Anthèmes II
Anthèmes are two related compositions for violin by French composer Pierre Boulez: Anthèmes I and Anthèmes II.
Anthèmes I is a short piece (c. 9 minutes) for solo violin, commissioned by the 1991 Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition, and dedicated to Universal Edition's director Alfred Schlee for his 90th birthday. In 1994, Boulez revised and expanded Anthèmes I into a version for violin and live electronics at IRCAM, resulting in Anthèmes II (c. 18 minutes duration), produced in 1997. (Expansion and revision of earlier works is common in Boulez's compositional process; see also Structures.)
The title is a hybrid of the French "thèmes" (themes) and the English "anthem". It is also a play on words with 'anti-thematicism ': "Anthèmes" reunites the "anti" with the "thematic", and demonstrates Boulez's re-acceptance of (loose) thematicism following a long period of staunch opposition to it.
Movements
- Anthèmes 2: I. Très lent, avec beaucoup de flexibilité. Libre
- Anthèmes 2: II. Rapide, dynamique, très rythmique, rigide. Libre
- Anthèmes 2: III. Lent, régulier. Nerveux, irrégulier. Libre
- Anthèmes 2: IV. Agité,instable. Libre
- Anthèmes 2: Libre
- Anthèmes 2: V. Très lent, avec beaucoup de flexibilité. Subitement nerveux et extrêmement irrégulier. Libre
- Anthèmes 2: VI-I. Allant, assez serré dans le tempo
- Anthèmes 2: VI-II. Calme, régulier. Agité. Brusque
- Anthèmes 2: VI-III. Calme, sans traîner, d'un mouvement trèsrégulier. Libre