Aria
op. 94, 2003/2022
for Violin Solo and Piano
Duration: 4 min.
Commissioned by Johannes Fleischmann
CD recording for Odradek, 2023
Violin: Johannes Fleischmann
Piano: Konstantia Gourzi
Composer’s Notes
Aria, a miniature composition for solo violin and piano, has its starting point in this work by Haydn, which is rooted in Greek mythology and its world of gods. In 2003 Aria was first written as an aria for soprano in the form of one of the complementary compositions to “Philemon and Baucis”. Recomposed in 2022 for solo violin and piano, Aria can be experienced here as a short narrative of a dream, as a carrier of the yearning for a for a certain emotional sound language.
Although the piano has only a single final octave to play, it remains an indispensable part of the performance, as the solo violin plays its melodies into the open piano, where the strings of the keyboard instrument resonate with the depressed pedal. The solo voice is characterized by phrases of unequal length, always taking into account the human breath, which savor the chromatic tonal space in the most tender way. Every note is felt and contributes its part to this gentle, reflected aria.
