Tribute (2026)
(for ensemble)

Tribute brings together three homage pieces dedicated to major figures in the world of music: the Italian composer Ivan Fedele, the pianist and President of the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, Paloma O’Shea, and the composer, conductor, and pedagogue Peter Eötvös.

L’âge de raison was composed at the request of the Syntax Ensemble of Milan to celebrate the 70th birthday of my dear friend, the composer Ivan Fedele. Premiered in Milan in December 2024, the work plays with the letters of his name, evoking them directly or indirectly and generating a variety of developmental sections. At the beginning and the end of the piece, the motif articulates the name F E D E L(a) E while in several intermediate sections these letters function as fundamental pitches within the harmonic field and the texture.

Hommage is dedicated to my admired Paloma O’Shea on the occasion of her 90th birthday, celebrating with affection and admiration this creator of major musical initiatives such as the Santander International Piano Competition, the Albéniz Foundation, and above all the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, an outstanding Spanish institution devoted to musical excellence in higher education. The piece is based on a cryptographic transcription of the dedicatee’s name and date of birth, from which various episodes are derived, all within a refined and concise expressive framework.

Bells was composed in memoriam of my dear mentor and teacher Peter Eötvös, who conveyed to me profound perspectives on a wide range of subjects and continues to be a source of inspiration. The work brings together materials from diverse origins: from Japanese bonshō bells to an anonymous ancient Armenian lament which, through the electronic keyboard, represents Eötvös’ own voice. This voice merges with the aforementioned bonshō bells, which in this context release a multitude of sonic components, as if conveying a message sent from beyond.