-Message for applicants from Mr.

Holliger-

Personal afterthoughts

-A few of the submitted scores are quite impressive. However, in my appreciation, there are a few important
questions remaining unanswered:

-Superior, flexible, versatile use of form?

-Truly differentiated melodic inspiration?

-Mastery of polyphonic techniques?

-Richly differentiated use of harmony (instead of the ubiquitous fondness for clusters), invented by a truly
keen musical ear?

-Almost constant lack of a truly complex, rhythmically differentiated sound language.

-What is the reason for so many ostinati, so many perpetually repeated patterns?

-What is the reason for using blankets of sound, which might sometimes sound well, but are completely
neutral in character?

-Where are the subtle modifications of tempi, the sense of a natural, organic pulsation, of floating and
weightlessness?

-What is the reason for the ubiquitous use of the tempo 60?

-Why is it that many young composers obviously are not familiar with the music of Schumann, Debussy,
Berg, Bernd A. Zimmermann, Elliott Carter, Gyrgy Kurtg? The submitted scores very rarely show any
reflexion on those composers momentous works.

-Why is it that most participants chose to write for full orchestra, instead of searching for a transparent,
diaphanous sound completely transparent to the ear?

The additional scores

In addition to the four scores chosen, I would like to propose six additional works which have impressed me
through highly original, personal messages and through an individual flow of the musical language,
although the technical implementation of the creative ideas has not yet been achieved in a satisfactory way
in those works.

I have decided to submit my notes on all the scores, not only on the chosen ones.

The additional scores:The number is entry order.

1 The Color of Moonbow
27 Libration
51 Hybrid Poem
72 Takht
85 Dulcet Harmony
104 Senritsu

Short comments for applicants

1 The Color of Moonbow Good use of sound. Good differentiation.

2 The (Exo)Planets for
orchestra
3 Sasra for full orchestra
4 After the Redemption for
symphony orchestra
Good ideas. Unfortunately, also too many clich repeats.
Pleasant, beautiful, harmonies are somewhat simplistic. Too many
accidental octaves.
Impossible. No craftsmanship. Instead, pretentious and pompous.
5 PHONEMIC MIME for Somewhat extreme ideas. In many places impossible vocal
orchestra tessituras. Flute needs to be amplified. Overly determined.
Complex actions, primitivism. However, out of the ordinary.
6 The luster of the sea For Individual language, many beautiful traits. Instrumentation and
orchestra orchestration are out of balance, the harmonies are strange in the
last part, not completely sound.
7 Alea jacta est! No comment.
8 All Shadows Whisper of Very economical. Some good polyphonic elements. On the whole,
the Sun for Orchestra somewhat meagre.
9 Roter Pavillon in meinem Harmonically unconvincing. Heterophonic elements often not
Traum "Enterrement followed through. Pretty; too much inconsequential noise.
des fleurs dans mon rve"
10 QUANTA Very limited use of instruments. Everything somewhat
monotonous. Build-up in the last third is good. On the whole,
somewhat boring, too predictable.
11 The land of Very simplistic. Bulky.
possibilities...
12 Tide fr groer Orchester Too coarse, primitive, in spite of good energy.
13 slo queda el desierto for Too systematic. Orchestra well balanced.
large orchestra
14 Genesis For Symphony Ostentatiously retro and quite clumsy.
Orchestra
15 RHYTHM OF STRAIGHT Quite economical, but fascinating in its own way.
LINES For orchestra
16 vokativ for orchestra Formally to schematic, too straight. Movement patterns are too
simple. Some original elements.
17 Die Nacht in der Troja Impossible. Bad film music. Coarse, heavy.
erobert wurde -Die
Eroberung Trojas in 4
Klangbildern- fr
Orchester
18 Big Shadows for large The high, single notes on the harp sound badly. Balance trumpet
orchestra against harp! Tedious towards the end. A shame, for there are some
good elements.
19 what a wake is, that awake Impressive. But in the long run, too schematic, monotonous.
was for large orchestra
20 Tanz der Primzahlen Neotonal. No connection between harmonies and rhythms.
Somewhat approximate.
21 The Hallucinogenic Balance between instruments (harps, piano; harps/winds)
Toreador An Orchestral impossible (bar 94ff). Too repetitive. Not sufficiently obsessive,
piece based on paintings by hallucinating. Orchestration very inadequate, inept.
Salvador Dali
22 N.9 Struktur For ensemble Interesting thoughts. Instrumental implementation is very
problematic. Many phonems are impossible to hear.
23 Simultim Sidus for Instrumental writing (especially strings)is very awkward. Often
symphonic orchestra unrealistic dynamics. Col legno tratto ff, etc? No certainty in
representation of sounds.
24 Sons da terra Practically neo-Villa Lobos. Harmonically and rhythmically quite
monotonous, heavy-handed.
25 Symphonic Poem Impressive sound energy, not always choosey when it comes to
Landscape for orchestra detail. Between intoxicating and repulsive (allergic reaction).
26 GuZheng'the Chinese Unfortunately, disappointing realisation of an idea which is
zither and percussionfor interesting in itself. Language of sounds, rhythms and harmonies
orchestra lacking imagination. Simplistic movement patterns. A shame!
27 Libration pour orchestre Personal language. Multiple combinations of song material and
symphonique great rhythmic energy. Not brash, despite political inspiration
(South America?)
28 Symphony No.1 Virtuosity of emptiness...
Disappeared Stroller
29 STRANDED VERSE for Czerny or Glass, stranded. Too bad for the lovely motto text.
orchestra
30 Kaleidoscopic space For Often very thick harmonies with chords of 3, 4 or 5 parts.
 Orchestra Harmonically somewhat dull. Bars 144-179 show good melodic
development. There are few kaleidoscopic elements.

