Estavrosan

Estavrosan is characterized by recurring elements that function as the structural material for the development of the work. It consists of four ideas: the tone cluster staccati on piano, the descending legato scales on bass clarinet, the descending tongue ram on flute, and the ghostly fleeting harmonics on violin and violoncello. The whole piece develops around or between these gestures turning on themselves or going through transformations. It is in two sections: the first focuses on the sound of a hammer hitting a nail, and the second section is a lamentation as the piece takes its inspiration from Christ Nailed to the Cross, painted by Gerard David, about 1481 (The National Gallery in London).

Estavrosan, composed between May 2020 and April 2022, was written to be first performed by SonoMania and Simona Strungaru during the International Music Week at George Enescu Concert Hall of the National University of Music in Bucharest on 27 May 2022. It lasts about 13 minutes and is scored for flute, bass clarinet, violin, violoncello, and piano.

This piece was made possible by a grant from the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University.