• 4pf, cel (pf 4hnd, prepared pf, mistuned pf)
  • 22 min

Programme Note

Genklang - Resonance

In the Danish language the title "Genklang" has many meanings.

First, it is a "technical" description of the sound character of the work, namely endless "resonances" between four instruments which sound both alike and very different.

Secondly, the work is a "resonance" of pre-existing music; an "echo" namely - in this case - of the Adagietto from Gustav Mahler's Fifth Symphony (which became famous when Visconti used it in his film "Death in Venice"). This movement is the leitmotif of the whole work, and is heard now and then in the mistuned piano. This is one reason that Genklang has been dedicated to Mahler; it is, however, in no way a question of "variations" or "collage" from his music. I have merely used basic musical material from the same sources as he did: waltz, march, folksongs, Viennese Classicism, etc.

Finally, "resonance" is a psychological concept, something you are hopeful of arousing...

Karl Aage Rasmussen