Dannish composer Kim Helweg (born 1956) was initially influenced by the work of Penderecki and John Cage. But a change encounter with American fusion-music later drastically altered his course and led to an extended period of jazz/rock compositions – inspired primarily by Miles Davis, Joe Zawinul and Chick Corea – culminating in a couple of rocksymphonies and the rock-operas Ulysses and Black Mass.

In 1985 and 1988 he won first prize for composition for The Danish Radio Concert Orchestra, and in 1986 his music for the drama The Kreutzer Sonata was awarded a prize in Monaco. By 1988, however, he was again writing for classical ensembles, and his works since that time include a Violin Concerto (commissioned by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation) a Cello Concerto, a concerto for percussion and orchestra Barocco Brasileiro written for the Safri Duo, Dvojnik – a concerto for two pianos and orchestra, 3 chamber concertos, ballets (such as Cupid and Psyche, commissioned and performed by the Royal Danish Ballet and Orchestra on the occasion of the Copenhagen European Capital of Culture in 1996), and Requiem Piazza Duomo for 1.000 performers.

Most recently the ballets The Return of Don Juan, Spiri and Silent Tales and the orchestra pieces Il Madrigale Di Giouanni, Paganini 2000 and Two and Stalingrad Symphonies have been performed, to which we can add presentations at contemporary music festivals in Canada, Finland, Poland, Argentina, Uruguay and in Belgium. Kim Helwegs first opera Stalingrad was performed august 2002. His piece Variations of the theme by Chick Corea for two pianos was premiered by Sonja Lončar and Andrija Pavlović in Belgrade, Banja Luka, Novi Sad, and also in the Netherlands, Poland and Miami (Florida).

Tango
The piece was originally written for a concert in London in 1992, as an encore to be played after the famous Bartók’s Sonata for two pianos and percussion. The piece was later on rearranged for large orchestra and included in the full length ballet Cupid and Psyche (The Royal Danish Theatre 1997). The form of the piece is scherzo with trio, and it explores the relationship between the pianists and the percussionists in a sarcastic and humoristic way.
Belgrade premiere