Sagittarius

2016

Program Note

Sagittarius was commissioned by 2015 Sound Ways Festival in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is in essence variations on Karlheinz Stokhausen’s “Sagittarius” from his “Zodiac” (“Tierkreis:” 12 short movements written originally for a music box set of 12 zodiac signs), an open-instrumentation work that can be played in any version by any ensemble or soloist. When I was asked to write a piece based on Sagittarius, I had an idea to use as a framework for its form and instrumentation the pattern of alternating meters found in the original piece (5/4, 6/4, 7/4, 4/4, 3/4, 1/4, 2/4, 8/4). This metric pattern is retained in each variation (except for the aleatoric one), and the instrumentation/density of chords in each variation matches the upper number of the meter.

About Vera Ivanova

Vera Ivanova graduated from the Moscow Conservatory (Honours Diploma), Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London (MM with distinction), and the Eastman School of Music (Ph.D. in Composition). Her…

Read More...