Forming a petal from a piece of metal
The piece is inspired by the Australian artist Fiona Hall. She explores the relationships between natural ecosystems and man-made ones, in works that often shape commercial, throwaway packaging (things like metal sardine tins) into intricately detailed, delicate and deeply physical sculptures. forming a petal from a piece of metal was originally commissioned by the Orgelpark, Amsterdam, whose four large, imposing, handcrafted organs flood the space with shiny metal pipes.
Harden: “In the piece I wanted to explore these ideas of scale and size, man-made vs. handmade, that Hall’s work and the organs of the Orgelpark had triggered. In the piece I try to ‘mass-produce’ a fragile musical figure, watching (or listening) to how it grows and deforms through all its repetitions.”
- 21 Nov 2009
Featured in
- Fast Gold Butterflies
- Sonic Festival
Performances
- 15 Jun 2015, Korzo, The Hague
Pete Harden
Pete Harden (UK, 1979) is a composer and musician whose work has been called “intriguing”, “fierce, exciting” as well as conjuring “a subtle three-dimensional landscape” (De Volkskrant). In 2003, having completed studies with Louis Andriessen and Richard Ayres at the Royal Conservatoire, The Hague, he helped found Ensemble Klang, for whom he is electric guitarist and artistic director.
As a composer his work seeks out new forms and structures, marrying conceptually rigorous content with rich sonic environments. He has had works commissioned and performed by, among others, the Netherlands Radio Kamer Filharmonie, Bang on a Can All-stars (New York), Maud le Pladec Dance Company, Slagwerk Den Haag, NorrbottenNEO, Saskia Lankhoorn, Marco Blaauw, and Trio Scordatura. As a guitarist he has performed with Ensemble Klang, ASKO | Schönberg, Red Note Ensemble and i Solisti, and he has been a featured soloist at the Canberra International Music Festival. For the 2017-18 season he was artist-in-residence for the Red Sofa Series in De Doelen Concert Hall in Rotterdam.
Recent years have seen a strong focus on interdisciplinary productions, particularly theatre and dance. In 2017-18 he performed in Ivo van Hove’s production ‘Network’, at the National Theatre, London – and in the same season he worked closely with the French choreographer Maud le Pladec, writing the music for the hour-long production ‘27 Perspectives’. He forms one half of the duo Avenue Azure with Saskia Lankhoorn.
Pete Harden © Jasper van Gheluwe