"Krakatoa Concert: Volcanic Cataclysm, Shockwaves & Sunsets" with Rupert Guenther

A world premiere performance by violinist-composer Rupert Guenther of evocative music inspired by real world events.

Based on the events of the very physical shockwaves embracing the eruption (and actually the complete explosion of the entire Island) of Krakatoa on 27th August in 1883, this new work Krakatoa - Volcanic Cataclysm, Shockwaves & Sunsets for solo violin in 5 movements describes the event through music, and the energy of shockwaves, volcanic ash and a huge Tsunami it sent out into the oceans and nearby lands, and for several years afterwards the red sunsets it caused all over the world from the volcanic ash in the atmosphere.

These sunsets have been recorded in paintings by famous painters such as William Ascroft in England and Edvard Munch in Norway and many others, documenting this volcanic event. So the sonata as much as with the science of seismology, vulcanology and the stories of ships and seafarers also ends up with a deep connection to art, for it is in art in which humanity goes for sanctuary to restore themselves.

Rupert Guenther is a Perth-based Vienna-trained violinist-composer and has released over 35 albums and thousands of concerts premiering almost a thousand new works, entirely through improvisation.