between the lines

op. 93, 2021

for Zither solo
Duration: 5 min.

Commissioned by the 9. International Competition for Zither solo, in the category Young Talent Award I (compulsory piece). The composition commission was financially supported by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

World premiere on 26.2.2022 by the competition participant and the winner’s concert on 27.2. in Munich.

Composer’s Notes

between the lines was commissioned for the 9th International Competition for Zither Solo. The soloist is engaged in two musical tasks at once: playing the instrument and singing alternately.

At the beginning of the piece, up to about bar 30, there should be a clear sound relationship between the instrument and the performer’s voice, in order to create a concentrated and compact sound plane between hands and voice. The impression should be that the singing is a reaction of the performer to his playing, as if he is looking for a sonic coexistence in both actions together, in order to create a certain balancing atmosphere, a bridge for a harmonic balance between playing with the hands and playing with the voice.

This part plays at the same time the role of a prologue for the dance that starts from measure 41, creating more and more a distant memory of a Renaissance dance. At the end of the dance, a small cadenza is played, which the performer is free to shape and which ends in an explosive mood. Immediately after this, beginning at measure 88, the ending is prepared to bring the piece into an “out of breath” situation. In the last bar, the composition concludes with a strong exhalation, as if the goal of the musical interpretative journey has been reached.

Score