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As I was travelling in the USA during the fall of 1984, I wrote Stroke for cello solo as a kind of diary to keep my hand in at composing. Writing a piece for solo instrument is impossible in a sense — it has to be done by extreme means, either by going beyond the frontiers normally attached to a certain instrument (as Vinko Globokar does in his works), or by using one monolithic idea from beginning to end.Stroke is — as a piece of music — a kind of decomposition. The powerful gesture (read: normal music) that opens the work is soon shattered to pieces; the organisation changes its own shape on a microsecond rather than a second scale. Thus this work, in spite of its short duration, can transmit a considerable amount of the expressive world which I like to think of as belonging to the cello. The piece also represents supervirtuosity. Stroke is dedicated to Anssi Karttunen, who premiered it in Paris 1984.© Magnus Lindberg, after 1984Magnus Lindberg sävelsi vuonna 1983 laajan teoksen Zona sellosolistille ja yhtyeelle, ja tutkittuaan sitä varten sellon ominaisuuksia hän halusi vielä seuraavana vuonna palata sen pariin soolokappaleen merkeissä. Stroke on myös musiikillinen matkapäiväkirja, sillä Lindberg työsti sitä joka aamu parin tunnin ajan oleskellessaan Yhdysvalloissa syksyllä 1984.Stroke merkitsee musiikkikielessä jousen vetoa, mutta sillä on myös muita mahdollisia suomennoksia, esimerkiksi ”temppuilu” on yksi sen merkityksistä. Soittajan kannalta kuitenkin soveliain on Stroken suomentaminen musiikkitermillä, sillä sellistiltä lyhyt teos vaatii virtuoosisuutta, keskittymistä – ja paljon harjoittelua. Sävellyksen vimmaisesti päämääräänsä kohti etenevä luonne selittyy sillä, että musiikillisille tapahtumille annetaan tarkoituksellisesti niukasti aikaa, jolloin tila asioiden kehittelylle puristuu lähes olemattomiin.(kirjoittaja tuntematon)Als ich 1984 durch die USA reiste, schrieb ich Stroke für Violoncello solo wie eine Art Tagebuch, um “in Übung” zu bleiben. Eigentlich ist es unmöglich, ein Stück für ein Soloinstrument zu schreiben – es muß mit extremen Mitteln geschehen, entweder muß man die Grenzen, die das Instrument hat, überschreiten (wie das z. B. Vinko Globokar in seinen Werken tut) oder man muß eine einzige Idee von Anfang bis Ende durchhalten.Stroke ist – als ein Stück Musik – eine Art Dekomposition. Die mächtige Geste (sprich: normale Musik), die das Werk eröffnet, wird schnell in Stücke geschlagen. Trotz der kurzen Dauer kann das Stück einen beträchtlichen Anteil der Expressivität vermitteln, die ich gerne als die des Violoncellos sehen würde. Das Stück präsentiert auch eine große Virtuosität. Es ist Anssi Karttunen gewidmet, der es 1984 in Paris uraufführte.© Magnus Lindberg, nach 1984In the autumn of 1984, Lindberg took part in the International Society for Contemporary Music's (ISCM) World Music Days in Canada, to attend a performance of Ritratto. He took advantage of the opportunity to spend some time in New York, which in turn gave birth to Stroke, a sor t of travel diary. Certain unused materials which had been prepared for Zona acted as a basis for the composition. A short but highly virtuoso piece, Stroke is dedicated to Anssi Karttunen, who recorded it in Paris in December 1984 for Finnish television (broadcast in Finland on 29 December 1984) and then gave its fiorst concert performance in Helsinki.© Risto Nieminen, 1993translated by © Nick Le Quesne© Ircam - Centre Georges-Pompidou, 1993(From Magnus Lindberg, Helsinki 1996)Lindberg a participé, en automne 1984, aux journées mondiales de la musique du SIMC (Section internationale de la musique contemporaine) au Canada pour assister à l'exécution de Ritratto. Il en a profité pour rester quelques temps à New York, et c'est ainsi que Stroke (Coup) est née, comme un journal de voyage. Certains matériaux préparés pour Zona et non utilisés ont servi de base pour la composition. Pièce courte mais très virtuose, Stroke est dédiée à Aussi Karttunen, qui l'enregistrait à Paris, en décembre 1984, pour la télévision finlandaise (diffusée le 29 décembre 1984, en Finlande) et qui la créait ensuite en concert à Helsinki.© Risto Nieminen, 1993© Ircam - Centre Georges-Pompidou, 1993(From Magnus Lindberg, Ircam 1993)

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Abbreviation	Instrument
Woodwind
acl	alto clarinet
afl	alto flute
arec	alto recorder
asax	alto saxophone
barsax	baritone saxophone
barhn	baritone horn
bcl	bass clarinet
bfl	bass flute
bob	bass oboe
bsax	bass saxophone
bsn	bassoon
cbsn	contrabassoon
cl	clarinet
ehn	English horn
fl	flute
hn	French horn
ob	oboe
pic	piccolo
rec	recorder
sax	saxophone
srec	soprano recorder
ssax	soprano saxophone
trec	tenor recorder
tsax	tenor saxophone
Brass
ahn	alto horn
atrb	altotrombone
barhn	baritone horn
btrb	bass trombone
cornet	cornet
euph	euphonium
fhn	flugelhorn
hn	French horn
tba	tuuba
thn	tenor horn
trb	trombone
trp	trumpet
Percussion
dr	drums
glock	glockenspiel
mar	marimba
perc	percussion
timp	timpani
vibr	vibraphone
xyl	xylophone
Strings
db	double bass
gamba	viola da gamba
str	strings
vla	viola
vlc	cello
vln	violin
Other
acc	accordion
cel	celesta
cemb	harpsichord
chords	chords
elbas	electric bass
elg	electric guitar
elorg	electric organ
elpno	electric piano
guit	guitar
harm	harmonium
hca	harmonica
hp	harp
instr	instrument
kantele	kantele
keyb	keyboard
live electr	live electronics
mand	mandolin
mel	melody
org	organ
pno	piano
synth	synthesizer
tape	tape
Vocal
alto	alto
baryt	baritone
basso	bass voice
ch	choir
chc	childrens choir
chf	female choir
chm	male choir
chx	mixed choir
cten	countertenor
mezzo	mezzo-soprano
sopr	soprano
speaker	speaker
ten	tenor
voc	vocal

Symphony orchestra
2222 4331 11 1, str = 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 French horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, one other percussionist, harp and strings
Wind band
2252 3 423 21212 3 = 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 5 clarinets, 2 bassoons - 3 saxophones - 4 French horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones - 2 cornets, alto horn, 2 tenor horns, baritone horn, 2 tubas - 3 percussionists
Big band
221 4 4, pno, guit, db, dr = 2 alto saxophones, 2 tenor saxophones, baritone saxophone, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, piano, guitar, double bass, drums
Additional codes
+	fl+pic = flutist doubles on piccolo
/	pno/org = can be played on either piano or organ
lib	ad libitum
obl	obligato
str	str: 65432 = specified number of string players
str min	str min: 65432 = at least 65432
str max	str max: 65432 = not more than 65432
solo	vln solo = violin is the solo instrument in a work not obviously for solo violin