Péter Eötvös

Sequences of the Wind

In 1970 Péter Eötvös spent half a year in Japan where he performed as a member of Karlheinz Stockhausen's ensemble in the German pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka. The encounter with Japanese culture, specifically with Zen Buddhism, had a great effect on him. The fundamental idea of The Sequences of the Wind is one of Zen's complementary contrasts: stillness in movement - movement in stillness. It was inspired by the Japanese landscape and Japanese gardens (the rain, the wind, the sound of stones and the rustle of bamboo cane). This is the third version of the work and was published to mark the 60th birthday of Péter Eötvös. (The composer withdrew the first two versionswritten in 1975 and 1989.) Several elements of modern flute playing appear in the work, which has eight movements at present. The soloist alternately plays four different instruments (a flute of normal tone, a flute that is tuned a quarter tone lower, an alto flute tuned a quarter tone lower and a piccolo). Parts are available on hire (E-6).