Album Notes

String Quartet No. 2 was composed in 2004 on the occasion of the 70th birthday of the composer’s father. The work is divided into 5 movements with a total duration of 20 minutes. The structure of the composition was generated by a fractal algorithm that the composer has been experimenting with over the past years and is defined by strong contrasts, shifts and changes. The first four movements, although derived from the same musical material, are unique in character and mood while the fifth movement is a sort of a developmental section that juxtaposes material from all the other movements and brings the work to it’s end.
This recording was made by the Israel Contemporary String Quartet at 2005.

Tru'a which in Hebrew literally means "fanfare" was written for Clarinetist Richard Stoltzman. The piece is a homage for composer Witold Lutoslawski who was a great influence and a source of inspiration to me.
This work has been recorded in August 1997 by MMC Recordings featuring Mr. Stoltzman and the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by maestro Jerzey Swoboda.
The work begins with an introduction part which is composed of very high pitched sounds (overtones) produced by the first violin section (divided into four groups) and a continues high C overtone produced by the second violin section. Meanwhile there is a bass drone produced by the Basses and timpani. The Clarinet part is very demanding of the player. It uses extreme dynamics and some unorthodox sounds which require an excellent playing technique.

The 13 poems that make the Arabic Lessons song cycle were written by the poet Michael Roes. Dr. Roes wrote the poems in Arabic and then retranslated them into German (see the notes from the poet below). Professor Sasson Somekh of the Tel-Aviv University has kindly agreed to translate the poems into Hebrew from the Arabic original.
The musical score of Arabic Lessons makes use of all the three languages. Some of the songs are sung simultaneously in Arabic, Hebrew and German. Each Song is scored using various instrumental combinations. There are two purely instrumental movements - one is the instrumental introduction "4 Loops" and the other is a solo for drum-set titled "Cannon". The work is composed in a such way so that it can be performed from beginning to end with no pause (ca. 35 minutes) or each song can stand alone as a composition by itself.

\Plex"ure\, n. [See Plexus.] The act or process of weaving together, or interweaving; that which is woven together. --H. Brooke (Dictionary.com)
This duo is composed for the double-reed family of instruments. It features the Oboe, the English Horn and the Contrabassoon. The piece is divided into 4 sections that correspond to the AABA form. The degree of virtuosity required from the players is very high; the pitch ranges for the instruments are extreme but playing together and in time is probably as much of a challenge as reaching the notes at the extreme range of the instrument.
This work is dedicated to my grandmother Miriam Keren and was premiered on the occasion of her 99th birthday.

In Hebrew “Shir” means "a song" or “sing!”. It is a short and virtuosic solo for flute that explores contemporary sound production techniques. I wrote it for my wife who played flute at the time but upon looking at the score she said “thank-you, I can’t play this” and never looked at it again... Some years later I gave the score to Mr. Yossi Arenheim who is the principle flautist for the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Mr. Arenheim premiered the piece in a concert series "The Flute at the Center" at the Jerusalem Music Center on January 23rd 1997.