Steps (within a step) (2015)
for saxophone quartet
(10'00")
First performance : 21 February 2016, Herdecke (Germany), Werner Richard Saal, Xenon Saxophone Quartet
Commission : Werner Richard - Dr. Carl Dörken Stiftung and the Xenon Saxophone Quartet
About the work
The gradual transformation of forms and figures found in M.C. Escher's work was an early inspiration or point of departure for the composition of my piece. Though it isn't a literal transcription of any of Escher's works, I was inspired to construct a musical form in which contrasting musical materials evolve gradually in different steps or phases : from a rhythmical, lively and percussive section to a suspended and static sound world ; from the sound of air noise to the complexity and fragility of multiphonics.