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Tsunami (1997) |
Solo piano - 1' 30"
Commissioned by the Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music, UK with funds provided by the Britten-Pears Foundation. First performance: 18 May, 1999, Wigmore Hall, London. Duncan Glenday, piano. Compact disc recording: NMC D057 Spectrum (double CD) Thalia Myers, piano (released 1999).
Tsunami is the name for a Pacific tidal wave caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption. When I was teaching at the University of Auckland, New Zealand in 1997 I noticed that most buildings especially along the coast had tsunami warnings which read: When you hear the alarm siren, do not go to the beach to watch! By the time you see it, it will already be too late to escape. A tsunami can theoretically stack water to a height of 66 meters (198 feet) and travel the width of the Pacific rim at the speed of sound.
Tsunami was commissioned for the second volume of 30 miniatures, Spectrum 2, compiled by Thalia Myers as part of her ongoing project to expand the contemporary repertoire available to students, amateurs and professionals. In 1999 I made an arrangement of the solo work adding four antiphonal percussionists playing woodblocks, claves and cymbals for John Rimmer's 60th Birthday Concert and his retirement from the University of Auckland, NZ.
© Stephen Montague