By Joshua Cheek
Daniel Kidane
Composer
Daniel Kidane is a young composer with an eclectic taste spanning everything from Olivier Messiaen and Bach to Johnny Cash and Pantera, Kidane stands in the forefront of England’s vital New Music scene. Kidane first received composition lessons at the Royal College of Music Junior Department where he studied with Avril Anderson. He went on to study at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire, receiving lessons in composition from Professor Sergey Slonimsky.
He has toured with the Manchester Camerata Orchestra, conducting his harpsichord concerto “Feuersturm”, written for Mahan Esfahani. Other performances include premieres of his works by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s 10/10 Ensemble and at the Adelaide International Cello Festival 2011, where he was invited as guest composer. “Tourbillon” was commissioned by Elisabet Selin, who specifically requested “a very exciting and demanding piece” to enlarge the repertoire.
The composer writes:
“I have long been fascinated by watches and the intricacies of their movements. In horology, a tourbillon (French for whirlwind) is an addition to the mechanics of a watch escapement, the aim of which is to counter the effects of gravity. With this idea in mind I began to craft an intricate and virtuosic piece. Throughout Tourbillon the two instruments act as one, avoiding the format of one leading the other. Both instruments take on the idea of breaking away from gravity but at the same time are restrained by moments of tranquillity.”