Expectations - Ivan Kurz
Written in 1984, the Duo for French Horn and Piano was premiered at the 1986 Prague Spring Festival by Vladimíra Klánská (French horn) and Ivan Klánský (piano). The whole four-movement composition forms one integrated flow of music: the first movement, a French horn soliloquy of sorts, raises a number of questions that are meant to be answered in the remaining three movements. The whole composition ends in an allusive funeral march that is interrupted unexpectedly, in mid-phrase. An open ending such as this corresponds with the title of the piece: "Expectations".
What can we expect in days to come? We are living in a period of cultural decline. The most serious evidence of this dismal fact can be seen in the non-existence of style, the loss of any sense of style. With music composition rules abandoned and no restrictions in place, it is impossible for any major, determinative movement to arise; instead, culture is becoming a bazaar, its values shrinking deeper and deeper under the pressure of the laws of the market. Should these expectations turn out to become our factual and persistent "cultural" future, what else is there to be done but to finish the interrupted funeral march as a symbol of leave-taking?
Other compositions by Ivan Kurz published in Czech Radio:
Adamu
Angelic Landscapes for barytone and grand orchestra
Gendarmerie Humoresques, suite for orchestra
Christmas Songs and Carols
I Can Hear the Angels Sing
Living Spirit
The Feathers of the Firebird
instrumentationpfte, cordescriptionscore, partspubl.NoR 172price185,- CZK