Equinox [2014] Postlude No.10 in B flat minor ‘Kyoto’

Henning
Kraggerud follows in the noble tradition of violinist-composers such as Eugène
Ysaÿe, whose series of solo sonatas Henning will play on Thursday night.
Henning began to compose from a very young age and had written over 200 works
including a symphony by the time he was fifteen.

The
original version of Equinox was a
commission from the Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra for violin and chamber
orchestra. It was premiered at the 2014 Northern Lights Festival in Tromsø and
has received many performances since. The composer has transcribed it for
violin and piano.

Equinox is based on a
24-part story by Jostein Gaarder and is organised into 24 Postludes in all 24
keys mirroring 24 hours and 24 time zones and charting one magical journey
through time from the Meridian Line in Greenwich, London. The listener is taken
on a kaleidoscopic tour around the globe, journeying musically through the
circle of fifths.

This performance we stop off in Kyoto in the version for violin and piano. This music opens a window on a magical world, it is
endlessly resourceful and surprising, from meditation to lop-sided dance it is
extraordinary.