ROLF HIND
In a career that has taken him all over the world in the last twenty years, Rolf Hind has worked with many of the greatest names in 20th and 21st century contemporary classical music.
As a student of composition and piano at the Royal College of Music, he played works by Xenakis and Messiaen to the composers themselves, prompting the latter to describe the undergraduate as "a great pianist". Since then Rolf has worked closely with a broad range of composers from John Adams, Tan Dun and Judith Weir to Michael Finnissy, Helmut Lachenmann, Magnus Lindberg and George Benjamin. His recordings include early discs for the groundbreaking Factory Classics label to a recent recording for Nonesuch, via Bridge, Teldec, DaCapo, neos and Virgin Classics.
He has performed at all the major European new music festivals, appeared five times at the Proms, and played in Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera House. Tours have taken him as far afield as Cuba, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and New Zealand.
In the year 2000, after a long silence, Rolf began to compose again, inspired by repeated trips to India and a subsequent fascination with the culture and language there. Since then, many of his works have sprung from that source: for example The Horse Sacrifice, for six instrumentalists, The City of Love (a setting of Hindi texts) for voice cello and piano, Your Black Mouth, for clarinet and harp, and Sunnata for six keyboards.
Rolf is also inspired by working with players at the cutting edge of instrumental technique and innovation, as in Thirteen O'Clock Shadow for the percussionists Chris Brannick and Richard Benjafield, The Eye Of Fire for the Duke Quartet, Das Unenthullte for himself and his violin duo partner David Alberman, the thing is for the Fidelio Trio, and The Towers of Silence for the pianist Mary Dullea, a piece he also plays himself..
He has already built up a significant list of performances and commissions from notable organisations: Bromsgrove concerts, Brighton Festival, South West German Radio, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Dartington and the BBC.
His piano concerto Maya-Sesha (commissioned by the BBC) received its World premiere in March 2008 with BBC Scottish SO conducted by Martyn Brabbins and the composer as soloist. In June 2008 the Duke Quartet gave World premiere performances of Shashankasana (commissioned by Soundwaves festival) and again in August with a new commission from Dartington International Music Summer School, ‘The Flower in the next Corner'.
Rolf was one of three nominees (there were 27 submissions) in the Orchestral category for Maya-Sesha in the 2008 British Composers Awards.
WORKS
ORCHESTRAL
Maya-Sesha (2007) 21'
(piano and orchestra)
SOLO WORKS
The Horse Sacrifice (2001) 20'
(fl/bfl/treble recorder, cl/Eb/recorder, vln, vc, perc, pf with ratchet + triangles) recorded by the New Music Players on London Independent records (LIR003)
Cloud Shadow & Solgata (2000) 11'
(solo piano)
Solgata performed by the composer on the State of the Nation CD from NMC
The Eye of Fire (2004) 28'
(string quartet & prepared piano)
The City of Love (2002) 10'
(voice, cello, piano)
Das Unenthullte (2002) 12'
(violin and piano) available on CD Secret Melodies works by Per N?rgård & Rolf Hind (Dacapo Label), recorded by Rolf Hind, piano and David Alberman, violin
Follow the Leader (2006) 10-12'
(voice and percussion)
Sunnata (2005) 11'
(grand piano, four uprights and a honkytonk)
The Thing is (2006) 14'
(piano, cello, violin)
The Towers of Silence
(piano)
Thirteen O'clock Shadow (2001) 4'
(2 singing percussionists)
Your black mouth (2002) 12'
(Bass clarinet, harp)
Shashankasana (2008) 5'
(string quartet)
The Flower in the next Corner (2008) 21'
(string quartet)
King David (2008) 7'
(clarinet and violin)
