Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Work Overview

Toccata Agogica, for solo flute, was commissioned by Elizabeth Koch, OAM, as the test piece for the 2009 Australian Flute Festival. It was first performed by each of the AFF Competition finalists in Elder Hall, Adelaide, on 3 October 2009. The first prize was awarded to the Polish flautist, Krzysztof Kaczka; the second prize went to Melbourne-based flautist, Jessica Jiang.

At the request of Elizabeth Koch, the piece has been dedicated to the memory of the distinguished Australian flautist, Professor David Cubbin (1934-1997), who, among his many accomplishments and achievements, was a founding member of the renowned University of Adelaide Wind Quintet, teacher of flute at the Elder Conservatorium of Music from 1965, and a full Professor of Music at the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music from 1985. The dedication of this piece is a modest tribute to a life and career devoted to performance and professional training at the highest level.

The title refers to the Greek concept of 'agogics', which can be defined as: "the theory that accent within a musical phrase can be produced by modifying the duration of certain notes rather than by increasing dynamic stress." Much of the piece is in a fast perpetual motion, but with the melodic line shaped and the notes grouped so that the agogic accents are constantly shifting.

Work Details

Year: 2009

Instrumentation: Flute.

Duration: 5 min.

Difficulty: Advanced

Dedication note: To the memory of Professor David Cubbin (1934-1997)

Commission note: Commissioned by Elizabeth Koch.. Commissioned as the test piece for the 2009 Australian Flute Festival