The first movement of my Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra was premiered at Musikkens Hus in Aalborg in connection with the P2 Prize concert, a major Danish classical radio event connected to DR P2, the Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s classical music station.
The soloist was Anders Kann Elten, winner of the P2 Talent Prize 2019 and one of the world’s leading marimba players, with Aalborg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mikhail Agrest. The performance was broadcast by DR P2 and later released on YouTube.
I have been fascinated by working with Anders, who is one of the most musical people I know. My strongest memory of the piece is not a general idea about the marimba, but the experience of writing for a player whose musical instinct made the instrument feel larger than its usual repertoire image.
The concerto has later been discussed in Hungarian marimba literature, including articles by Márton Szíves in Parlando on ideokinetics, Fluid Movement, Theodor Milkov’s technique and the pianist-like approach to marimba playing.
Sources and documentation
- Márton Szíves, Ideokinetika és Fluid Movement – I. rész: A mozgássablonok, Parlando, 2019
- Márton Szíves, Ideokinetika és Fluid Movement – II. rész: Fluid Movement elemzése, Parlando, 2019
- Márton Szíves, Pianistic Approach – A zongoraszerű játékmód úttörő szemléletei I., Parlando, 2024
- A recording of the first movement is available on YouTube.