Symphonic Allegory "Mens agitat molem"

The Symphonic Allegory "Mens agitat molem" was written in August 2015 during a one-month residency at the Villa Stonborough-Wittgenstein (artist studio of the province of Upper Austria) in Gmunden and was conceived for the composition competition of the Vienna Concert Association on the occasion of its thirtieth anniversary, which I won with this work. The work is dedicated to the Wiener Concert-Verein and was premiered in the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein. 

The title which precedes the work is taken from Virgil's "Aeneid": "Spirit moves matter." This saying was appropriate for me in two respects: On the one hand, I think that it is precisely this quality that one should wish an ensemble on its anniversary. On the other hand, it also contains a basic idea of what is close to my own heart with my compositions. The structure of the work refers to a series of ten chords, each of which is also associated with time signatures. This runs thematically through the work, which is divided into five sections. One of my essential requirements for a composition is to combine my personal style with a clear, preconceived structure that becomes a creative principle, and to create very personal and emotional content between these preconceived elements. This explains why the title of this work is also very individual to my way of composing. Nowhere is it possible to combine rationality and emotionality as authentically as in music. Therein lies the Eros of this art for me.