The Shadows of Time

Henri Dutilleux wrote this five-movement cycle for full orchestra at an advanced age, repeatedly interrupted by severe illness, dedicating its middle section to ‘Anne Frank and all children who died innocently between 1945 and 1995’. These children are represented by three children’s voices asking: ‘Why us?’. The work is not, however, just a reverent tribute to the fate of a few individuals, but also a great, wistful reminiscence of life itself: Our existence is full of spectres (‘Sinister Ariel’), it is colourful (‘Light Waves’) and subject to the relentless pace of time (‘The Hours’).

The composer, who died in 2013, wrote The Shadows of Time for conductor Seiji Ozawa and his Boston Symphony Orchestra, who premiered the piece in 1997. Ozawa also conducted the German première with the Berlin Philharmonic. Since then the piece has travelled the world and has been performed by renowned orchestras in Paris, London, Los Angeles and Tokyo.