Riflesso sullo spazio - variazioni sul nome di Arnold Schönberg - for seven players

Rijnvos, Richard

Abstract

Riflesso sullo spazio (‘reflection on space/time’) is part of the Riflessi series, which consists exclusively of companion pieces: each Riflesso explores the same exceptional scoring of a classic from the last century. Riflesso sullo spazio is a companion piece for Arnold Schönberg’s Suite, his opus 29. It is scored for clarinet in E-flat, clarinet in A, bass clarinet, violin, viola, cello and piano. The work is a series of variations on the name of Arnold Schönberg. As a matter of fact the composer’s name contains a total of eight letters that can be interpreted as pitches (A-D-S-C-H-B-E-G), bearing in mind that in German musical nomenclature the letter B stands for a B-flat, the letter H is read as a B-natural, and the S is an E-flat. The first bar of every variation – there are thirty-five in total – is composed solely using these eight pitches, each exploring a different intervallic characteristic. From this method melodic fragments may sprout, though melody is rarely the most important feature, nor do the rhythms and dynamics vary significantly. More than anything the piece focuses on harmony, patterns and repetitions, and in doing so you might say it is a personal response to the late works of Morton Feldman. Now that his name is mentioned, it was specifically this legendary composer who in a 1982 interview reiterated that when John Cage studied composition with Schönberg, he was told by his teacher he had no feeling for harmony: “You'll come to a wall you won't be able to get through”. Cage’s response to Schönberg was: “Well then, I'll beat my head against that wall.” The motif that can be constructed from his name (CAGE) appears twice in Riflesso sullo spazio, as a tongue-in-cheek cameo, and so does BACH, albeit only once. The structure of the composition is one of regular expansion, in which a crucial role is reserved for the listener’s memory. The piece opens with one solitary section bearing the heading Iniziale. What follows are an ear-catching interlude and two variations. Next up are the repeat of the interlude succeeded by three variations, another interlude and four variations, etcetera, etcetera. In other words: the space between interludes gradually increases, and time passes as if it were an expanding galactic spiral. After nearly forty minutes, when the interlude appears for the eighth time – again, eight being the amount of pitches in Schönberg’s name – the piece signs off with a final section entitled Autografo.

Citation

Rijnvos, R. (2019). Riflesso sullo spazio - variazioni sul nome di Arnold Schönberg - for seven players. [score]

• Other Type: Composition
• Online Publication Date: Apr 11, 2019
• Publication Date: 2019
• Deposit Date: Nov 19, 2018
• Additional Information: Duration: 40 minutes