Cancro

RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra
conductor: George Pehlivanian
duration: 9:35
recorded: 17-2-2015
Cankarjev dom, Gallus Hall, Ljubljana
music producer: Žiga Stanič
sound engineers: Aleks Pirkmajer Penko, Klemen Veber

Matej Bonin, born in 1986 in Koper, graduated in composition from the Ljubljana Academy of Music under the mentorship of Prof. Uroš Rojko. He is currently continuing his studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, where he studies music theatre composition in the class of Prof. Beat Furrer. His musical studies abroad are supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia. In 2008, he was awarded the Prešeren Prize of the University of Ljubljana for his work, and he won the Gargonza Arts Award in 2014 following a recommendation by composer and conductor Peter Eötvös. His works have been performed in numerous festivals and venues abroad (Musica Viva Festival, Warsaw Autumn, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Gare du Nord Basel, Contemporary Art Cafe Budapest, the Firehouse Space New York, Cankarjev dom, the Slowind Festival, the Slovenian Music Days, Kino Šiška, the Koper Biennale of Contemporary Music, Festine, etc.).

He collaborates with renowned international soloists and ensembles (Ensemble Modern , violist Megumi Kasakawa, horn player Saar Berger, accordionist Luka Juhart, singer Irena Tomažin, the RTV Symphony Orchestra, the Savasa Trio, the Drumartica Percussion Duo, the Slowind Quintet, neuverBand, Ensemble MD7, and many others). In May 2015, he will present one of his works at EXPO Milano 2015 as one of 50 selected finalists in the composition competition “Feeding Music-Music for EXPO 2015”.
Matej Bonin is also active as a composer of music for dance theatre, and collaborates with choreographers Mirjam Klebel and Tomaž Simatovic.

 

CANCRO

The idea of circulation as a mechanism that drives the generation of sonic material and the formation of its identity (rhythm, articulation, pitch material, texture, etc.) is an approach that has been the focus of my creative work for the last two years.
The cyclic circulation and permutation of interrelated elements creates sonic material that is static while at the same time being in a constant process of transformation. Researching the empathy towards the musical material created in this process is of key significance to me as an artist. The orchestra, as a complex sonic body offering a rich palette of timbral and textural combinations between the various instrumental sections, is certainly a great inspiration in this regard!
For the point of departure of the composition Cancro, I used the “flux” or musical flow that is released by an outburst of the entire orchestral body and is based on the intensive rhythmic pulsing of the wind and the brass. I wanted to create a long, unbroken dramaturgical arc from the initial aggressive impulse all the way to the concluding section of the composition, when the sound is gradually reduced to mere noises and individual solo interjections before finally dying out altogether.

I focused on maintaining the intensity of the flux with the aid of the circulation of the sonic material and its passing between the various orchestral groups. At the same time, by constantly
circulating and shifting the focus between smaller groups within the orchestra, I also sought to discover the various aspects of intensity that pass between the explicitly rhythmic and percussive identity of the sound, on the one hand, and its more melodically ramified and harmonically complex identity, on the other.
The “floating” of the sonic material and its passing in time often occur simultaneously in various orchestral sections, which causes situational friction and tension, making the performance of the composition more challenging, as it demands perfect coordination within the individual sections, while at the same time requiring independence from the other groups within the orchestra.

NEWS: Matej Bonin in Piteå