Reverie

for Benjamin Kruithof

This piece was written for Benjamin Kruithof, after he was selected for the ECHO Rising Stars progamme. It is inspired by his description of the tranquillity he finds when in his homeland, Luxembourg. He talked about lakes and rivers, green hills and birdsong. Immersed in abrasive city life, he dreams of the peace of his native countryside.

I have used a fragment of a Luxembourgish folk melody as a starting point. The piece begins with a reflective solo passage for cello, followed by a gentle, rocking section. A central, more strident, ’toccata’ dissolves into rapidly flowing piano ripples, with a lyrical cello line, before returning to the rocking music and finally the opening music again. As the piece closes, the folk melody fragment is heard on the piano.

Reverie was commissioned by Philharmonie Luxembourg and Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam and the European Concert Hall Organisation in the framework of ECHO Rising Stars.

The World Premiere took place on 22 September 2024 at the Philharmonie, Cologne, Germany, played by Benjamin Kruithof and Marco Sanna.

Sally Beamish 2024