Work

Programme Note

‘Volti’ has many meanings. In Italian, it means both ‘turn (over)’ as well as ‘faces’. But in English it might hint at ‘vaults’ (chambers), ‘vaulting’ (leaping/springing) or Volts (the unit of electromotive force). These ideas of motion, contrast and dynamism allude to some of the textural and motivic processes expressed in the piece, not to mention the dramatically contrasting nature of the gestures and moods. There is also the physical act of ‘leaping’ (vaulting?) required by the soloist in order to perform some of the passages, in which the composition has almost become choreography.
(Note by Michael Norris)

Difficulty:

Advanced

Performance History

	02 Apr 2009	Performed by Jong-Hwa Park and the Seoul National University Symphony Orchestra at Seoul National Museum, Korea

Awards

• NZSO-SOUNZ-RNZC Recordings (2012)
  

  Volti by Michael Norris was performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kenneth Young, with Jian Liu as piano soloist, in November 2012.

• SOUNZ Contemporary Award (2009)
  

  Volti was a finalist in the 2009 SOUNZ Contemporary Award.