented in violin and cello in the beginning and the other first presented in a melody played by the piano in octaves. Throughout the piece, the two themes appear in various forms. You may, for example, hear one theme as a chordal version in the piano, and the other in a canon-like dialogue between the cello and violin. Acacias are trees, also known as thorn trees, whistling thorns or wattles. The music reminded me a lot of the tree´s natural sculptural qualities, hence the title. Towards the end you may hear birds singing in the acacia tree..." - Andrea Tarrodi


Akacia - for Piano Trio (excerpt)

Durata: 8'
Orchestration: 2222 2200 1 Perc. Str

Paradisfåglar - Birds of Paradise was originally written for String orchestra. It was premiered by Musica Vitae in autumn 2008. The 2013 version for orchestra was commissioned by and decicated to the Västerås Sinfonietta. It was premiered at the Västerås Concert Hall on September 12, 2013. 

Comment: "Paradisfåglar was inspired by one of BBC:s Planet Earth films about the strange and beautiful birds of paradise. Their many different colours, the way they fly and the way the sound and sing..."

Paradisfåglar II - for Orchestra (excerpt)

Durata: 20'00'' 

Ekon över Kongahälla was commissioned by the Swedish Horn Society and Sveriges Orkesterförbund. The piece was premiered at Musikaliska on March 4, 2012 by Arméns Musikkår with soloists Markus Maskuniitty and Annamia Larsson. Conductor: Mats Janhagen. 

Verkkommentar: "Ekon över Kongahälla skrevs till minne av hornisten Sven Eliasson. Sven var ett av sju syskon som växte upp på en bondgård utanför Kungälv i Bohuslän. Kungälv kallades på medeltiden för Kongahälla, därav titeln. En av Sven Eliassons favoritlåtar som han ofta brukade sjunga och spela på pianot var 'Still crazy after all these years' med Paul Simon. Fragment av den melodin går att skymta på olika ställen i stycket, tydligast kanske i solohornstämmorna från takt 112..." 

Ekon Över Kongahalla - Concerto for Two Horns and Wind Orchestra

Durata: 4'00'' 

Fragments of the Royal Fireworks är en kommentar till Händels Fyrverkerimusik och beställdes av Musik Gävleborg till invigningskonserten av Brassfestivalen SIGNAL. Stycket uruppfördes av Stockholm Chamber Brass den 11 september 2012 i Lilla Gasklockan, Gävle.

Fragments of The Royal Fireworks - for Brass Quintet (excerpt)

Durata: 8'30'' 
Orchestration (original version): 2222, 2231, timp, 1perc, hrp, str.

Also available Orch 2: 2222, 2200, timp, 1perc, hrp, str.
Also available Orch 3: 2222, 2200, timp, 1perc, str.

Camelopardalis was commissioned by the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra. The piece was premiered at the Cape Town Music Festival on January 20, 2011, Cape Town City Hall, South Africa. The piece has also been performed by many other orchestras such as the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2013 the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra performed the piece at the Mozart Festival in Vienna. 

Comment: "One night I dreamt that I had a giraffe. We were the best of friends, my giraffe and I! I climbed up on it, and we jumped out of a window and rode away. We rode through forests, over meadows and mountains. On the horizon we saw a big red sun rising, and a flock of colourful birds flew by. When I woke up I felt immensly happy; it was such a strange and beautiful dream! At that time I was just about to start writing an orchestra piece for the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra and it just felt natural to let the piece be inspired by the dream. Camelopardalis is a constellation in the northern sky, and the word is Latin for giraffe. Somewhere in the middle of the piece you may hear the song of the giraffe, presented by the bassoon…" 


Camelopardalis  - for Orchestra (excerpt)

Durata: 3-5 min 
5 percussion players 

Comment: The piece is comprised of a few precisely notated parts, but most figures are repetitive and are indicated using box notation. The musicians decide together how many times the different figures repeat and how long each part should be, and, therefore, the duration could vary for each performance. Allthough, the duration of the piece should not exceed 7 minutes. All musicians read from the score. 

Ann-Kristins Speldosa - for Percussion Ensemble (excerpt)

Durata: 10'00''
Orchestration: 3333, 4331, timp, 3 perc, hrp, str. 

Liguria was commissioned by the Swedish Radio and written for the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. The piece was premiered by the orchestra on April 20 at Berwaldhallen, conducted by Daniel Harding. 

