Two of a Kind

Composer: Daniel Berg

Instrument: Violin and Vibraphone

Level: Intermediate

Published: 2021

• Description

  Two very typical sounds from my childhood is the knocking from an office, with rooms full of typewriters, and the pinball machines in every second restaurant - oh what great memories. As a child, all machines had a life and of course they must dream when they are sleeping!
  
  This piece is written and dedicated to the composer Anton Lindström, who also is a great vibraphone player, and his father - violin player, and technical genius,  Hans Lindström - Two of a Kind.

• (Percussive Notes, April 2022)
  
  “Two of a Kind” is written and dedicated to composer and vibraphonist Anton Lindström and his father, violinist Hans Lindström — hence the title. Daniel Berg writes, “Two very typical sounds from my childhood are the knocking from an office, with rooms full of typewriters, and the pinball machines in every second restaurant… As a child, all machines had a life and of course they must dream when they are sleeping!”
  
  The piece is in three short movements: “The sound of a halda typewriter,” “The machines are dreaming,” and “The sound of a bally pinball machine.” Each movement accurately and beautifully depicts the program that each title describes. The first movement is rhythmic, bouncy, and includes many dynamic changes reminiscent of varying typing speed. The second movement uses slow vibrato on the vibraphone and requires the vibraphonist to use a bow in one hand and a vibraphone and pitch-bend mallet in the other hand. At the end, a bowed crotale is used to match the octave of the violin harmonic.The music is sparse, open, and rubato. The final movement often has one player performing the melody while the other part is accented and rhythmic to emulate the sound of careening and rebounding pinballs.
  
  I recommend this piece for a university or professional duo that wants to add an accessible, programmatic, and challenging duet to a recital program. I believe audiences appreciate a piece that intends to tell a specific story or depict a certain image, and does so very convincingly. That is certainly the case with “Two of a Kind.”
  
  —Justin Bunting