Landscape
for solo guitar (1978)
Duration: ca 10 minutes
Notes from the recording:
Landscape was written in 1978 and consists of 11 short segments. The first and last are fixed but the inner nine can be played in any order, introducing an aleatory element into the work.
At the beginning of the piece, there is an instruction to produce sounds like a biwa, a Japanese short-necked lute similar to the Chinese pyiba. This work has always been a favorite of mine and seems a perfect complement to this verse by the Chinese poet Juan Chi (210-63):
Being sleepless at midnight,
I rise to play the lute.
The moon is visible through the curtains
And a gentle breeze sways the cords of my robe.
A lonely wild goose cries in the wilderness
And is echoed by a bird in the woods.
As it circles, it gazes
At me, alone, imbued with sadness.