Comment: “On the northwest coast of Italy by the Ligurian Sea are five small fishing villages clinging to the steep cliffs. These are called Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso, and between the villages are paths connecting them through the mountains. In August, 2011, I visited this area and as soon as we arrived I knew that I wanted to write music about it. The result is a work that can be described as a “walking tour” among the small villages: Riomaggiore with its high waves; Manarola with its clock tower; Monterosso, where sunbathers stressedly hurried to secure a place on the beach and open up their colorful beach umbrellas, as if in a scene in a Fellini film; Vernazza, with its watchtower and cliffs; and lastly, Corniglia, where the night sky was filled with stars.” - Andrea Tarrodi

Liguria - for Orchestra (excerpt)

Durata: 16'00''
Orchestration: solo oboe, str. minimum 54321 

Flyttfåglar - Concertino för Oboe och Stråkar uruppfördes i Crusellhallen, Linköping, av Béla Tarrodi och Linköpings Stråkorkester den 27 mars 2011. Verket har också bl a framförts av Radiosymfonikerna med Emmanuel Laville som solist

Verkkommentar: Flyttfåglar - Konsert för oboe och stråkar skrevs för- och är tillägnat min morbror oboisten Béla Tarrodi. Stycket är också tillägnat mina morföräldrar som kom till Sverige med sina två barn i samband med Ungernkrisen 1956. Flyttfåglar är en slags minnesteckning över deras liv; hemlandet, resan och ankomsten till det nya landet och livet där. 

Stycket består av sex olika sammanhängande satser, som alla målar upp olika bilder: 

1. Slätten
2. Resan
3. Snö
4. Liljekonvalj - Gyöngyvirág
5. Minnen
6. Avsked

I sats två - Resan kan man höra ljudet av avlägsna färjebåtar, gestaltade i cello och kontrabas. Sats fyra - Liljekonvalje målar upp min mormor och morfars trädgård i sitt hem i Sverige, där det vid en sten växte liljekonvaljer, gyöngyvirág, som min mormor tyckte mycket om och ofta brukade visa mig. I stycket kan man också urskilja fraser från kända ungerska och svenska melodier. Bland annat en ungersk sång, Az a szép, som min morfar tyckte mycket om. Och de svenska sångerna Ute blåser sommarvind och Om alla berg och dalar kan kanske också skymta fram någonstans... Sista delen i stycket, Avsked, består av en melodi med samma namn komponerad av min morfar, som han skrev 1998 till minne av min mormor. Ursprungligen är den skriven för klarinett, men här får den så klinga i oboen…" - Andrea Tarrodi

Flyttfåglar - Concertino for Oboe and Strings (excerpt)

Durata: 20'
Orchestration: 2222 | 2200 | Timp | Perc | Solo Vlc | Str 

Highlands - Cello Concerto
I. Cape Wrath
II. Duncansby Stacks - Water reflections
III. Bird Cathedral
IV. Waves at Dunnet Head
V. Solo Cadenza
VI. Heights

Comment: "'Highlands' - Cello Concerto was inspired by the landscape of the Scottish highlands: the green mountains, the heights and the steep cliffs by the coast... On some level 'Highlands' is also connected to force and struggle - mainly nature´s force and struggle, but also, in some ways, one´s own... 
The concerto was commissioned by Västmanlandsmusiken. The piece was written for the Västerås Sinfonietta and cellist Jakob Korányi whose playing technique and numerous suggestions have been a great source of inspiration." - Andrea Tarrodi

Highlands - Cello Concerto (excerpt)

Durata: 16'00''
Orchestration: 2222, 2231, timp, 2 perc, hrp, str. 

Ascent - Concerto for orchestra was commissioned by the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra. The piece was premiered at De Geer Hallen, Norrköping on April 9, 2015, conducted by Catrine Winnes. 

Comment: "Ascent - Concerto for Orchestra" was written during the fall, winter and spring of 2014/15. Before starting the actual composition of the piece, I thought a lot about water and saw before me an oceanic trench. I wanted the music to begin there. I also reflected a lot on the contrasts between nature and city and how these two environments can exist in different frames of mind. One could call the form of the piece a kind of ascent from the very lowest register of the orchestra to the very highest. The work is divided into 7 cohesive movements. It begins in the stillness of the ocean trench in Part 1, "Ocean Trench." The music then gently rises to a loud crescendo and meets coral reefs and whale song in Part 2, "Whales and Corals." Then it is tossed up towards the surface in Part 3, "Breaking Surface" and swept in towards land and into the city's bustling cacophony in Part 4, "Cityscape." The roar of the city tones down for a short while in Part 5, "Chacarita Cemetery." But eventually the commotion returns again and travels on to Part 6, "Hypomanic Trails." In the last and 7:e part of the piece, "Under the Twilight Canopy," the music finally finds its way back to a kind of stillness, where I imagine a tree under a starry sky. Then it slowly rises above the crowns of the trees, higher and higher, and out into the placidity of outer space." - Andrea Tarrodi

Ascent - Concerto for Orchestra (excerpt)

Andrea Tarrodi:
Nocturne in Blue and Green - for clarinet & piano

Jonas Viklund, clarinet
Martin Sturfält, piano

Live Avesta Kyrka 28 september 2019

Nocturne in Blue and Green

Andrea Tarrodi, born in 1981, is a contemporary classical composer based in Stockholm, Sweden. Tarrodi writes for many types of ensembles, and is particularly interested in vocal and orchestral music. 

Her works have been performed by, among others, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, the Spartanburg Philharmonic, the Swedish Radio Choir and Eric Ericson´s Chamber Choir. 

Andrea Tarrodi - Composer

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