Danse Visions

I. Satisfaction. Tango-variations

»Dédicacé à la mémoire d’Alberto Ginastera et au créateur du ›tango nuevo‹ Astor Piazzolla.«

For violin and piano
Premiere: 1986, New York, Carnegie Recital Hall, played by René Staar
Duradion: ca. 9 minutes
Score: ECA Nr. 72002/01 Score (Extract, Pdf)

Audio sample:

René Staar, violin

Harald Ossberger, piano

II. Audace. Incitations de Rock

»À la mémoire de Jimi Hendrix«

for violin and piano
Duration: 7'50''

III. Fusion

About the work:

The genesis of the third Divertissement Suisse, Op. 10, “Danse Visions,” can be roughly divided into two periods.

Danse Vision I, entitled “Satisfaction. Tango Variations,” was composed in 1985 and is dedicated to the memory of two Argentine composers: Alberto Ginastera and his master student Astor Piazzolla. I developed a friendship based on open-mindedness and inquisitiveness with Ginastera and his wife, Aurora Natóla.

At that time, I was fascinated by the typical characteristics of the milonga and the tango; I compiled a catalog of variations on the tango rhythm that went beyond the traditional 4/8 meter and included a further development into 5/8 as well as freely changing meters. When this preliminary work was sufficiently advanced to consider its realization, ORF approached me with an offer to record new works (including my own), which greatly accelerated the creation of the first Danse Vision. The piece was written, rehearsed, and recorded within approximately four weeks. An underlying rhythm of 3+3+2 sixteenth notes constitutes the piece’s primary element, and also recurs at the end; it is interspersed with developmental as well as contrasting (quieter) sections.

Work on Danse Vision II also commenced in the summer of 1985. The piece was conceived as a critical commentary on American rock music, which was – and still is – generally repetitive, enervating, and shallow. Over the years, however, I have come to appreciate Jimi Hendrix’s rock music for its own merits. Progress on the composition was hindered by two factors: in addition to temporal, geographical, and professional changes, I repeatedly reoriented my artistic intentions due to new experiences, more accurate information, and new knowledge – resulting in the multiple approaches in composing this piece.

The model for the four parts of Danse Vision II comprises not only rock rhythms, but also the melodic and harmonic style of some of Hendrix's most important songs, with the transformation process turning the piece into a “hybrid butterfly”: harmonically, above all, this occurs through a fusion of chromaticism, pentatonicism, and the four-part harmony I constructed as a further development of the three-part harmony appearing in the first Danse Vision.

The impetus for resuming the project was the successful completion of the small 4th Divertissement Suisse, Op. 10/4, which was also begun in 1985 and finished in 2022, as well as the composition of the 6th Divertissement Suisse, Op. 10/6, written between July 2022 and December 2023, and intended as the culmination of the entire cycle.