El Zahir 

Instrumentation : Piano and 12 Stringe (7 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos and a double bass) 

Duration : 14’ Ca. 

Year of Composition : 2024

Commissioned by Bach&now! Festival for Alexandra Sostmann (piano) with Kammersymphonie Berlin 

Program notes : 

Inspired by Jorge Luis Borges’ short story of the same name, El Zahir explores the nature of obsession—an idea embodied in the persistent presence of two pitches, D and E. These tones appear in countless variations throughout the piece, yet they always remain unmistakably present, much like el Zahir itself: an object that, once encountered, imprints itself upon the mind, impossible to forget.

To shape the structure of the piece, I constructed an imaginary storyline: the music unfolds in a vast, desolate landscape—one reminiscent of the abandoned farms and barren fields in the paintings of Anselm Kiefer. It is in this empty yet charged space that a ritual takes place, similar to a Zar ceremony, where a woman undergoes a trance-like transformation. Perhaps, like Borges’ character who is driven to madness by el Zahir, she too has been consumed by the nature of obsession. The ritual becomes a means of confronting or exorcising this force, leading her through different stages until it climaxes in a frenetic, almost compulsive dance.

Following this, the music contracts into a solitary monologue—a cadenza for piano, rendered in a forgotten language known as Persiano delle Prati. Though the monologue carries a deep and slightly sorrowful calm, el Zahir is still present, subtly lingering even in moments of supposed stillness.

The piece ends as it began, circling back to the emptiness of the landscape. Echo is one of its defining characteristics—sounds emerge from silence only to dissolve, fading like distant memories. Rhythmic patterns and dynamics shape a space where each gesture lingers, falls, and disappears, yet never truly vanishes—just as el Zahir never fully releases its hold.