MESSAGE TO MUSICIANS

As a performing musician, you probably know too well that writing a performable piece of music is not an easy task even for so-called 'established' composers (they often have too much of ego to worry about in order to be performable). Well, I am not 'established' and hope to keep it that way. Rather, I am independent in what I chose to compose. My music is written to be performed and to sound good on stage, whilst giving the performer a chance to enjoy the music as well. My inspiration always comes from the performer - practically all my works were written to specific performances, for specific players. In my experience I find that musicians usually have no troubles in understanding what that particular composition of mine is all about. I think this is very important, if we are to deliver a convincing performance. I aim to compose what in my view is emotionally charged, dense, inspirational and meaningful (i.e. what is sometimes called 'real music'). Well, you be my judge on how close I have got to that aim of mine. You may laugh, but it's been more than 20 years since I started composing, and I don't even remember what my first composition was.

If you are interested in any of my scores, please consider ordering your own copy, as this practice helps a composer to stay afloat. Professional live performances will be subject to a performance fee (comparable to what a typical publisher would charge you), which you will need to negotiate with me. The same applies to recordings, broadcasting and so on. At least, in this modest case you can be certain that whatever you pay goes to the composer to help him to compose more music, and not to a profit driven corporation - which is a good thing.

If you are thinking about commissioning a new piece of music, I would be happy to discuss your specific requirements. For instance, I had an interesting enquiry on the subject of writing a virtuoso concerto for double bass and strings - which, if you think about it, is probably a very good thing to do. There are some fantastic double bass players who could probably sight-read Paganini, I am sure - but there are few concertos for them to play.

There is always a good reason to write something for violin and your instrument or ensemble - in which case you might be interested to get me involved in your project as a violinist, as well as a composer. After all, a performing composer brings certain significance to an event, and there are so few of us, composers, who still take the trouble to actually learn what we ourselves have composed...