RPM
Matthew HINDSON (b.1968)

RPM stands for “revolutions per minute” and depicts the thrill and excitement of driving a car at exceptionally high speeds. The piece opens with dramatic chords before expanding into a moto perpetuo that demands the ensemble to keep pace with a tempo marking of 200 crotchets in a minute! This is intersected by a fancy blues trumpet cadenza. His skillfully conceived imagery adds to the general metaphor of speed and movement, all of which is underpinned by virtuosic percussion parts, the engine drivers in the piece.

Hindson attempts to bridge the gap between high and low culture by reaching the classical mainstream via popular genres including death metal and techno – that pulsing music that submerges the young and funky after midnight when they pound the dance floor at rave parties. He sees this kind of music as the popular music, the folk music, of our time.

However, he has had to defend his position of bridging the two. According to Hindson, “It seems to be okay to be influenced by gamelan and folk music from around the world, whereas it's not okay to be influenced by the folk music, by popular music, of your own culture.”

back to Composers' Corner