Nichts, Op. 17
- Instrumentation
- Cello, Piano
- Composed
- 2011
- Duration
- 4'
- Publisher
- Composer (self-published)
Purchase or download
About this piece
Nichts ('Nothing'), Op. 17, is a short piece of about four minutes for cello and piano, written in Heredia, Costa Rica, in 2011 and dedicated to Fernando Trigueros. It is unmeasured and in a free, modern idiom: the cello plays slow, sustained lines that rise from the low C string and fall back, framed by piano clusters, tremolos and rapid cascades in free notation. In one loud passage both players strike with the wood of the bow or hand ('holz/madera'), and the piece dies away 'morendo'. The score is the composer's handwritten manuscript, free on IMSLP.
Technical overview
Unmetered, with mostly long notes and simple rhythms, so the challenge is pacing, tone and coordination with the piano rather than speed. The cello line moves between bass, tenor and treble clef up to about C5, with glissandi, wide dynamic swells and a short col legno passage.
Technical focus
- Treble Clef
- Tenor Clef
- Shifting
- Hairpin Dynamics
- Extended Techniques
- Collaboration with Piano