For free-bass accordion and string quartet [2005] ?Duration: c. 10
mins.
Notes:
Commissioned by the Royal Academy of Music to celebrate the 200th
anniversary of Hans Christian Anderson, Escape Velocity explores
the conflict between integration and separation and the possibilities of
transformation and individuality – a narrative that is borrowed from the
story of ‘The Ugly Duckling’. For many accordion players, their
instrument can be perceived as the ‘ugly duckling’ of the instrumental
palette, yet the diversity of the modern day free bass accordion has
potentially rendered such a view out of date. In this work, it is the
accordion that initially attempts to integrate with the string quartet,
shifting from a dark and awkward place, often hidden, transforming with
increasing bursts of energy and ultimately freeing itself from the
masking constraints of the quartet.
Escape Velocity was shortlisted for the chamber category in
the British Composers Awards 2007 in association with BBC Radio 3.
