maverick II [murmuring] for bass flute (2009)

Instrumentation: subcontrabass flute (or contrabass flute or bass flute)

Duration: ca. 12 minutes

Publisher: Schott Music (in preparation)

Commissioned by the Weimarer Frühjahrstage für zeitgenössische Musik with support from the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation

WP: May 1, 2010, Weimar (Carin Levine)

Further performances: May 3, 2010, Würzburg

Introduction:

maverick II [murmuring]
is the second piece in a series of solo compositions for contrabass instruments. North American cattlemen called animals without brands ‚maverick‘; later, the term became a metaphor for all kinds of loners, outsiders and runaways.
The subtitle refers to the almost continuous, partly amorphous, partly more shaped „murmuring“, which characterises the piece and replaces the virtuoso or melodious textures that are (all too) well known from the music for solo flute. The composition is rhythmically only approximately notated, which supports the improvisational, „maundering“ character of the piece, but also accommodates the performance on the bass flute types with their differing flexibility and response.