Silvestrov, Valentin: Elegy

for cello with 2 tam-tam (played by the cellist)

Though Silvestrov's 'Elegy' for cello and two tam-tams continues the series of his earlier elegy compositions in some ways, it is here given a whole new shape, with the cello being accompanied by two tam-tams played by the cellist. The composer describes his work as follows: 'The 'Elegy' consists of three movements. As in some other compositions, the first movement is the birth of a sound space: its vast boundaries are defined and an 'elegiac motif' is searched for which appears in the second movement in its final form. In the third summarizing movement, this motif enters into a dialogue with the tam-tam and is accompanied by the noise of the low cello register.'