Die Quelle der Jugend
op. 20, 2004
For string orchestra
Duration: 13 min.
Commissioned by the Lefkas Festival
World premiere: 30 July 2004, Lefkas Festival, Greece. Orchestra of Patras, conductor: Konstantia Gourzi
Composer’s notes
Die Quelle der Jugend (“The source of youth”) is an adaptation of String quartet no. 1, Israel for string orchestra. The piece was meant as an homage to the Greek-Japanese writer Lefkadios Hearn. He was born on the island of Lefkas and his life was a journey, an adventure, following his inner voice radically. His story inspired me to adaptation since the occasion of writing the string quartet bears resemblance with the life of Lefkadios Hearn.
The first part featuring chords is played quasi without vibrato so that the intensity of the sound and the pulse of the different bars become noticeable. The second part is dynamic, breathless, strict in tempo and changes soon into a softer, hopeful and flexible sound which is transformed and emphasizes the melodic and nostalgic elements. At the end the sound returns into the chord driven atmosphere from the beginning, with a serene finish.