We asked Steingrímur Rohloff to tell us about the work:
The piano concerto is dedicated to Marianna Shirinyan. Is there something about her as a soloist that has made a particular impression on you?
I have known Marianna for many years. Her husband, David Rohde, teaches my daughter violin. When Marianna heard an orchestral piece of mine (Schumann Fragments), the idea for a collaboration emerged. She strikes me as a pianist who effortlessly masters even the greatest technical challenges. I have heard her perform Prokofiev’s demanding piano concertos live, and it is an honor to write for such a fantastic artist. What has impressed me in our collaboration and conversations is her openness to ideas that extend beyond the traditional concert format — ideas that I have incorporated into the concerto which contains a few small experimental and theatrical passages
Can you give examples of how these experimental and theatrical elements manifest in the work?
Marianna also uses her voice in the piece, which has become something of an obsession for me — to include it in the final bars of a composition. A kind of finishing touch or a dramatic escalation, where the soloist is symbolically "painted into a corner" and then breaks free from it…
The piano is my own primary instrument, and I like to think that this serves the piece well. The solo instrument engages in a meta-fusion with the orchestra, where harp, vibraphone, and percussion play a central role, merging into an organic whole.
In a certain way, this work represents for me a return to some experimental roots and a search for Exoticism – in the spirit of the early modernists. It has been a great pleasure to immerse myself in the harmonies and sounds of the piece and to place both my instrument and the brilliant pianist Marianna at the heart of this sonic universe."
Can you elaborate on how this search for Exoticism is reflected in the music?
The piano part is highly virtuosic, which has led to other instruments that mirror and resemble the piano also playing a significant role. For instance, the harp, vibraphone, marimba, and several other exotic percussion instruments are essential. In fact, I am currently working with one of the percussionists from the symphony orchestra to find a rare percussion instrument. By exoticism, I may also mean the richness of colors in the piece—but also a certain nostalgia for the time when I studied in Paris from 1998 to 2001. The piece does not have much in common with Impressionism, which played a major role in Paris, but in spirit, my piano concerto is a journey into a colorful fairytale world, which I also associate with the French composers.
What experience do you hope the audience will have when they listen to the concerto?
A journey — perhaps a slightly psychedelic one? At times grotesque and comical? A trip through a vast palette of colors? Rainbows leading into darkness and out again. And in the end, one or two surprises...
Steingrímur Rohloff's Piano Concerto is premiered on 27 February in Helsingborg, Sweden. Find more information about the concert in Helsingborg here.
Rohloff's Piano Concerto will receive its Norwegian premiere on 8 May when Marianna Shirinyan joins the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (KORK) and conductor Emilia Hoving in Oslo. Find more information about the concert in Olso here.