Vincent Ho explores a range of performance practices and playing techniques in Kickin' It. Movements packed with precariousness and frenzy sit alongside others that bathe in the resonant spaces between gestures. Ho's compositional approach here provides performers with an opportunity to display their versatility, as Kickin' It demands not only virtuosic technique but creativity in interpreting more improvisatory performance realms.
Kickin' It is a work that provides two performers the opportunity to showcase their virtuoso skills. There were a number of elements that inspired its creation: the art of improvisation, the music of Squarepusher, jazz, gamelan music, Chinese folk music, and the crime novels of James Ellroy. Compositionally speaking, the work brings together two separate streams I have been developing in my musical language over the past seven years. One is my experience in writing for percussion instruments, most especially in the works for acclaimed percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie (two concertos and two solo pieces). The other is my ongoing pursuit in developing my pianistic language – the tactile and gestural elements (or "signatures") that define my own performance practice. Kickin' It therefore represents the confluence of the two streams. The two players are featured on equal levels of importance as they maintain their constant dialogue with one another while covering a wide expressive range.
