10 years after I wrote Rescuing Ariadne for flute & piano that I planned to be the first piece of a trilogy, today a message arrived suddenly when I was at the Kualalumpur airport from my highly esteemed flutist friend, Wendela van Swol who also champions many of my works for flute, saying that she would perform Rescuing Ariadne and Narcissus Dying (my second piece in the planned trilogy) at the Andalusian Flute Convention "Flautissima" in about two weeks time. I thought this would be the right time to finish the third piece, Ixion, Bound to a Wheel of Fire, and so on the plane back to Jakarta I started working on it again. After I arrived home I immediately tried it on my piano in my apartment, and after a few revisions, I sent it to Wendela directly. ............................................................................................................................................
This last piece of my Trilogy is inspired first by the painting of Jose de Ribera I observed at the Museo del Prado (Madrid) several times. The last time I saw it was during the summer of 2016, where somehow it electrified me more than the other times I saw it. Perhaps it was because I read Ovid's Metamorphosis about Ixion before I came to the museum. As with the other pieces in this trilogy, I can't tell you whether they were more inspired by the paintings or by Ovid's Metamorphosis which lies beside my bed already for so many years. ............................................................................................................................................
I quote the explanation of the painting from Del Prado's website: The father of the race of centaurs, Ixion was punished by madness for murdering his father-in-law. After he was pardoned he attempted to supplant Jupiter in Juno’s bed and was consequently condemned to be turned on a wheel for all eternity. Ribera depicts the wheel being set in motion by a satyr who has chained Ixion to it, allowing the artist to display his mastery of anatomy. ............................................................................................................................................
According to Ovid's "Metamorphosis", this is a wheel of fire, which also sparks the inspiration for my piece. This certainly is the most virtuosic of the pieces in the trilogy, and it should be played as fast as possible so that it lasts under 2 minutes. The crescendi and diminuendi are very important to be exaggerated since they depict the sparks of wild fire and the rotating wheel. The duration of the whole trilogy would then be around 12 minutes. ............................................................................................................................................
I dedicate this piece, affectionately to the flutist Roberto Alvarez , a member of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra who has performed many of my flute pieces. After I sketched the piece a few months ago, thinking to give it as a surprise gift to Roberto, it was just lying around for a few months since I sort of knew what I would write. Wendela's message also forced me to think about the general title of the trilogy. I've been tinkering with the title for a long time. The funny thing is that all 3 pieces have sadomasochistic aspects with these heroes. I thought of quite a naughty title, but I abandoned the idea (and I'm not telling it to you!) and succumbed to a simpler title, "Trilogia Mitologica". My trio for flute, viola & piano has already a naughty title, as you know, Menage a Trois , and I am not putting more naughty titles for the moment he he he .... The order of the pieces is Rescuing Ariadne, Narcissus Dying and Ixion, Bound to a Wheel of Fire. ............................................................................................................................................
Trilogia Mitologica as a whole, will receive its World Premiere at the closing of the Andalusia Flute Convention "Flautissima", May 7th in a matinee concert in Malaga. Performed by Wendela van Swol (flute) and Santiago Baez (piano). Each piece could, in fact, be played separately, but it would be rather strange to perform "Ixion" separately since it's only about 2 minutes long, right?
martes, 25 de abril de 2017
Sadomasochism in (my) Music?
10 years after I wrote Rescuing Ariadne for flute & piano that I planned to be the first piece of a trilogy, today a message arrived suddenly when I was at the Kualalumpur airport from my highly esteemed flutist friend, Wendela van Swol who also champions many of my works for flute, saying that she would perform Rescuing Ariadne and Narcissus Dying (my second piece in the planned trilogy) at the Andalusian Flute Convention "Flautissima" in about two weeks time. I thought this would be the right time to finish the third piece, Ixion, Bound to a Wheel of Fire, and so on the plane back to Jakarta I started working on it again. After I arrived home I immediately tried it on my piano in my apartment, and after a few revisions, I sent it to Wendela directly. ............................................................................................................................................
This last piece of my Trilogy is inspired first by the painting of Jose de Ribera I observed at the Museo del Prado (Madrid) several times. The last time I saw it was during the summer of 2016, where somehow it electrified me more than the other times I saw it. Perhaps it was because I read Ovid's Metamorphosis about Ixion before I came to the museum. As with the other pieces in this trilogy, I can't tell you whether they were more inspired by the paintings or by Ovid's Metamorphosis which lies beside my bed already for so many years. ............................................................................................................................................
I quote the explanation of the painting from Del Prado's website: The father of the race of centaurs, Ixion was punished by madness for murdering his father-in-law. After he was pardoned he attempted to supplant Jupiter in Juno’s bed and was consequently condemned to be turned on a wheel for all eternity. Ribera depicts the wheel being set in motion by a satyr who has chained Ixion to it, allowing the artist to display his mastery of anatomy. ............................................................................................................................................
According to Ovid's "Metamorphosis", this is a wheel of fire, which also sparks the inspiration for my piece. This certainly is the most virtuosic of the pieces in the trilogy, and it should be played as fast as possible so that it lasts under 2 minutes. The crescendi and diminuendi are very important to be exaggerated since they depict the sparks of wild fire and the rotating wheel. The duration of the whole trilogy would then be around 12 minutes. ............................................................................................................................................
I dedicate this piece, affectionately to the flutist Roberto Alvarez , a member of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra who has performed many of my flute pieces. After I sketched the piece a few months ago, thinking to give it as a surprise gift to Roberto, it was just lying around for a few months since I sort of knew what I would write. Wendela's message also forced me to think about the general title of the trilogy. I've been tinkering with the title for a long time. The funny thing is that all 3 pieces have sadomasochistic aspects with these heroes. I thought of quite a naughty title, but I abandoned the idea (and I'm not telling it to you!) and succumbed to a simpler title, "Trilogia Mitologica". My trio for flute, viola & piano has already a naughty title, as you know, Menage a Trois , and I am not putting more naughty titles for the moment he he he .... The order of the pieces is Rescuing Ariadne, Narcissus Dying and Ixion, Bound to a Wheel of Fire. ............................................................................................................................................
Trilogia Mitologica as a whole, will receive its World Premiere at the closing of the Andalusia Flute Convention "Flautissima", May 7th in a matinee concert in Malaga. Performed by Wendela van Swol (flute) and Santiago Baez (piano). Each piece could, in fact, be played separately, but it would be rather strange to perform "Ixion" separately since it's only about 2 minutes long, right?
