Composition database

This is the Composition Database of BMC, which includes information about works by composers that are either Hungarian or Hungarian by origin or live in Hungary.

Title of the work

Thoreau Second Hand


Composer

Original / Hungarian title
Thoreau Second Hand
Foreign language / English title
Thoreau Second Hand
Subtitle
For chamber ensemble
Dedication
to Hashtag Ensemble (Warsaw), BERG Orchestra (Prague), EnsembleSpectrum (Bratislava) and UMZE Ensemble (Budapest).
Year of composition
2024

Type
Ensemble
Instrumentation
narrator - fl., cl., fg. - cor., tr., trb. - perc. (5 beer-bottles, 5 metal-cans, 5 wood-bl.)
Duration
16 min

Text
THOREAU, Henry David
Language
English
Premiere information
15 July 2024, RenMus Project – Prague Station. New ensemble pieces by Ian Mikyska (CZ), Samo Hvozdík (SK), Katarzyna Krzewinska (PL) and Máté Balogh, associated with renewability and sustainability, KATEŘINSKÁ ZAHRADA, Prague; Berg Orchestra
Publisher / Source
Remarks, other info
One of the four winners of RenMus Project (Warsaw – Prague – Bratislava – Budapest)

"Thoreau Second Hand was written in the framework of the Renewable Music – V4 Composers for Sustainability project in 2024, and is dedicated to Hashtag Ensemble (Warsaw), BERG Orchestra (Prague), EnsembleSpectrum (Bratislava) and UMZE Ensemble (Budapest). The piece is based on textual phrases taken from Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, from the chapter entitled Sounds. The instrumental layers of the piece can be regarded as continuous articulating materials attached to the recited text, creating resonant frequencies with variable characteristics. Therefore, the piece can be regarded as a contemporary reflection to Alvin Lucier’s classic, I Am Sitting In A Room." (Máté Balogh)