All about that bass: a premiere of Rolf Wallin's new work for bass guitar
1st June 2017
The piece has been inspired by its soloist, the Danish bass guitarist Ida Nielsen, a former band member with Prince. “When Ida started to play, I felt like I was five again and listening to the Beatles for the first time,” says Wallin. The pair worked together closely in the creation of the piece, exploring slap-hand and other guitar techniques to capture the spontaneity and exhilaration of Nielsen’s performances in a virtuoso work for large forces.
But there is also a darker side to the piece’s genesis. In his programme note, the composer questions the act of writing such overtly joyful music in an age of extreme political turbulence and environmental uncertainty. He quotes Bernstein who, following the assassination of President Kennedy urged people “to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before”. Inspired by this sentiment, Wallin’s new work is a contribution in the same spirit – “of sharing, empowering and becoming strong, but not hardened during hard times”.
Spirit was commissioned by the London Sinfonietta and the Bergen International Festival, with funding from The Norwegian Composers' Fund. Following its premiere in Håkonshallen, Bergen, on June 2, it will be performed in St John’s Smith Square, London, on June 6 (details below).
Performance details
Rolf Wallin Spirit (2017)
Ida Nielsen, bass guitar
London SInfonietta
Pierre-André Valade, conductor
Bergen International Festival (World Premiere)
Håkonshallen, Bergen, Norway
June 2 2017More information
St John’s Smith Square, London (UK Premiere)
June 6 2017
More information
