Octopus

“After years of working with percussion, this is perhaps the first piece written for a standard setup: glockenspiel, vibraphone, marimba and tape. At the same time, the strange way in which these instruments are mixed gives an unusual timbral effect that surprised me. The form of the piece also surprised me in its development. It combines fast and slow materials and their combinations, while the overall meter is always the same. On the one hand, the title can be taken literally on the level of visual perception, when the performer, like an octopus, reaches the extreme registers of the instruments. On the other hand, the sound material can suggest deeper emotional connections and associations.”

Maxim Shalygin