Concerto No. 6 “Métropolitain” (2023)

Concerto no.6 “Métropolitain” is a concerto in two contrasting movements describing the feeling of living in an urban environment, where everything seems to be built to guide and transport humanity in such a way that maximum efficiency in such a way that there is no real distinction between ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ anymore. However, the desire to find beauty, to live and to play is of such importance to human survival that when people subvert the efficiency into something beautiful or something playful, one can ask oneself the question: where lies the border between culture and nature within an urban environment? This piece tries to ask this question in a musical way. 

In the first movement, the static, concrete nature of a business district is slowly transformed into shapes and forms that seam to break out in waves, lines and colours in an almost dreamlike state, where the sounds of birds and reptiles are emerging from the saxophone quartet. The second movement is inspired by Line 9 of the Paris Metro, that frequently is being used by ‘train surfers’ to get a good view of the Eiffel Tower, crossing the Seine at 80 km/h, chased by the gendarmerie.