”Rondo II” was composed in 1989 and received its premiere by the ensemble Cicada that same year. The piece is inspired by the very advanced form structure found in some of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s so-called rondos, where simple and perceptible material is analyzed from different points of view, through what one might call an almost “cubist” technique of variation.
“Rondo II” consists of variations in acrostic form, that is to say that the very first chord in all the variations together form the musical theme of the piece. In terms of compositional technique, the piece may be described as a “dialogue with chance”; chance operations are used to establish a framework where the theme is more or less changed or reduced, but which also offers the opportunity to present additional material. The result is a kind of interplay between (predetermined) construction and freedom – the latter being not least audible in the instrumentation.