Ballade for Eriko Daimo was written in May 2005. I met Eriko in 2003 at the Zeltsman Marimba Festival, and was immediately captured by her playing, which I find very dramatic, exploring both the delicate and the organ-like grand sound of the marimba. Since then, we have grown to be very close friends, therefore I decided to compose a piece for her that describes her personality in the way she has reflected herself to me. Structurally, this piece consist of two contrasting subjects, first of which is slow, mellow and in major, second of which is fast dramatic, and in minor (based on Eriko Daimo's initials D# E).

ca. 11 mins.

Click to listen sound clip - Ballade for Eriko Daimo (performed by Eriko Daimo)