The [Uncertain] Spring (worldpremière)

The [Uncertain] Spring was composed as a commission of the European Youth Orchestra for their 50th anniversary and funded by the Ernst von Siemens Foundation. 

The composition echoes Vivaldi’s Spring from the Four Seasons. The piece departs from Vivaldi and the computational result of the climatological forecasts for Strassbourg in the future that were applied on the music.

The first movement can be clearly heard as an echo of Vivaldi where only the essentials are left. 

The second movement reflects on a Japanese traditional “Sakura Sakura” as a distortion of the beauty of spring (Sakura being the cherry blossoms) in a future where it even isn’t certain the seasons will still exist in the same way as they used to. (The piece was written during Annelies Van Parys her residency at the Tokyo Arts and Space in Japan, a country that also is particularly hit by the changing climate) 

The last movement places a constant A under the orchestra. This tuning note for the orchestra, represents humanity and its inclination of imposing its will on the environment. The orchestra that represents the environment, however, starts to change around this A thus making the A feeling gradually out of tune and eventually completely devoured by the orchestra.