Notes
from the Composer for "Out Of Crooked Timber"
“Out of crooked
timber....” for accordion orchestra with soloist (2000) Duration:
9’
~Commissioned by Joan Sommers for the UMKC Accordion Orchestra~
I was immediately struck by the phrase from Immanual Kant’s
idee zu einer allgemeinen Geschichte in weltbürgerlicher Absicht
(1784): “Out of the crooked timber of humanity no straight
thing can ever be made.” My hope was (and is) that humanity
pass from its adolescence marked with violence, trauma, and moody
tantrums into a more stable adulthood of diplomacy, compassion,
and kindness. Sound mass becomes a metaphor for the unhewn timber
out of which I try to mill something straight.
In the end, straightness becomes a matter of relativity balanced
between the pessimism of Kant’s view and my hopeless romantic
optimism.
“Out of crooked timber…” is intended to be performed
my an accordion soloist with seven groups of at least three players
each. The seven groups should be distributed throughout the performance
space surrounding the audience to maximize the sound mass quality.
If 21 group players are not available, all performers should be
placed on stage in traditional orchestral setup. |
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Paul Rudy (1962)
is a composer, writer, teacher and life-long student and lecturer.
His music, performed around the world, encompasses sounds from the
cactus of the desert, the kitchen, inside, outback and to the chamber
and orchestral stage. A fascination with sound has led from radio
programs in London and Aspen, Colorado, to orchestral and chamber
concert works to interactive, installation, and cinematic works, with,
and without visuals.
In addition
to being recognized by his close friends and family, Rudy has received
awards from the Fulbright and Wurlitzer Foundations, Sounds Electric
'07 Competition (1st Prize), Bourges Electroacoustic Music Competition,
EMS (Sweden), SEAMUS, Meet the Composer, the American Composer's Forum,
SCI, National Music Teacher's Association and the Missouri Music Teacher's
Association.
He has
done a lot of work to promote the music of living composers including
curating concerts throughout South American and Europe. He lectures
widely on sound in film and timbral practice in music.
He teaches
at the University of Missouri at Kansas City and has an avid interest
in
bicycling, hiking, camping, and mountaineering. In 1994 he completed
the Colorado
Grand Slam after climbing all 54 of Colorado's 14,000 ft peaks and
still hopes some day to go above 20,000 ft.
Please
see www.paulrudy.com for more information.
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