Four Seasons [score and parts]

Composed at the request of accordionist Christophe Delporte and dedicated to the Ensemble Astoria, Four Seasons is a four-movement work whose titles are deliberately enigmatic. Each movement evokes a particular season, but rather than stating them overtly, the composer invites the listener to deduce which season is being represented and why.

Oryx, the opening movement, begins with an extended, meditative, and intense solo cadenza for accordion. This is followed by a driving rhythmic section involving the full ensemble, marked by asymmetric meters that reinforce its relentless, obsessive character. Motifs from the opening reappear in shifting combinations, passed between instruments and transformed through surprising modulations that continually renew the musical discourse.

Falling Trees, the second movement, is built entirely on a sixteenth-note ostinato. Over this rhythmic base, expressive melodic fragments are gradually introduced. These accumulate, interweave, and modulate, building toward a climactic peak that eventually dissolves into a dreamlike and introspective conclusion.

Berkeley Rose Garden, the third movement, unfolds at a slow tempo with a minimalist opening of sparse material. Tension subtly grows as motifs accumulate, leading to a passionate and expressive central section. The music gradually retreats, and the initial material returns, now transformed, ending the movement in a meditative stillness.

Cruelest Days, the final movement, is a frenetic race to the abyss. Marked by high rhythmic energy and the prominent role of percussion, it culminates in a sonic explosion — a dazzling, almost cinematic conclusion to the cycle.

Four Seasons was premiered on 12 February 2023 at the Brussels Musical Instruments Museum by the Ensemble Astoria, and recorded by the same ensemble for the Antarctica label in 2023 (CD Seas8ns, AR 042).

The score is available exclusively in electronic format, with solo parts included in the PDF.