Located in the UK
Located in the USA
Located in Europe
- Erkki-Sven Tüür
Lux stellarum (2021)
(Concerto for flute and orchestra)- Henry Litolff’s Verlag GmbH & Co. KG (World)
- fl + 2(I:pic.II:afl).2(II:ca).2+bcl.2+cbn/4.3.3.1/timp.3perc/pf(cel).hp/str
- Flute
- 28 min
Programme Note
I have always wanted my music to invigorate the imagination of the audience. The titles I have given to my compositions also serve the same purpose; they should guide the listener’s train of thought onto certain paths and hopefully not seem like superficial illustrations. In any case, this flute concert is not programme music in its ordinary sense and I am not trying to describe cosmic processes or the movements of celestial bodies.
On the other hand, I also wish to push the thoughts of the audience towards new unfathomable dimensions. Once, I saw a midnight landscape bathing in starlight in Damaraland, Namibia; there was no moon, and the Milky Way glimmered across the sky like a glowing blue cloud. All the stars were brighter and bluer, not yellow like above my home island Hiiumaa – there is also no light pollution, but the atmospheric conditions are entirely different…
In these moments, the inability of man to actually grasp the scope of the universe, both in time and space, becomes particularly obvious. This emotion, the sense of solemn awe and wonder, and also a sort of eeriness is what Lux Stellarum is about.
The flute is like a lonely spiritual voyager moving around in his imagination between unfathomable temporal and spatial dimensions, trying to penetrate the borders of perception. Can we sense the movement of “dancing asteroids” and “floating galaxies”, and the lifespan of stars? Is the possibility of our existence in a timeframe similar to that of the stars one of our deepest and most desirable dreams?
All great civilisations have interpreted the starlit sky – even our veins are full of “stardust” and the notion that we are part of all this should increase our responsibility to this magnificent planet we are lucky to live on. It should make us humble in the profoundest sense of the word. These are the thoughts that accompanied me when writing this concert for the fantastic flutist Emmanuel Pahud.
Erkki-Sven Tüür
Translation: Pirjo Jonas
Media
Scores
Reviews
Abravanel Hall, Utah. USA Emmanuel Pahud, flute. Utah Symphony. cond. Thierry Fischer
[...] However, it was the unique sonic world created by the Tüür that made the biggest splash.
Tüür wrote Lux Stellarum (“Light of the Stars”) specifically for Pahud, who played the world premiere last May with the Berlin Philharmonic, where he serves as principal flutist. Watching Pahud’s organic and charismatic performance Friday night, it was easy to see him as Tüür’s muse. However, the piece does more than showcase the soloist’s technical prowess and musicality; it also pushes the sonic boundaries of the flute and the orchestra, creating an engaging, mind-expanding experience for the listener.
“Fading Stardust,” the first of four contiguous movements, begins with twittering flurries in the flute punctuated by runs in the xylophone and harp. Muted trumpets and flutes playing harmonics enter, and an otherworldly orchestral backdrop slowly develops. While most concerti set up a friendly competition between orchestra and soloist, Tüür’s orchestra serves as the flute’s home base. After a series of cascading melodic figures that explore the limits of the instrument’s range and tone, the flute returns to rest on a bed of warm, ethereal strings and winds.
The other movements have similarly astronomical names – “Dancing Asteroids,” “Litany of the Dying Stars,” and “Floating Galaxies” – but Lux Stellarum is more than a programmatic piece about the night sky. In his notes, Tüür said the piece is about “the inability of man to actually grasp the scope of the universe,” and it achieves this by having the soloist wander through exotic orchestral colors and unexpected melodic and rhythmic turns. The percussion section plays a central role in the drama, with the timpanists and three percussionists staying busy throughout the piece playing instruments that include blocks, gongs, xylophones, bells, rain sticks, and hand-held wind chimes.
Pahud displayed a wide variety of tones from sweetly melodic, to aggressive and percussive; the extended techniques he employed included whispers and popping sounds made by the soloist’s lips on the mouthpiece. The solo flute was particularly intriguing when interacting melodically with the other flutes in the orchestra, which, except for the occasional use of harmonics, used more of a traditional technique.
The mood of the piece ranges from cold and abstract to contemplative and dreamy to aggressive and terrifying. Fischer’s attention to articulation, phrasing, and tempi accentuated the emotional sweep. While its tonality and harmonic language was in the abstract modernist tradition, Lux Stellarum remained engaging throughout its 25 minutes, prompting a raucous standing ovation and five curtain calls from the appreciative audience. [...]
Philharmonie, Berlin. Emmanuel Pahud, flute. Berliner Philharmoniker. cond. Paavo Järvi, May 26th 2022
A world premiere makes any concert a special occasion and this commission by the Berliner Philharmoniker to the Estonian composer Erkki-Sven Tüür proved the point. His Concerto for Flute and Orchestra dedicated to, and performed by, their principal flautist Emmanuel Pahud, proved to be the highlight of this evening. [...] Titled Lux Stellarum, his demanding Flute Concerto clearly reflects the composer's predilections for what he believes to be cosmic sound images. The solo flute translates the swooshes of falling stars, the explosions of faraway galaxies into sometimes dissonant cadences, sometimes blown whispers, sometimes melodious lines. The flute is supported by a full orchestra and an especially sophisticated percussion section. [...] In the first of four movements, titled "Fading Stardust", the flute ripples harmoniously, dissolving into soft xylophone, bells and chimes that depict a process of dissolution with falling tone rows. In contrast, "Dancing Asteroids", the fittingly named second movement, is full of trills and scales bubbling in intergalactic nebulae. In the third movement, "Litany of the Dying Stars", the flute leads us into a mysterious and mournful, far-reaching, ethereal sound space where everything floats, free and lost, seemingly limitless. In the finale – entitled "Flooding Galaxies" – the focus is turned to the macrocosmos with the various groups of instruments moving toward a climax full of rhythmic energy. Unquestioningly, Pahud’s virtuosity stems from his musical versatility and intrinsic understanding of this work dedicated to him.