First Winds

For clarinet and guitar. 1st prize in III International Competition among composers “THE TIME OF THE GUITAR” 2022.

First Winds is written for Danielle Rossouw and Ekaterina Uvarova. One time, they were searching for music to play, but they couldn’t get their hands on much. I caught their frustration and decided to write a piece for them. Both Danielle and Ekaterina are skilled and talented musicians and it was only natural to pose them a musical challenge without making it difficult for difficulty’s sake. Hence, First Winds came into existence.

The structure of First Winds seems to be based on the dichotomy between measured and unmeasured sections. This dichotomy is false however. This peculiar structure is not created to emphasize the contrasts and differences, but to facilitate balance and harmony in the piece as a whole. In some way, this piece is an exercise in reciprocal writing on macro and micro level. Achieving harmony on meso level is entrusted to the performers: time markings are meant to guide the size and internal time distribution of unmeasured sections, as well as to aid in balancing the composition in its entirety.

It’s not possible to listen to a live performance of First Winds yet.