SCHAFER Owl
For violin, viola, violoncello, double bass and piano
The Friends of Chamber Music Quickborn e.V. commissioned a composition from me. The emblem of the city of Quickborn - an owl - inspired me to give the planned composition that title. But only when I studied more closely that bird, which hunts at night, I was truly fascinated. The motionless eyes of the owl, its ability to turn the head 180 degrees and its facial veil have impressed me a lot. These characteristics are both sinister and frightening for me. So, the mood of the present composition is rather uneasy as it becomes clear in the introduction of the first two movements and also the third movement- an excited dance with lots of changes of time. However, I have never intended to directly transform or illustrate the characteristics of an owl in music. The picture of an imaginary world of an owl is at the beginning of that composition, but it becomes more and more independent. I considered a piano quartet which has a dark timbre through the double bass suitable for a dim surrounding of an owl at night.
Stefan Schafer, Hamburg, 2006
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