Azure

Item details

• Description +

  • Preface
    
    As a child or adult, I have spent unforgettable times around the Mediterranean coasts or on the prince islands of Istanbul. During the covid time, I had enormous longing or in german "Sehnsucht" for the sea. So I started to hear the piece as a journey, along the coasts around the waves, people, and cities. It is like an imaginary journey and returning to the same haven to share the stories.
    
    The marimba solo and tape play together and complete each other rather than the tape being in background accompaniment. I had a Turkish pop influence that I grew up with, and it evolved more to the IDM world (intelligent dance music) that I like to listen to and produce. So I always wanted to combine marimba with those sound worlds.
    
    I had immense fun during the composing process; I hope you will also have it while playing!
    
    Emil Kuyumcuyan

• Instrumentation +

  • Marimba (5.0 Octave) with Tape

• Watch+

  • Performance by Emil Kuyumcuyan (Web Premiere)
    
    

• About the composer +

  • Istanbul-born Emil Kuyumcuyan (kuːjuːmdʒuːjɑːn) is a percussionist, composer and electronic musician with Croatian, Greek, Armenian, and African roots. His original identity as a musician is shaped by influences of contemporary-classical, jazz and Anatolian music, which blend into a unique performing language.
    
    Emil tours as a soloist; he creates concert programs consisting of percussion music with new commissions, existing repertoire and his own compositions. He performed as a soloist with AskoSchönberg Ensemble and Choeur de Radio France. He also tours as a member of Les Percussions de Strasbourg and Trio K/D/M and as a guest performer with ensembles including Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Modern, Boulez Ensemble, Ensemble Ascolta, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Opera de Paris and Slagwerk Den Haag to name a few. Besides his compositions, his concert repertoire includes masterworks from J.S. Bach to living composers' newest pieces. He regularly collaborates with contemporary composers and is active in the multimedia performance and musical theatre fields. In 2019 he made his first audiovisual creation, entitled "I S T A N B U L | the roots", a multimedia performance inspired by the city.
    
    The eclectic musician performs as a percussionist, primarily in the contemporary-classical music scene, and composes instrumental and electronic music. The acclaimed percussionist won first prize at the Tromp International Percussion Competition, the most noteworthy percussion focused international competition. His other accolades include first-prize as a soloist at the Stockholm International Music Competition and a prize for his trio at the International Percussion Competition Luxembourg.
    
    In 2023 he released his first electronic album, It's Not About Me, by WIC Recordings, which incorporates elements of IDM and Drum and Bass while still showcasing his classical music background. He also composes for more diverse instrumental and electronic formations and has received commissions from the Philharmonie Cologne (KoelnMusik), Kunststiftung Baden- Württemberg, IPEA Competition Shanghai, and the World Marimba Competition Stuttgart.
    
    Emil Kuyumcuyan shares his artistic expertise worldwide and is regularly invited as a judge in international competitions; he is also a passionate teacher. He is a Tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, and since October 2023, he is the Professor for Percussion at the HFMDK Frankfurt (the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts). Born in a mélomane house in Istanbul and growing up listening to many musical genres, Emil began his musical education at 12 years old at the Mimar Sinan State Conservatory in Istanbul, where he started playing the trombone before discovering his passion for percussion. In the early periods, while studying in the busy schedule of the conservatory, he learned the profound classical music culture and theory. He also discovered his early and significant musical influences from Metal, Jazz and Contemporary Music, through artists like Metallica, Dave Holland Quintet, Esbjörn Svensson Trio and Pierre Boulez.
    
    After finishing high school, he went to study percussion at the "The State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart" where he learned from Marta Klimasara, Klaus Dreher, Jürgen Spitschka and Harald Löhle. Later, his musical affinity led him to study in France with Jean Geoffroy at CNSMDL (National High Conservatory Of Music And Dance Of Lyon).
    
    Emil has been endorsed by Kolberg, Yamaha and Turkish Cymbals.
    
    Besides all these, he loves to spend time with family and friends, is a Ramen lover, loves to cook, loves the sunshine, a walk in autumn, Paris, linguistics, reading, and doing unneeded stuff.

• Reviews +

  • Percussive Notes, February 2023
    
    “Azure” is an advanced, nine-minute work for solo marimba and tape suitable for a professional player or advanced university student. Commissioned for the 7th World Marimba Competition in Stuttgart, Germany (2022), it requires the performer to groove comfortably in constantly changing odd meters along with a click track. While the marimba part does not present an overwhelming technical challenge, it requires a substantial level of musical maturity. Along with the score, the player is granted access to the backing track with and without click track.
    
    The composer cites a longing, or Sehnsucht, for the sea as the primary influence for the piece. The music immediately puts the listener on an island coast, with the first 40 seconds of tape introducing a soothing aquatic timbre and distant bird calls. After a short ritardando, the marimbist enters into a duet with the tape, which now presents the sounds of fleeting waves and a thick, resonant bass line reminiscent of electronic dance music. The audio playback becomes increasingly intense and unapologetically electronic, while the marimbist continues unrelentingly for several minutes, until a sudden arrival at a slower, more ominous middle section, during which the performer plays more lyrical single-line passages. The marimba part gradually picks up steam, supported by increasingly aggressive electronic bass. Finally, there is a brief return to the soothing sounds of the introduction, while the marimbist restates the opening material, carrying the listener to the end.
    
    Emil Kuyumcuyam masterfully combines different influences to create a piece that is soothing, exciting, intense, and stunningly beautiful. I would not be surprised to see “Azure” become a staple of the marimba repertoire.
    
    —Marco Schirripa

• Credits +

  • Front Cover graphics and layout: Nicola Lee
    Mix and mastering: Tunç Çakır
    Printed in Copenhagen, Denmark
    Copyright © Edition SVITZER
    With support from Koda’s Cultural Funds
    
    
    

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