Carnival in Croydon
13th November 2006

© 'James Wilson/EG Images'
The piece is designed as “a celebration of life”, and was inspired by Mozart’s two visits to the Munich carnival in 1774 and 1781, and also the Mozartian notion of a brilliant solo part in lively and cheerful dialogue with the orchestra. As Koppel says “the marimba is an instrument, which is – just as the fortepiano was in Mozart’s days – a modern instrument in a stage of development”. Koppel has been at the forefront of the instrument’s development, having completed no less than six concertante marimba works and numerous chamber pieces.