Joey Roukens (Schiedam, 1982) studied composition at Rotterdam Conservatoire and took private piano lessons with Ton Hartsuiker. Since graduating in 2006, he has managed to reach a large audience with his energetic, infectious music. The commissions are pouring in, from no small number of clients. For instance, he has already written two pieces for the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra: Out of control (2011) and Chase (2012) and is working on a new composition for season 2016-17.
For the (re)opening of TivoliVredenburg in 2014, he composed the successful Rising Phenix for the combined forces of the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and the Groot Omroepkoor. This season, he is composer in residence with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, for which he Morphic Waves which will have its world premiere at the Concertgebouw on 20 June. In addition, the first performance of his violin concerto will be heard on 17 March Roads to Everywhere, which he wrote for American-Dutch violinist Joseph Puglia and Asko|Schönberg. An introduction in five questions
What typifies you as a composer?
‘My music is direct and expressive, combining elements from a wide variety of styles and genres. I draw inspiration just as easily from the classical music tradition as from pop and film music. My language is predominantly accessible and tonal - so you always come 'safely home' to a keynote. But on the way there, I like to be quite chromatic and dissonant. I also like to take whimsical turns in the musical argument.‘
Can you explain where Roads to Everywhere about?
‘Roads to Everywhere is a concerto for solo violin and ensemble in two movements, together lasting about twenty-five minutes. I wrote it especially for the talented young violinist Joseph Puglia and Asko|Schönberg. The first movement '(Im)pulses' is energetic, virtuosic and has a strong pulsating rhythm full of rousing grooves, although there are also some more melancholic moments. For instance, this part opens with a pensive passage that returns later. Towards the end, the music becomes increasingly frenetic, working towards a climax that evokes associations with an album that keeps hanging on.
The second movement 'Across the Fields', on the contrary, is slow, melodic and very lyrical. It begins serenely, with an almost naive theme, straight out of an intimate pop ballad could come with the violin as the singing voice. Gradually, the music becomes darker and more expressionistic. Halfway through, there is a fast middle section that, with its arpeggios - chord tones plucked by the violinist, played one after the other - nods to the dog-eared capriccios of nineteenth-century violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini.
The title hints at the multicoloured and varied path the piece takes. At the same time, it is a reference to how a composition comes about. Often, a musical idea wants to go in a certain direction of its own accord, over which, as a composer, you don't always have control. I developed this idea, for instance, in my orchestral work Out of control. At Roads to Everywhere each little idea seemed to want to take multiple roads, all leading to a different area.'
What was the first thing you did when you started this concert?
'Starting a new piece is always agony! Therefore, for inspiration, I often start by listening to other people's music first. For Roads to Everywhere for instance, I studied scores of the violin concertos of classical masters such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn and of modern greats such as John Adams and György Ligeti. Of course, I also scrutinised typical 'violinist fodder', such as the aforementioned capriccios by Paganini and the sonatas by Eugène Ysaÿe.
What did you struggle with most in this piece?
'The shape! It is often a struggle to find the right structure, but this time it was extra difficult because the material seemed to want to go in the most diverse directions. I liken it to how a cinematographer edits his film: an abundance of shot material and scenes has to be cut and pasted to create a coherent form. Above all, that means a lot of deleting, and that is never easy. In this case, it was a huge job always finding 'the right way' in the jungle of possibilities.'
What are you most satisfied with?
'Often I can only say after the performance what I am satisfied with and what I like less. But I am happy with the intimate, lyrical passages in the second movement, because it is a side of me that I explore a little less often. And I am proud that I am in Roads to Everywhere managed to integrate so many different emotions, atmospheres and expression.'
Want to know more?
Ahead of the premiere on Thursday 17 March, I speak with Joey Roukens about the creation of his piece, followed by a public rehearsal. Both are free to attend.
Conversation: 4.15-16.50 pm
Rehearsal: 5pm-5.45pm
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