On the Edge of the Abyss
- Instrumentation
- Cello Ensemble, Other
- Composed
- 2002
- Duration
- 15'
- Publisher
- Hans Sikorski (Boosey & Hawkes)
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About this piece
On the Edge of the Abyss (Am Rande des Abgrunds) is a 15-minute, single-movement work for seven cellos and two waterphones (aquaphones), composed in 2002 and dedicated to the composer Viktor Suslin. It was premiered in Moscow on 28 February 2003 by Vladimir Tonkha's cello ensemble, with Gubaidulina and Suslin playing the waterphones. In her note the composer explains that the 'abyss' is the region between the fingerboard and the bridge, the cello's highest register, which the music approaches in stages: first through double-harmonic pizzicati, then bowed tremolo double harmonics, and finally expressive bowed playing, across seven sections framed by an introduction and epilogue.
Technical overview
No technical overview is available yet.