The Other Side of the Air

Rolf Hind, Piano

This work, commissioned by BBC Radio 3, is written for, and dedicated to Rolf Hind. In fact, Rolf chose the title for this piece which he took from the poem To Music by Rilke

My own working-title was Workout and draws attention to one aspect of the composition: progressively more complex mixtures of physical activity. These routines are progressively fore-shortened and result in an intended sense of panic. At the same time the piece is a study of various types of resonance possible on the piano. The activities and resonances, either interactive or more dramatically set side by side, prompted the need for a more poetic title.