9/11 RELATED MUSIC
9/11 RELATED CHAMBER MUSIC
This page presents a Pierrot sextet composition that serves as a profound musical response to terrorism. This 9/11 chamber music piece offers an instrumental reflection on 9/11, exploring themes of loss and resilience through a contemporary chamber music ensemble.
ELEGY TO THE FUTURE
for Pierrot ensemble
Duration:
13 minutes
Instrumentation:
piccolo/alto flute; clarinet; violin; cello; percussion; piano
Year Composed:
2001
Written For:
Collage New Music, David Hoose, conductor
Commissioned by:
Collage New Music, with kind support
by Catherine and Paul Buttenwieser
Premiere Performance:
24 February, 2001
Boston, MA, United States
Collage New Music
Linda Toote, flutes
Robert Annis, clarinets
Catherine French, violin;
Joel Moerschel, cello
Christopher Oldfather, piano
Craig McNutt, percussion
David Hoose, conductor
About Elegy to the Future
Elegy to the Future is a 13‑minute work for Pierrot ensemble composed in 2001 during a period marked by escalating violence and uncertainty. Written in Tel Aviv amid daily attacks, and completed shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States — events that caused immense loss of life and long‑lasting trauma — the piece reflects a world shaken by fear, sorrow, and the collapse of a sense of safety. Rather than depicting any specific event, the music meditates on the emotional aftermath: restlessness, fragility, and the unsettling question of what the future might hold. The Pierrot ensemble’s intimate yet color‑rich instrumentation allows for a wide expressive range, from stark, exposed textures to moments of fragile lyricism. Near the end, a fleeting quotation from Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 appears like a memory of innocence — a reminder of something pure now shadowed by darkness.
For the Performers
Level: Ideal for professional chamber musicians; also suitable for advanced contemporary‑music ensembles experienced with coloristic writing and expressive intensity.
Programming: Works well in contemporary chamber concerts, memorial or reflection‑themed programs, and recitals addressing conflict, loss, or historical events.
Competitions / Auditions: Suitable for ensembles that excel in shaping long‑form emotional arcs, balancing clarity with expressive depth, and navigating complex ensemble textures.
Style: A somber, reflective work shaped by tension, fragmentation, and moments of fragile lyricism; the Mozart quotation near the end serves as a poignant emotional pivot.
Venue Fit: Most effective in intimate and medium‑sized halls where nuance, color, and the ensemble’s detailed interplay can be fully appreciated.
Program Notes
Elegy to the Future for Pierrot ensemble was written in Tel Aviv, Israel, during a period of daily bomb attacks, shootings, and growing tension. I asked myself how and when it would end. Then came September 11, 2001, and my previous thoughts gained an even greater dimension. This piece, completed on September 26, 2001, deals with the sorrow, restlessness, and fear for the future caused by such events. Towards the end of the piece, fragments from the second movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23, K. 488, can be heard. For me, this fragment represents the understanding that things will never be the same again and that the pure is now shadowed in darkness. Elegy to the Future was commissioned by and is dedicated to David Hoose and Collage New Music.