31 MANJUSAKA For In places, transparent sound and spacious harmonies, but

Large Orchestra inundated way too lavishly by vibraphone, Glockenspiel. Why so
many repetitive elements? Good elements, beautiful details.
32 Big Wave Some parts of this work sound not bad. Unbearable rhythmic
ostinato in the middle and viola repeats at the end.
33 Fnf Stcke fr Quite heterogeneous stylistic elements. Good use of microintervals
Orchester and multiphonics. The 5 movements show good contrast and
differentiation of sound.
34 n-Cyclus for symphony A somewhat unorganized mix of ideas of a widely different nature.
orchestra The tonal canons and double canons are especially annoying. Not
convincing.
35 A Journey's End No comment
36 TWO SEA SKETCHES No comment
37 Night Seasons No comment
38 dix pices pour orchestre Too many prefabricated elements. An astonishing lack of
instrumental know-how. Everything is quite rigid, there is a lack of
sensuous sound.
39 Cursed Color The First Very simple, but clear, and reasonably well orchestrated. Somewhat
Plague rigid, continuous B flat , A natural B flat ostinati, etc.
40 To Nowhere am I A groove happens a few times in the drastic parts. The motive of 3
Straying" for Orchestra notes is not used to the full. The orchestration is completely
unbalanced.
41 COLLISIONIS REGIO' A very impractical score, which is hardly decipherable even using a
STUDIO for Orchestra magnifying glass. A monster not usable in a practical situation.
Differentiated sound giving the impression of being dispersed over
a wide expanse of space. Very economical, focused on the essential.
42 Still Life for Orchestra Many excellent and original elements. The use of the orchestra is
not throughout of a professional nature. Trombone con sordino is
missing (against alto flute). Crotales long c sharp at the end only
with 2 bows, it would be preferable to use 2 players.
43 Stormy Sea for orchestra Very meagre "tempesta di mare". Too many chromatic scales.
Diatonic motives. The use of harmonies and motives is somewhat
primitive.
44 When the Sun-rays Come Confusing use of old-fashioned indications of keys for transposing
for full orchestra instruments. Later on in the score, the transposition might have
been entirely forgotten. Constant blanket of arpeggios is tedious.
Harmonies are sickly-sweet. Beginning and end much better.
45 PLANET X Neanderthal planet? A few good sound inventions...
46 The Judgment Fantasia on Experiment with folklore and elements of marches. Much too
a Short Story by Franz harmless, not cryptic, not frightening.
Kafka(1913)
47 impressions on cretto for Remarkable abundance of formal elements. Varied textures. The
symphonic orchestra use of micro intervals is quite arbitrary, especially in contrabassoon
and bass clarinet.
48 DNA for symphonic Very simple material is presented almost ritually. This creates an
orchestra impression of pompousness which is boring. In part impressive, in
part disappointing.
49 Ryg-j for Orchestra Interesting project using micro-intonation. Unfortunately, the
result is quite simplistic in spite of this. Tedious repetition of notes.
Rhythms and sounds are quite uncouth, crude.
50 Abstraktes Bild for Very meagre sound. Worlds away from Richter's fascinating use of
orchestra colours. Schematic, somewhat pompous.
51 hybrid poem for large Somewhat superfluous, overactive virtuosity, but very personal
orchestra language. At times, almost frightening, obsessive.
52 Insude Out Very mechanical, rigid, mostly written badly for the instruments,
but a tentative personal world of sound.
