Zsigmond Szathmáry

Rubik's Cube

Rubik's Cube was commissioned for the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University Competition 2023.

The composer about his work: Everyone knows the Rubik's Cube, which Ernö Rubik constructed in 1974. (...) The small colored cubes are to be brought into a certain order by turning the layers. My small cubes here are the numerous, sometimes very short motifs, which are very different in terms of rhythm, color and musical expression. I have tried to string these units together, to compose them in such a way that there is always an organic musical development and that it does not come to a standstill and ultimately to a dead end - as can unfortunately easily happen when trying to solve Rubik's cube. A very colorful registration and a powerful interpretation are desirable.

Rhythmic variety and a broad expressive spectrum are characteristic of the energetic piece, which lasts around 6 minutes and consists of three parts entitled: Allegro con moto, Lento and Agitato, molto irato. With the help of precise performance markings, all articulatory shadings from staccato to accents to singing legato are called for and result in a contrasting whole.

Numbers from 1 to 13 entered by the composer on the last page represent a segment of the Fibonacci sequence. These numbers form a structuring element. The edition contains the registration details which correspond to the sound pattern desired by the composer on the organ of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin. Playing the work on organs with other registration possibilities opens up new spectrums of sound color.