Pande Šahov (Macedonia/Great Britain) studied with Risto Avramovski and Tomislav Zografski in Macedonia, before continuing his education at the Royal College of Music London (with Julian Anderson) and Royal Holloway University in London, where he earned his doctoral degree under the supervision of Phil Cashian. His music has been performed by the Macedonian and Sofia Philharmonic Orchestras, the Smith Quartet, the ensembles Lontano, Ixion, Chroma, and the Reconsiland Composers’ ensemble, and the New London Chamber Choir, conducted by Clement Power. Premières scheduled during the 2014/15 season include Chemin Flottant for 14 players and Heraclea II for solo trumpet. His teaching experience covers not only composition and compositional techniques, but also analysis and musicianship. He has organised and led several workshops and seminars. Currently, he works as a Professor of Academic Studies at the Royal College of Music in London.

Quasi Ciaccona was composed in 1995, as a special commission for a concert of music by young composers in Bitola. It was premièred by Konstantin Kirjanov. The opening section is built on ‘filling’ the space between repetitions of a chromatic motive. Instead of repeating a particular bass line or chord progression, this Ciaccona repeats a metric combination. Perhaps Metric Ciaccona would thus be a more appropriate title for it. The entire opening section is in forte dynamics. In the high register, the clarinet sounds almost unpleasant, but the effect is supposed to sound like a flock of birds. The second section begins in piano and, simultaneously with a rhythmic ‘fragmentation’, there is growth in the dynamics. At the very end, motivic fragmentation brings a diminuendo. The second half of the piece has a somewhat jazzy character.