Up to 4 – Festival 33,7

Camille Kerger (*LU, 1957)
Treibsand (2022) for viola and saxophone – 10’ World Premiere
Commissioned by United Instruments of Lucilin for the project 33,7 – Esch2022 European Capital of Culture
Seen superficially, quicksand appears in nature as a solid, load-bearing surface, which, however, can very quickly take on unimagined other forms. Camille Kerger wanted to achieve something similar in his music. By «letting go» while composing, he tried to explore and use new spaces and possibilities. Nevertheless, the overall impression of great formal unity should always be given.

Georges Aperghis (*GR, 1945)
Récitations II (1980) cello solo – 5’
Récitations 2, from the « quatres récitations pour violoncelle »
Aperghis’s work is notably characterized by a questioning about languages and the meaning. His compositions, wether instrumental, vocal or for stage, explore the borders of the intelligible, he likes to create twisted tracks which allow him to keep active the listener (stories emerge but are suddenly refuted)

Florent Caron Darras (*FR, 1986)
Rives (2020) for clarinet, saxophone, violin, cello – 12’
Rives, for these places that are points of contact between the mobile and the immobile. “In these short pieces, Florent Caron Darras wanted to work on four situations as if they were micro landscapes: with reduced materials, feigning immobility, but nonetheless definitely carried in time, led towards a future”

Philippe Manoury (*FR, 1952)
Sul Ciacona (2022) for string trio – 7’ World Premiere
Commissioned by United Instruments of Lucilin for the project 33,7 – Esch2022 European Capital of Culture, with the support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation
«Sul Ciacona» is a development for string trio of «Quasi una ciacona» for solo viola, written for Danielle Hennicot. Originally it was a stage music for Philippe Manoury’s opera «Kein Licht» which was premiered by the ensemble United Instruments of Lucilin in 2017. I took most of the musical material from this piece for viola, but often modified it to fit the polyphonic writing of the trio. It consists of a kind of «Passacaglia» followed by a series of variations, each with its own musical character.

With: André Pons-Valdès (violin), Winnie Cheng (violin), Danielle Hennicot (viola), Ingrid Schoenlaub (violoncello), Max Mausen (clarinet), Olivier Sliepen (saxophone)