Ondrej Adamek
Ondrej Adamek first studied composition at the Conservatory in Prague, where he graduated in music and pedagogical studies, and, starting in 1997, at the Music Academy in Prague with Marek Kopelent.
Since March 2000, he has been working at the Conservatoire de Paris, in Guy Reibel and Frédéric Durieux’s composition classes and Laurent Cuniot, Luis Naon, Tom Mays and Yann Geslin’s electroacoustic music classes. He received three prizes at Génération competition between 1996 and 2000.
In June-August 2000 and again in June 2001 he attends three trainings at IRCAM with the support of the Acanthes Centre. In April 2002, he receives a UNESCO grant for a residence with the contemporary dance company Gaar in Nairobi. In 2002, he is awarded prizes at the Bourges and the Métamorphoses competitions.
Since March 2000, he has been working at the Conservatoire de Paris, in Guy Reibel and Frédéric Durieux’s composition classes and Laurent Cuniot, Luis Naon, Tom Mays and Yann Geslin’s electroacoustic music classes. He received three prizes at Génération competition between 1996 and 2000.
In June-August 2000 and again in June 2001 he attends three trainings at IRCAM with the support of the Acanthes Centre. In April 2002, he receives a UNESCO grant for a residence with the contemporary dance company Gaar in Nairobi. In 2002, he is awarded prizes at the Bourges and the Métamorphoses competitions.
B-low Up (2009-10)
I started to work on B-low Up when I just had finished Nôise for ensemble Intercontemporain. As Nôise is an intensive piece inspired by Japanese theatre, based on melodic lines with a very dramatic aspect, charged of expression and emotion, I wonted to write something much morelightening and transparent for Klangforum. The name and fame of the ensemble made me focus on the sound aspect. I started a research of sliding sounds inside the piano strings and also whistle sound of electric tubes placed in the vacuum cleaner. The sound of gesture of vacuum cleaner with electric tubes, switched on and off gave a form to the sound gesture mainly used in the piece: a very fast jumping up and slow harmonic getting down.
I searched for special techniques of harp glissando and string instruments pizzicato with glissando using also slides and picks. The string instruments play a lot of natural harmonic scales to get the sound similar to electrician tubes placed in the vacuum cleaner. Each of them has a different scordatura of one or two strings.
The beginning of the piece relates to a breath noise inside the human body, constantly accelerating. The second part is based on waves of soft rhythmical sound getting up and down, each wave shorter and shorter. The third part is another kind of accelerando where the waves of energy become rhythmical pattern. The title B-low Up refers to the aspect of constant going up and down. The
expression Blow Up has a multiple meaning: to blow (air), explosion, in mathematics a geometric transformation which replaces a subspace of given space with all the directions pointing out of that subspace.
I started to work on B-low Up when I just had finished Nôise for ensemble Intercontemporain. As Nôise is an intensive piece inspired by Japanese theatre, based on melodic lines with a very dramatic aspect, charged of expression and emotion, I wonted to write something much morelightening and transparent for Klangforum. The name and fame of the ensemble made me focus on the sound aspect. I started a research of sliding sounds inside the piano strings and also whistle sound of electric tubes placed in the vacuum cleaner. The sound of gesture of vacuum cleaner with electric tubes, switched on and off gave a form to the sound gesture mainly used in the piece: a very fast jumping up and slow harmonic getting down.
I searched for special techniques of harp glissando and string instruments pizzicato with glissando using also slides and picks. The string instruments play a lot of natural harmonic scales to get the sound similar to electrician tubes placed in the vacuum cleaner. Each of them has a different scordatura of one or two strings.
The beginning of the piece relates to a breath noise inside the human body, constantly accelerating. The second part is based on waves of soft rhythmical sound getting up and down, each wave shorter and shorter. The third part is another kind of accelerando where the waves of energy become rhythmical pattern. The title B-low Up refers to the aspect of constant going up and down. The
expression Blow Up has a multiple meaning: to blow (air), explosion, in mathematics a geometric transformation which replaces a subspace of given space with all the directions pointing out of that subspace.