Work of the Week – Christian Jost: Eismeer

What does a romantic painting sound like? Christian Jost's new work provides the answer: Eismeer ("Sea of Ice") for saxophone quartet, vibraphone and string orchestra will be premiered on July 26 at the Stadtkirche St. Nikolai with the SIGNUM saxophone quartet and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra. The composer himself will conduct.

This year, the art world is celebrating the 250th birthday of the painter Caspar David Friedrich. His home town of Greifswald has commissioned Christian Jost to compose a new orchestral work that explores his ideas and images. The world premiere will take place as part of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival.

Eismeer by Christian Jost: The Sound of a Romantic Painting

When Christian Jost thinks about his paintings, his gaze falls on one in particular: The Sea of Ice, which Friedrich completed in 1824, exactly 200 years ago. It has long been a permanent fixture in the Hamburg Kunsthalle, but in this anniversary year it is on display in an exhibition at the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin.

That was the first thing I thought: 'That's it! Just the right thing, with its coldness, which a metallic saxophone sound can also evoke. As an opera composer, the drama of the image captivates me. What a story there must have been about the wrecked ship! A great tragedy precedes the depiction and since I am interested in the transformation of imagination into sound, I would like to tell exactly about that. (Christian Jost)

Following the world premiere in Greifswald, Eismeer will be heard once again at the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: one day later, the SIGNUM saxophone quartet, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and Christian Jost will present the work in the Festspielscheune Ulrichshusen.

Further Reading:

Christian Jost: Composer Profile

Eismeer: Work Details and Online Score

Website Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

photo: Oliver Borchert / Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern