Between Five Columns

The composition explores the dynamics between two opposing principles – constraint and openness, order and freedom, monumentality and intimacy. Two main motifs (the first five notes from Notation X for piano by Pierre Boulez – one tightly confined within a single octave, the other expanding across all registers) meet in an ever-changing dialogue. Initially a coldly constructed confrontation, it gradually comes to life, transforming into a dramatic, emotional clash between two beings of differing strength: one voice is dominant, the other searches for its place, oscillating between suppression and defiance. This conflict is not only musical but also spatial. Imagine five columns – stable yet changeable. They may appear distant and monumental, or unexpectedly converge, compressing the space to its limits. The acoustics of these imaginary architectural elements shift – tones reflect, merge, and resonate in various forms. At times, we hear vast openness and freedom; at others, we feel the tension and constriction of a confined space.

Thus, the composition is not just a clash of two musical motifs but also a play with proportions, density, and dimensions of sonic space. It is a journey between rigid boundaries and infinite expansion, between confinement and freedom. The composition is a homage to Pierre Boulez.
Ondrej Adámek

“I’m searching for new, unheard sounds that carry within them energy, poetry or emotion,” says Ondrej Adámek. Born in Prague in 1979, the composer and conductor is one of the most original voices in contemporary music today. Adámek often incorporates the human voice and trans-cultural, non-classical music into his works – as in Sinuous Voices.

Adámek’s compositions are also marked by theatrical playfulness and a keen awareness of spatial experience. In Between Five Columns, he elevates an architectural concept to a compositional principle: “Let us imagine five columns – stable, yet mutable,” Adámek explains. “They may appear monumental and far apart, or suddenly draw together to compress the space to a minimum. The acoustics of these imagined architectural elements change – tones are reflected, merge and resonate in different ways. Sometimes we hear openness and freedom; at other times we feel the tension and constriction of a confined space.”

The “five columns” also allude to a pillar of modern music: Pierre Boulez. At the age of 20, Adámek moved to France. “I first met Pierre Boulez in 2000 in Aix-en-Provence. I had just learned French and started studying at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris.” At the Aix Festival, he attended Boulez’ rehearsals for Rituel in memoriam Bruno Maderna – “my favourite piece,” he notes. From 2006 to 2008, the young Czech composer worked closely with Boulez at the Lucerne Festival Academy, where Boulez also premiered Adámek’s Endless Steps. “It was Boulez – but also François-Xavier Roth – who inspired me to become a conductor. Both had a decisive influence on that part of my career,” he reflects. His last encounter with Boulez was in Berlin in 2010.

In Between Five Columns, Adámek draws on two main motifs taken from the first five notes of Pierre Boulez’s piano work Notation X. Despite the structural rigour underlying the piece, Adámek never loses sight of the plasticity and vividness of his sonic language. The two main motifs are of strongly contrasting character: “one closely confined within a single octave, the other expanding across the full range of registers,” as the composer puts it. Their dialogue gives rise to an intense exploration of colour and form: “One voice is dominant, the other is searching for its place, wavering between suppression and resistance.” The opening bar already establishes striking dynamic extremes – triple forte in harp and piano set against fourfold pianissimo in the first solo violin. From static chords emerges a dense, agile texture. Following a climax in which orchestral groups exchange forceful replies, the energy gradually dissipates and fades into silence.
Kerstin Schüssler-Bach