related works
aardhand : for ensemble / Piet-Jan van Rossum
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Large ensemble (12 or more players)
Scoring:
picc/fl fl-a cl-b/cl sax-s sax-a h tpt 2trb tb g-e g-b pf perc
Berceuse antique : voor 3 harpen, 1954 / Hans Osieck
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Harp
Scoring:
3hp
Coco : for harp and loopstation / Eef van Breen
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Harp
Scoring:
hp loopstation
Boerderij-muziek : 12 voorspeelstukjes, voor de kleine -of Ierse harp in Es, 1983 / Cor de Groot
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Harp; Piano; Accordion
Scoring:
hp/pf/acc
composition
apple on the sideboard (oil on canvas) : for harp / Piet-Jan van Rossum
Other authors:
Rossum, Piet-Jan van
(Composer)
Description:
When the corona-lockdown had just started and musicians were facing empty agendas and composers were facing cancelled performances, Heather Pinkham had the luminous idea to organize a concert in a big concert hall without audience, just the musician and the composer. Radio 4 was present with live transmission, interviews and the music, both radio and streaming.
12 composers wrote a piece for 12 soloists. I chose the harp.
To avoid being pessimistic (most people were in a gloomy mood) I chose a quiet and peaceful image, a painting by Alberto Giacometti, 'apple on the sideboard', oil on canvas, as a symbol for patience and rest. Relativizing the feelings of despair some people had, taking distance and looking at the blessings that were still there. So in a short time I wrote a 6th piece based on a work by Giacometti, a tender coda to the huge 5-part Giacometti cycle (or Annette-cycle) for ensemble (1998 - 2013).
I dedicated the work to my sister, who was already ill at the time, almost blind and fragile in general, she died one and a half year later, January 15th 2022.
Piet-Jan van Rossum