Neo
’Neo' is a piece for 15-16 strings and prepared piano (it can be played with only one double bass who then plays double stops instead of single tones) and is written for l'Orchestra Sinfonica di Perugia e dell'Umbria, an orchestra in Perugia, Italy. The duration of the piece is about 12 minutes. It has only been performed in parts so the existing recording of the piece is only 6 minutes long.
The title is Italian and have 3 different meanings: new, mole & flaw. During the working process I was reading the famous Swedish epic poem called Aniara (written in 1956) by Harry Martinson, which I think inspired to the atmosphere of the piece. The poem describes an endless journey into space. The earth is destroyed and there is no way back. The spaceship Aniara with thousands of people is travelling in the wrong direction, due to a collision with a meteor. The habitants of the spaceship continue to live their lives for generations without any hope of rescue. Their only hope is Mima, the spaceships soul, which they worship.
”The empty sterile space provokes our horror.
Glass-like its stare encircles us.”
The piece also exists in another version for symphony orchestra.
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The instrumentation of ’Neo' is:
Solo group: Violin, Viola & Cello
Grand Piano (prepared with screws)
Violin I (2)
Violin II (2)
Violin III (2)
Viola (2)
Cello (2)
Double bass (1-2)
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Material to download:
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Listen
Neo (Part of the piece live with l'Orchestra Sinfonica di Perugia e dell'Umbria at Teatro Morlacchi in Perugia, Italy)
Neo (Part of the piece live with SAMI Sinfonietta at the Music Conservatory in Stockholm, Sweden)
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Neo (score)
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