Octavian Nemescu, Romania, composes ‘AM UAT’ for Basso Moderno Duo

Octavian Nemescu is one of the most important figures in Romanian contemporary music. Nemescu has received many awards including the Aaron Copland Prize, six prizes from the Romanian Composers Union and two prizes from the Concours International de Musicque Elecroacoustique de Bourges. His lifelong creative activities have led the exploration of avant-garde thought, approaches and compositional techniques. AM UAT manifests a variety of original musical practices which reflect this composer’s unique research.

"AM UAT is a music with a slow development, an a d a g i o. It must be played piano-pianissimo so to offer the pianist and the soprano the possibility to ascenddescends the STAIRCASE, falling down in forte towards an accelerated time, gradually condenced, the further a s c e n s i o n s become more and more difficult, being defiled by foreign musics which tend to change direction. But the target from the top of the STAICASE is finally reached by bright sounds of c r o t a l s peacefully to a STAIRCASE. Every ASCENSION is unique, non-recuring. When the bass and the increasing SILENCE. AM UAT is the title of the Egyptian Book of the Dead without a missing letter". Octavian Nemescu, February 2008