Work in progress
Following the concept of the Gemini Duos op. 24 A, the Duos op. 24 B also includes duos for violin and alternating instruments.
However, while the A-series deals with four-part chord sequences, the B-series explores in each piece the relationship between two specific five-part chords.
B 1 Duo for violin and double bassoon (February 27, 2007)
»For Wolfgang Koblitz«
»For Wolfgang Koblitz«
Duration: 7'20''
Score: ECA Nr. 72001/016 (in preparation)
Work on the first piece in the B series of Gemini Duos was resumed after a hiatus of more than five years. The piece is scored for violin and contrabassoon; it was written intermittently between London and Tokyo, during concert tours of the Wiener Philharmoniker, and was subsequently completed in Vienna.
Lasting almost 7 ½ minutes, it is one of the longest duos, and commences by outlining the greatest possible distance between the two instruments: the violin occupies a dizzyingly high register, while the contrabassoon stays within a low register and assumes a "grotesque" character. Articulation and structure are also extremely differentiated. The violin’s long, vibrato-free, and plain bow strokes clash with the contrabassoon’s very short, bizarre, and often syncopated staccatos. It is only when the two instruments play together that a peculiarly hybrid harmony emerges, with its patterns as well as the use of fifths imparting a flavor that is subtly reminiscent of medieval church music. However, all these elements appear in distorted contexts that seem to create patterns resembling obliquely superimposed harmonic lattices; the resulting peculiar ambiguities also permeate the transitions between different parts.
Within this interplay between extreme registers and articulations, each instrument acquires a distinctive profile, with the violin embracing a more agile character while the contrabassoon adopts a more profound disposition; this enables the piece to flow despite these extremes. The rapid final section with its incongruous cadenza-like insertions illustrates the eccentricity of this – cunningly – virtuoso piece.
B 2 Duo for violin and vibraphone (February 18, 2025)
»For Thomas Lechner«
Duration: 3'08''
Work on the Gemini Duo B2 for violin and vibraphone began immediately after the completion of B1; however, the piece was not finished until 2025. It is rhythmically complex, yet extremely joyful and virtuosic. Pervasive five-part harmonies are first juxtaposed within harmonic registers that are linked through stepwise motion, and subsequently advance in interlocked five-part gestures first in 5/8 time and then in compressed 5/16 time; these are followed by a variety of dance-like elements, which lead to almost inconceivable syncopations in wildly ascending climaxes.
B 3 Duo for violin and horn (April 6, 2026)
»Dedicated to Wolfgang Tomböck Jr.«
Duration: 4'38''
The musical unfolding and form of this duo are essentially derived from a sequence of five-part harmonic progressions that also appear in two-, three-, four-, and five-part modules. Episodic structural elements define the various sections, the first of which is based on the concept of individual harmonic tones that are sustained in a fully composed and motivically relevant way. The sustained resonance becomes compositionally significant, while the use of syncopation also shapes the rhythmic identity of all the formal sections.
The second episode is marked by two- and three-part harmonic progressions combined with single-voice motivic developments. Rhythmic elements such as sixteenth notes or triplets propel the musical narrative, while syncopations add variety to the overall texture.
The third episode begins with tetrachord-like ascending and descending patterns that subsequently generate combinations of scales and triadic arpeggios in double stops.
The second episode is marked by two- and three-part harmonic progressions combined with single-voice motivic developments. Rhythmic elements such as sixteenth notes or triplets propel the musical narrative, while syncopations add variety to the overall texture.
The third episode begins with tetrachord-like ascending and descending patterns that subsequently generate combinations of scales and triadic arpeggios in double stops.
A faster tempo characterizes the transition to the fourth episode, which consists of solo ritornellos and likewise relies on a different type of syncopated motivic writing.
In the fifth and final episode, the five-note harmonies are interpreted as horizontal events, unfolding as an immanent polyphony that gradually slows in tempo, at the end of which two of these linear elements allow the musical narrative to fade away into the distance.
B 4 Duo for violin and cimbalom (June 9, 2026)
Duration: 3'29''
Duration: 3'29''
The Duo B4 likewise works with combinations of two five-note sonorities, which here, however, take the form of pentatonic structures or scales. These pentatonic cells form the basis of all the musical figures in the Duo and also provide the building blocks for its polyphonic sections.
Half- and whole-step motion determines the course of the Duo in a variety of ways. The rhythm of the habanera, a Latin American dance that oscillates between duple and triple subdivisions, defines the fundamental character of the first section. A parallel two-part texture unfolds between the violin and the cimbalom, complemented by a contrasting harmonic/rhythmic tone. This overarching motif is presented as a continuously evolving event, sequenced across different registers and harmonic fields.
The other sections of the piece contrast with the first by exploring the pentatonic scales in ever-new contexts, expanding them into octagonal scales before dissolving in a stretta-like conclusion.