Alakhson [2023] אלכסון
for seven instruments
Premiere: April 22, 2023 at the University of Iowa, Iowa City
Ensemble Meitar and Pierre-André Valade (conductor)
Dedication: to Yinam (Nami) Leef
Duration: ~9 minutes
Precise instrumentation
C flute / alto flute
Clarinet in B-flat / bass clarinet
bassoon
piano
violin
viola
cello
About the piece:
In Hebrew, Alakhson can mean “diagonal” or “oblique”. With this piece I aim to cast an oblique glance over some milestones in the lineage of Israeli concert music, from my own standpoint as a link in this chain, so to speak. In this regard, Alakhson pays homage to Yinam Leef, with whom I studied at the Jerusalem Academy and whose Violin Concerto and Intermezzo No. 1 are woven into the present piece. By utilizing heterophonic textures, the piece also refers to one generation older, to Mark Kopytman — Leef’s own teacher, who iconified this particular texture (to which he refers as music’s diagonal dimension) and established it within the soundscape of Israeli concert music.
The first Intermezzo by Yinam Leef, quoted in Alakhson
Browse the score: