Cerha - Paraphrase über den Anfang der 9. Symphonie von Beethoven for orchestra

When I received an enquiry from the Gewandhaus Orchestra, asking whether I would be interested in a small commissioned piece to be performed before Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and preferably connected to it, my first response was a definite ‘no’. I did not want to write music about someone else’s music. Against my will, however, the opening movement of the symphony haunted me in the days following the request and I was unable to banish it from my mind. Ever since I first heard the piece as a child, it has held a particular fascination for me – with its mysterious fifths and descending fourths, the tremolo and the powerful resolution of the final cadence. The material began reshaping itself and blossoming rapidly in my mind.

The elements became more and more altered until their origins were no longer recognisable. Slowly, the structure of a piece emerged out of the nebulous ideas in my imagination – without me writing down a single note. At length, I accepted the commission. I then sat down and began writing out the first draft of the piece in a furious burst of energy.

The first version of my works is always the shortest. When I write out the fair copy, my pieces generally expand – because transitions are needed between passages and because my imagination continues to work away after the first draft, opening up new possibilities. Nevertheless, the whole piece lasts no more than 14 minutes.

Technically speaking, the harmony is derived from a chain of descending fourths: the first theme in Symphony No. 9. The orchestration is the same as Beethoven’s, except that the three percussionists play different instruments, of course.

I hope very much that the gap between my Paraphrase and Beethoven’s work will not be perceived as an irreconcilable divide between two foreign elements, but that the pieces can instead be experienced as two related elements.

Friedrich Cerha

Alan Gilbert on Friedrich Cerha’s Paraphrase on the Opening of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9:

“There’s certain elements that you can easily identify, “that rhythm comes from this, this gesture is reminiscent or taken clearly from the Beethoven’s Ninth”. What I will say about this piece is that it’s highly atmospheric and it has some beautiful sounds and sets up kind of a wonderful stepping-stone from which you can enter the world of Beethoven 9. To me it sort of opens the world of possibility, it is not so determinate the way it is connected to the piece, as far as I can tell – which actually is a good thing, because it lets the Beethoven really stand on its own.”