8 mins. – 8 solo flute pieces of max. 1 min. length

Written exclusively for flautist and composer, Jos Zwaanenburg, this piece’s title has been borrowed from Ionescu. One of the ideas behind it is that most contemporary music works are too long and here the goal was to make too-short pieces. Only one, the Minute Raga exceeded that limit. It borrows from composers, cultures and extended flute techniques which is a strength of Zwaanenburg’s performances.

The movements are:

BG (referring to Bulgaria and its marvellous folk music)

AW (referring to Anton Webern, the master of the short piece – here Klangfarbenmelodie is taken to an extreme)

Minute Raga (inspired by the Minute Waltz crunching a performance that could last several hours into a bit over one minute)

Minimising the Minimal (a reaction to the long-lasting success of minimal or repetitive music)

The Shô Must Go On (inspired by the Japanese mouth organ of that name, a highly timbral instrument in the same family as the sheng which appears is Sonic Highway Exits Neglect Grammar)

MF (referring to Morton Feldman, a composer of hugely lengthy, beautiful works and a former friend and teacher)

WWS (an abbreviation for Whisper, Whisper and a Sigh referring to the techniques used)

Passakagelia (a play on works between Passacaglia and Mauricio Kagel who was still writing very dramatic, eccentric works at the time)

The recording below was recorded at BBC Radio Ulster in Belfast as part of the Sonority Festival.