Schwertsik, Kurt: Schrumpf-Symphonie (Shrunken Symphony) op. 80 (1999) 5'
for orchestra

Scoring
2(II=picc).2.2.2-2.2.0.0-timp-strings

World Premiere
12/31/1999
Mozarteum, Salzburg
Camerata Salzburg / Roger Norrington CBE


Composer's Notes      Deutsch    Français
Shrunken Symphony:
                                  What is the meaning of this?

A form dried up and shrivelled like those
shrunken heads -
therefore a corporate shrinkage?

Or does the title lead astray and we have
here an embryonic form:
incomplete, unmatured, a seedling in need of
development -
therefore not viable?

Possibly also the idea of a concentrated form,
to be diluted to taste, pasteurised, homogenised
without artificial flavourings -
therefore no danger to health?

In the end still the possibility of a symphony
in a nut shell, a toy symphony;
intriguing craftsmanship, beguiling form -
therefore not without depth?

And what is the meaning of this?

Kurt Schwertsik
(Translation: Elke Hockings/Kurt Schwertsik)