Christian Ernst

Allegorical Pictures op. 68

The Allegorical Images op. 68 for piano four hands by Christian Ernst can be assigned to program music in the best sense of the word. The Berlin composer, born in 1967 and multi-award winner, succeeds here to design seven musical images in the smallest spaces. They are structurally linked to each other and therefore form a cyclic unity. The inclusion of modern compositional techniques (such as bitonality, polymetric, collage) help increasing the expressive language and make the Allegorical Images a singular work. The composition demands no more than intermediate skills for both (!) players and extends the four-hand piano literature significantly.