Malika KISHINO (岸野 末利加 ) – Schmetterlingstanz for String Quartett (2023) ⎥ 弦楽四重奏「胡蝶舞」

Viktoria Quartett
Esiona Stefani and Jiwon Kim (Violins)
Aliaksandr Senazhenski (Viola)
Philipp Willerding-Bach (Violoncello)
Composer : Malika KISHINO / 岸野　末利加
Commissioned by Bochumer Symphoniker
26.03.2023, "BOSY QUARTETT ZUM ZEHNTEN!" in Kleiner Saal of Bochumer Symphoniker
EDIZIONI SUVINI ZERBONI - MILANO


*****
In Japan, the butterfly called 胡蝶 (Kocho), is a symbol of vitality or soul. Schmetterlingstanz (Japanse translation = Kocho no Mai) is the name of a dance music of ancient Japanesecourt music, Gagaku. The name “Butterfly” comes from the fact that it is a four-person dancerepresenting four butterflys dancing on a springday.

In my piece Schmetterlingstanz, I treat each string player as a butterfly.They represent the circular motion by arpeggios with important and gestural sound material.The circular motion that is used to spin bysilkworms, is for me like a metaphor for life chains. Each performer plays the motives by shifting it a little at a time, which is a kind of canon technique that is used in Gagaku music, and produces textures and layers of sound. The music progressively and permanently evolves as if it were our life cycle.
I composed Schmetterlingstanz imagining the dance of vitality and sound energy.

Schmetterlingstanz was commissioned by Bochumer Symphoniker and composed for the 10th anniversary of Viktoria Quartett“.

(February 2023 in Cologne, Malika Kishino)