Otakar Pihrt

At the Crossroads

5 p.m., downtown: rush hour. Hundreds of cars, bicycles and pedestrians romp about at the big intersection. Now of all times, the traffic light is out. A single traffic policeman with a whistle is now in charge of traffic control. Unfortunately, not everything runs (and drives) smoothly ... With “At the Crossroads” the Czech composer Otakar Pihrt shows us this scenery musically. In form of a rapid gallop with numerous musical effects the traffic literally rushes past us. Pihrt writes a very creative and humorous work, which demands rapid playing full of wit and exaggeration from all the instrumentalists. However, despite his virtuosity, he never ignores the technical possibilities of the individual instruments. Special attention is required by the percussion register, which is particularly suitable for the effective setting of the action and, as experience shows, is happy to take on this responsibility. The small percussion cadenza at the end of the piece leaves no limits to the creativity of the players. Take a seat and fasten your seat belt. It might get turbulent!