Flounce

published by Fennica Gehrman

commissioned by BBC Radio 3

premiere September 9, 2017 at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms 2017

BBC Symphony Orchestra, cond. Sakari Oramo

Sometimes it is the title that starts to guide the musical ideas of a work in the making. This was more or less the case with the short orchestral piece Flounce, written in spring 2017. I was fascinated by the different meanings of the English word flounce – both the verb and the noun. The piece is thus largely characterized by brisk gestures “non troppo serioso”, but it also has passages of lace-like ornamenting in a more lightweight and lyrical mood. The same kind of duality is present in the way I’m aiming to combine an often energetic pulse with (sometimes non-conventional) timbral ideas and a feeling of space in the orchestration.

Flounce was commissioned by BBC Radio 3. It was a great source of inspiration to know that it would be first performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo at the Royal Albert Hall, as part of the BBC Proms 2017.

Lotta Wennäkoski

Simon Cummings, 5:4:

Flounce is easily one the most imaginative and unusual of the Proms Last Night commissions of recent years. It may work as a concert-opener, but – unlike most of its predecessors – that’s by no means all that it is, and for that she deserves kudos and congratulations.

http://5against4.com/2017/09/10/proms-2017-lotta-wennakoski-flounce-world-premiere/