“Iconoclast”

About the music:
"Iconoclast" for solo accordion was commissioned by the Royal Academy of Music in 2020 as part of the ‘200 Anniversary Commissions’ to celebrate two centuries of music-making and education at the Academy, and is in memory of Oliver's former teacher, British Composer Steve Martland (1954-2013).

Accordionist Mingyuan Ruan, who is the first ever accordionist to win the IBLA international music competition, premiered the piece in a digital performance filmed and recorded in Beijing, presented at the Angela Burgess Recital Hall, Royal Academy of Music on 23rd June 2022.

Shortly after its premiere, the piece was played on Accordion Noir! Vancouver Radio CFRO 100.5 FM.

'The piece is more than a simple commemoration. It's my attempt at a kind of musical séance, bringing old memories to life, and begins as a distant dream, a faint but colourful recollection of a single moment. This one moment opens up a reservoir of feelings, thoughts and memories buried in that hidden place somewhere between the conscious and unconscious mind.

The work's title is taken from The Guardian obituary (Steve’s favourite paper) penned by the journalist Guy Rickards. The headline describes Martland as an ‘Iconoclastic composer who crossed musical boundaries to create a distinctive, edgy sound’.

—Des Oliver