Bruckner and Reza Namavar both build massive compositions with minimal thematic material; such themes are unrecognizably distorted, stretched, and reversed in their music. Both believe that there can only be great sound if there is also very small sound, and they play their highest instruments sometimes ever higher, and the lowest ever lower, to create extreme contrasts.

Reza Namavar on his new composition
“Bruckner is the man of grand sound. He was often criticized for his orchestral doublings (multiple instruments playing the same thing), but this can also be seen in another light: Is a massive sound (tutti: everyone plays) not the ultimate form of orchestral density? His grand sound is achieved through 1. doublings, 2. tutti, and 3. stretching the range, the ‘ambitus.’ The latter means making the highest instruments play higher and the lowest instruments play lower. Like Bruckner’s Third Symphony, I want to compose four parts that deal with this grand sound versus very small sound, because my idea is that you only notice the grand sound if there is small sound.”

Four Movements
“The first part I will compose is a dialogue between tutti and solo, the second part will feature various solos, the third part a soft tutti, and the final part will have a very sharp dynamic contrast between solo and tutti, which I will further emphasize by stretching the range (higher highs, lower lows) and shifting the solo/tutti contrast occasionally off-beat. This will give the impression that the piece is working towards something. So, it will be a piece where the foreground and background are constantly alternating in sharp contrast. Also, what strikes me about Bruckner’s Third Symphony is the sparseness of material; in other words, building a massive piece with very little thematic material. This resonates with me because I was trained in this way at the conservatory under Louis Andriessen.”

A painting with only red and white
“During the COVID period, I reviewed all of Antonio Vivaldi's concertos and discovered that he is also a composer who achieves a lot with minimal resources. Composers like this are very suitable for me to reflect on. In other words: a painting with only red and white stands out more than one with all colors in it. By controlling and developing your ideas (instead of just placing them side by side), the piece gains immense unity and character. So, I want to maintain this focus per part, achieved through fewer ideas, which hopefully sharpens the technique of what I’ve previously tried to express (foreground/background, tutti/solo, etc.). And this explains my choice for the relatively large ensemble of my new work because this way, I can make the foreground/background interaction even clearer and more expansive. In the symphony, there are long notes (chords), accompaniment figures, and short motifs—essentially, that's it. I plan to roughly adopt this pattern; these are excellent building blocks for a composition.”