Connesson composed Techno Parade, a trio for flute, clarinet and piano, in 2002 and it was first performed at the Château de l’Empéri in Salon-de-Provence on 3 August 2002 by its three dedicatees: Emmanuel Pahud (flute), Paul Meyer (clarinet) and Eric Le Sage (piano). Connesson has described the work as ‘a single movement, with a continuous pulse from start to finish. Two motifs swirl and collide, giving the piece a festive and restless character. The howls of the clarinet and the obsessive repetitions of the piano seek to rediscover the brutal energy of techno music.’ The central part of the piece requires the pianist to use a brush and sheets of paper to produce unusual percussive effects, and after this section the instruments are, as Connesson himself puts it, ‘drawn into a rhythmic trance which ends the piece at the frenetic tempo.’ 

© Nigel Simeone