Theater

SchattenGold

for soprano, actor and ensemble (2020) '51

commissioned by the Berlin Konzerthaus

libretto by Olga Myschkina

first performance at the Berlin Konzerthaus, April 2021.

“Madrigals” is inspired by, and loosely based on, Gesualdo’s miraculous madrigal, “Mercè grido piangendo”,which is also being quoted in the very end of the piece. Also, similarly to madrigal writing, the writing for the strings is largely focused on independent flowing lines rather than a group vs. a soloist. The solo violin in the piece plays a double role- both as an ordinary voice through the flowing lines and both as a leader which commenting and leading the action.

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Requiem

music theatre for 5 players around a piano (2011) '18

commissioned by Elena Bashkirova for the Intonations Festival Berlin

first performance: Intonations festival, Jewish Museum Berlin, May 2012

The piece “Requiem”, specially commissioned for the festival by Elena Bashkirova, is unique in many ways. 5 musicians are circling around a grand piano which lid is open, performing a strange but fascinating tribal-like ritual, which is foreign to the listener and the viewer. In 10 continuous parts, the piece explores the various possibilities of the instrument well beyond the keyboard, and creates an array of sounds which evokes recollection of percussion and even string instruments. Although it is unclear what is the ceremony for, the audience is invited to find their own meaning to the piece’s mystery.

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Shooting an elephant

for actor and ensemble (2010) '21

commissioned by the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival

libretto by Daniel Cohen and Matan Porat after George Orwell

first performance at the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival, Sep. 2010, Itay Tiran, actor, Gropius Ensemble, Daniel Cohen, conductor

“Shooting an elephant” is the second piece in the trilogy for an actor and ensemble (written for Itay Tiran and the Gropius Ensemble) which started with “KofAdam” (based on a story by Franz Kafka) and will finish with “Mario and the Sorcerer” (based on a story by Thomas Mann). As in the other two works, the main theme of the piece is a question of freedom and the place of the individual in a radically intense environment. The piece tells the story of a British officer in Burma and his reaction to the natives request of shooting a raging elephant. The music opposes the narrator and acts as his surroundings and his different temperament changes, gradually getting a life of their own. Originally for the 7 instrumentalists of Stravinsky’s “L’histoire du Soldat”, the piece requires Electric and bass guitars, accordion, Shoffar, Saxophone and Mandolin.

Kofadam

for actor and ensemble (2008) '22

commissioned by the Adele and John Gray endowment fund

libretto by Daniel Cohen and Matan Porat after Franz Kafka

first Performance: Tel-Aviv, May 2008, Itay Tiran, actor, Gropius Ensemble

Animal Farm

chamber opera in one act for 7 singers and 11 players (2007) '55

commissioned by the Tel-Aviv University

libretto by Ofir Barkan

first Performance: Tel-Aviv, June 2007, players of the Mehta Tel-Aviv academy