54 Concerto for orchestra Very traditional, somewhat Hungarian? Somewhat primitive in
form. Mediocre orchestration. Doubling of trivial arpeggios in the
piano part. The register used for the harp will not sound.
55 Rhapsody Op.8 No comment
56 Hyakki Yagyo for full Original. The fast second part is somewhat clich. Original
orchestra language!
57 Setskesbaenn-RHAPSODY No comment
ON NORTHERN DREAM-
58 AN IMAGINARY Well worked out, transparent. The substance is somewhat meagre,
IMPULSE for Orchestra but it is well worked out. Good solutions in the combination of
singing and playing in the wind parts.
60 Abductee by Cygnus X-1 Rhythmically interesting (cf. Messiaen). Formally somewhat
For orchestra schematic. Contrasts are repeated several times in the same way.
Well worked out.
61 THE GLORIOUS No comment
THRONE
62 A cor da agonia for Without any sense.
orchestra
63 HORIZON for orchestra Pleasing in its simplicity. No superficial glamour.
64 TBH>dysphoros for Constant repetition of not very original patterns.
orchestra
65 WATER LILIES FOR The sound of a shadow orchestra might fascinate for a short while.
ORCHESTRA Too long, too monotonous. Indications of strings and half flageolets
were certainly not tested in practice. Concrete notes (e.g. harp)
render the overall sound trivial.
66 Dimension of Incarnation Quite overburdened. Many things are unclear. New playing
For Symphony Orchestra techniques often not balanced correctly - will not sound or sound too
softly compared to other elements played at the same time. This is
a pity, because here is an individual world of expression.
67 Character pieces Not very funny. Lack of craftsmanship.
68 Refraction Frequency for Limited to tenuti and repeated notes. Completely grey harmonies.
orchestra
69 Frogs in an Hourglass for Quite trivial. The title promised differently.
symphony orchestra
70 N.A.O Is B flat = 36 correct? Or rather d=36? All fast music in "slow
motion". Heavy orchestration lacking in imagination.
71 Unerasing for Orchestra Somewhat more personal than other repetitive works. Timpani
ostinato quite heavy, for always ending on d after glissando (having
to retune each time!).
72 TAKHT for orchestra Courageous experiment of Egyptian music on western instruments.
Many elements lack skill of realisation. Instrumental knowledge? It
would be worth performing this work, which is very different from
the other ones! (as a standby)
73 Flower? No, no flower For Good craftsmanship. Somewhat predictable.
Large Orchestra
74 THE DEFEAT OF MARA Somewhat too ostentatious. Quick figures, repeated in always the
for orchestra same way, make for an undifferentiated blanket of sound. A shame,
for the work could be attractive.
75 Oneiros No comment
76 Symphony No.1: THE Orchestrated in a rigid manner. The cues make for a coarse texture,
PURE VOICE For even though the notes are fixed. Quite "impure" and voiceless.
Orchestra
77 Rhapsody in Red for It is not very sophisticated to double the octaves in the wind
Orchestra arpeggios. After 112, Andantino: arpeggios of marimba and
vibraphone too thick. Double octaves in two-part writing is
somewhat trivial. 39: if the score is written in C, the English horn is
noted too high, the same occurs later on. Constant double octaves.
The parallel violas and marimba parts in 32th notes are a very bad
idea.
78 vixi Musik fr Orchester Simple rhythms, many parallel chords, chromatic scales, somewhat
und Tonband ostentatious. What is on the tape?
79 Le Petit Prince Suite A little "bote joujoux", a little "children's corner", some
Auric/Poulenc etc. Stir well and leave to steep...

