The oeuvre of French composer Mark Andre includes a wide range of musical styles from solo works, to small chamber works to large-scale orchestral pieces all united by Andre’s affinity for delicate and calm sounds. Many of his works deal with themes of philosophy and spirituality.

Orchestral works take on a special significance in his oeuvre. They have been performed by renowned orchestras such as the Orchestra de Paris, ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna, Ensemble Modern, SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg, Ensemble InterContemporain and Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne. We would like to take the world premiere of his latest orchestral work, Im Entfalten (Dem Andenken an Pierre Boulez), at this year’s Donaueschinger Musiktage as an opportunity to present six of them.

 

Im Entfalten (Dem Andenken an Pierre Boulez) (2025)

2+bfl.2+ca.2+bcl.2+cbn/4.3.3.1/4perc/pf.hp/str(12.10.10.8.8)
Duration: 6‘

Im Entfalten (Dem Andenken an Pierre Boulez) was written on the occasion of Pierre Boulez’ centenary and aims for a new listening experience by reaching into previously hidden spaces in music and developing a unique sonority from the most fragile particles. It was commissioned by SWR and first performed by SWR Symphony Orchestra and François-Xavier Roth in October 2025. 

 

Im Entschwinden (2023)

2+bfl.3.0+2bb-cl+bcl.2+cbn/0+4f-hn.0+3ctpt.3.1/4perc/pf.hp/acn/str
Duration: 14’

Im Entschwinden was premiered in March 2023 by Orchestre de Paris and Klaus Mäkelä and builds a diptych with Im Entfalten (Dem Andenken an Pierre Boulez). Center is the thought of disappearance and the aim to make this disappearance perceptible and audible for the audience. As often, Andre refers to a biblical verse, which inspires him and that expresses the idea of the piece:

"And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight." (Luke 24, 30-31)

 

Vier Echographien (2022)

2.2.0+bb-cl+bcl.1+cbn/4.2.2.1/3perc/grndpno.hp/acn/str(12.10.10.8.4)
Duration: 21’

Vier Echographien is a cycle of four pieces of “music of disaspearance” that deal with inwardness and the exploration of space. For this composition, Andre acoustically measured four church interiors and used them to construct delicate sound studies.

The complete cycle was commissioned by Luxembourg Philharmonic for the Festival Rainy Days and  Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne.

The individual parts of the cycle can be performed separately.

 

woher … wohin (2017)

3.3.3+bcl.3(III:cbn)/4(4wtba).3.3.1/4perc/pf.hp/acn/str
Duration: 21’

Commissioned by Bavarian Broadcast for their series musica viva, the Bavarian Symphony Orchestra first performed woher … wohin in July 2017 under the baton of Matthias Pintscher. Like many of his works, it reflects Andre’s deep Christian spirituality, here with a reference to the Gospel of John, verse 3, paragraph 8. The associative connection between concrete sound situations and the spiritual makes this one of the most poetic passages for Andre.

 

hij 1 (2009)

4.4.4.4/6.4.3.1/timp.2perc/pf.2hp/str(12.12.10.10.8)
Duration: 23’

Mark Andre describes his work hij 1 for large orchestra as a sound journey, moving between enharmonic and harmonic forms, noises, and time planes. The title is an abbreviation and stands for “Hi(lfe) J(esus)” which translates to “Help Jesus”. However, it is not to be understood as a religious work. It explores the space between existential experiences and the cryptic message of Jesus of Nazareth.

It was commissioned by WDR Symphony Orchestra and premiered in April 2010 under the baton of Emilio Pomàrico at MusikTriennale Cologne.

 

auf…I – III (2005 – 2007)

auf…I (2005)
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Duration: 12’

auf…II (2007)
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Duration: 16‘

auf…III (2007)
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Duration: 21‘

auf…I – III are three independent orchestra pieces with the same, though slightly augmented, orchestration and many similarities in playing technique, structure, and musical language. Taken together, they can be understood as a cycle or even as a triptych, like a three-part altarpiece. Though they are related, each work again begins the search for new resonances and means for transitions between sounds.

The premiere of the complete triptych took place in March 2009 at Berlin Phil during the festival MaerzMusik, with SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg and SWR Experimentalstudio Freiburg, conducted by Sylvain Cambreling.