Overheating
(2018)
for ensemble
for the Los Angeles Philharmonic to celebrate their centenary and Susanna Mälkki and for my sister Michaela on her birthday
commissioned by Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, Gustavo Dudamel, Music & Artistic Director
first performance
Los Angeles Philharmonic
conducted by Susanna Mälkki
13/11/2018 » Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles
durata » 13′
Bärenreiter BA 11172-72
Flute / Bass Flute Oboe Clarinet in Bb Bassoon French Horn Trumpet in C Trombone 3 Percussionists 1. Marimba 1 2. Marimba 2 3. Vibraphone Harp Piano Accordion Violin 1 Violin 2 Viola Violoncello Double Bass
Program Note I’m standing on the shore under a tall mast. A huge flag sits still above, probably forgotten from some recent celebration. Now and then a fine movement passes through the flag before leaving it stagnant again. The air all around starts to heat up. The flag changes. It becomes a liquid tide. It becomes a straight flame. It loses its form entirely to the blaze around it. Its final threads frazzle into gusts of burning sparks. LA Phil has its centenary season. Coincidentally, my homeland has a centenary too. We celebrate these things while everything around us keeps overheating. Celebration is a joy of responsibility. The responsibility to ask: Do we care more about the flags or the heat?