80 e le stelle innumerevoli per In places, glossy orchestral sound. In other places, too many
 grande orchestra repetitive patterns. Too much symmetry, which does not occur in
connection with the stars.
81 Now, It Is Past Lack of articulation. Primitive rhythmic composition. No legato/non
legato. Might have been attractive through the use of sho, but isn't.
82 Nocturuno Sinfnico For Pleasant to hear in parts, but consists of clichs throughout.
symphony orchestra Blanket of sound. Very conventional orchestration.
83 Helles Bild Pour Orchestre Very unsatisfactory harmonic work. Many chords of fifths and
fourths, doublings. The form is slightly more convincing, but too
schematic.
84 Waterfall Clearly and carefully worked. The harmonic character is somewhat
too soft, too repetitive, sickly sweet. Too many similar moving
patterns. The high pizzicato harmonics at the beginning do not
sound. Pleasing neo-impressionism.
85 Dulcet Harmony For Original. Pleasant after the bustling activity of most of the other
Orchestra works. The sound impression is very important.
86 HAILING Well intentioned. Corny fixed elements of melody, everything
doubled. Somewhat better in the "violento" towards the end. No
idea of how to use a harp!
89 ...(AN EPITAPH TO THE Form and sound are good. Unfortunately, basic instrumental
STARS)for orchestra objections. Too many chromatic clusters and chromatic scales.
Minor third harmonic do not make a good effect. Trombone
glissando is impossible. Strings: no minor third harmonics
instead: double octave harmonics of fourth. From bar 385, diatonic
chords ok. From bar 398, string harmonics would be easier if
different strings were mixed. From bar 311: harp lowest C and D
strings can be tuned only at the beginning of a piece they dont
change with the pedal changes. 239 the episode D c sharp in
woodwinds is very strange indeed. Cluster harmonics from bar 268:
why clusters only? Why not real harmonies?
90 At Dawn for Orchestra Good project, not too well realized. The use of the instruments is
lacking skill in many places (strings, oboe)
91 Drober l'herbe magique de Mediocre background music.
la Lgende du Serpent
Blanc
92 Midnight Parallel Tokyo Amateurish. Strange representation of sound. Formally very
Beyond Clouds sul il approximate.
sokandabe artigianato for
Orchestra
93 THE PASSED DREAMS As the score can only be read using a magnifying glass, I was
OF POET BEI DAOFor a unable to peruse all of it. Differentiated music without the usual
Chinese poemTHE clich blanket of sound. Economical, yet complex. Good
ANSWER'by Bei Dao For orchestration!
Orchestra
94 Convulsions For Orchestra Mechanical music why use an orchestra? The rhythms are no
organic at all. It will be impossible to achieve precision in playing
together. The different rhythmical patterns will be difficult to
appreciate by the ear. An unreasonable challenge for the musicians!
95 Sinfonia for orchestra The melodic gestures and turns are too monotonous. Too much
investment yielding a rather tedious result. Oboe: doesnt go above
high G. Strings: double octave harmonics col legno tratto dont
really sound. Harp: Doesnt go above high G.
96 Variations by E.Vernon's The piano 4 hands is an idea by Ives. Not bad, until it starts to
Suggestion resemble Mendelssohn and Saint-Saens. Final section: Chicago jazz
devoid of content.
97 Elegy Nice beginning, lack of inspiration after G, not recoverable by good
ending (same as beginning)

98 Tremor for Orchestra The slow parts are tedious. The harmonies of notes held for a long
time are unclear because of the use of micro intervals. An
impression of greyness. Starting at Energico et animato, somewhat
more interesting. Many pizzicati are too high. Quarter tones are
difficult to play in fast passages (violins, horns).
99 Cell divisionfor Idling in neutral. At least, a good exercise of rhythm for the
 Orchestra musicians.
100 Symphonic Weak imitation of Mahler, badly orchestrated
MovementDarkness of
despair
101 Dust Bowl Diaries Musical dust, dried-out imagination
102 As fallen snow Sounds good. The form is too rigid, somewhat ostentatious.
103 The interwing of some Little substance, sounds very bad in large parts. A lot of purely
music Ou Modan Society mechanical processes (Sevcic for strings)
104 SENRITSU for Orchestra Excellent. Unclear, whether violin clef drums and wood blocks
mean pitched sounds!
105 Horoscope No.1-September Not an auspicious horoscope. Starting at B, it becomes somewhat
2016- more interesting. Horns 1, 2 often too high. Possibly transposed?
106 Fata Morgana for Form is unclear. Whence whither. Much investment, little effect.
Orchestra Orchestration: impossible harmonics (Vl f!). Picc sometimes too
high. Harp: quarter tone pedal glissando is impossible. Oboe
multiphonics: fingerings should be indicated.
107 Stairs in the Mist No comment
108 a.amarita for orchestra Between impressionism, minimal and Prt. Why such music?
109 Ritual for Orchestra Almost undecipherable copy. Not really convincing. What is the
reason for the use of modal melodic elements?
110 Molecular No comment
111 Sparkling For orchestra Partly brittle, partly too ornamental. Harmonies are uninteresting.
Many elements wont sound. Hardly any sparkling. Formally very
vague, unclear.
112 Dim Blue Pleasant film music
113 Imagination-Anamorphosis Sounds impressive, perhaps somewhat too primitive. Mistake in
for Orchestra orchestration: the top G in the harp will practically not sound, the
same for the piccolo high C (piccolo sounds good only to A flat). Long
glissandi in brass are possible only by cheating. Legno battuto
doesnt sound in highest register.
114 Vortice For orchestra Clear lines, harmonies are clearly discernable by the ear. Gradual
densification, quintuplet passage possibly too long and monotonous.
Transparent orchestration.
115 Grace Bigotry in music.