Histoires Vraies (2015)
(A concertante suite for piano trumpet and orchestra)

It is a piece that sustains avant-garde values with a brio, a brightness, a splintering energy, indeed, that recall the late Elliott Carter, as does manipulation of intervals within an atonal (or, in this case, more or less atonal) context. Most notable in this regard are the multiple octave tutti thwacks that punctuate her impulsive unfolding of disjunct gestures - mini inventions that effortlessly grip the attention.

The style is restrained but eclectic, modernist only in its avoidance of tradition, but continually inventive and, above all, great fun...

There is an incisive aspect to Jolas’s music too, with slaps and bangs from the percussion often cutting through the more nebulous textures. This comes to a head at the end, where the pianist repeatedly hits the lid of the piano against the front of the case, and clapping from the orchestra ends the piece, a decisive conclusion but as surreal as everything it follows.