Beat
In Beat
I tried to compose with simple material music as direct and clear as possible. It must be possible to feel what that music is about without much explanation. But in any case Beat
is about rhythm. The piece has an ongoing pulse that is tight as well as springy, that is inescapably present from the beginning. In all its directness the timing in the composition is very subtle. When that timing is right, the music generates her own compelling force.
Pianist Ralph van Raat said the following about the work:
Beat is a work that is absolutely contemporary, and could not have been written in any other era than in this current, high-tech and new spiritual era: Beljon does not shy away from consonant intervals such as the third and the octave, and the rhythm of the work betrays clear influences from contemporary pop music as a sort of hyper-actual Stravinsky, especially from the beat music. Moreover, the terrace dynamics of the work are strongly reminiscent of our zap culture. Despite everything, this work is written and proportioned as a classical composition. It is idiomatic for the instrument, with pianistic cross over techniques, center pedal techniques and hand crossings, which have their roots in romantic music.