Böse Zellen

The new piano concerto by Thomas Larcher was commissioned by Franz Xaver Ohnesorg for the Piano Festival Ruhr. In 2004 he asked the composer to ‘write a piano concerto in the same orchestration as Mozart’s KV 482, the same instrumentation, the same combination, a piano concerto which is also conducted by the soloist’. Böse Zellen [Free Radicals], the title Larcher has chosen, gives a clue that something in him resisted the rather firm brief for this commission. He borrowed the title from a film by Barbara Albert – a film full of very powerful scenes which the composer had constantly in his mind during the long months of composition.

‘While composing, this film accompanied me but it did not give my piece a programme. Perhaps there are analogies with regard to the construction, the structure, the treatment of form, the openness of the architecture, the juxtaposition of people, impressions, feelings, structures … The fundamental impression that remains with me is the tracing of ”horizontal structures“ in life, the depiction of the impossibility of influencing the direction in which life is heading. Contained in the film are many attempts to find directions, to feel out or force perspectives, carefully or vehemently.’ (Thomas Larcher)