Thiemo Kraas

Frenzy

1. CAPTURED - molto agitato
2. DREAMY - tranquillo e meditativo
3. LIBERATED - molto leggiero e danzante / molto appassionato

Format: A3 (score) + A4 (parts)

First prize winner at the wind orchestra composition competition in Saxony in 2023.
Dedicated to the Borken District Orchestra and its conductor André Baumeister.
The composition FRENZY was created for the musicians of the Borken District Orchestra and their conductor André Baumeister. The piece is conceived as music for an imaginary ballet that puts a solo dancer in the spotlight in three movements that merge into one another. Without pursuing a strict program, the music aims to describe a person's search for freedom and individuality.
The term FRENZY comes from the English and means both "bright excitement" and "wild, hectic activity" as well as "frenzy" and "intoxication". While the opening movement of the piece could best be outlined with the first two terms, the latter best describe the finale.

1. CAPTURED
The first movement is full of rigor and straightforwardness. Two contrasting themes literally "capture" the protagonist. The music is restless and driven, at times even exaggerated and ironic. It describes a person's desperate search for his place and his destiny.

2nd DREAMY
The second movement represents an extreme contrast to the first. The music is now full of calm and tenderness. It makes the protagonist look back on his childhood, which he associates above all with character traits such as impartiality and the capacity for wonder.

3. LIBERATED
In the last movement of the composition, our protagonist succeeds in "liberating" himself from his self-imposed expectations. Although the framework conditions of his life (the musical themes) have essentially remained the same, his perspective (his "approach" to music) has changed fundamentally. He has realized that it is worth taking unknown paths, trying out new things and opening himself up to life. The dancer falls into a frenzy and dances to the point of complete exhaustion.

When I am "searching" myself, I recall my role models. I find one of them in Maurice Ravel and his music. Reason enough to let each of his three ballet scores have their say as little quotes.

Münster, August 2021 - Thiemo Kraas