Lullaby (2020)

Lullaby was composed in reaction to the passing of composer Oliver Knussen in the summer of 2018, and is dedicated to his memory. It combines a lullaby melody and material from Tarantella, a short cello piece Knussen wrote for Kaija Saariaho’s 50th birthday in 2002.

In the words of their mutual friend Anssi Karttunen, who premiered it: “The piece is a meeting of two characters, two moods, two very different composers. It is a celebration of how opposites attract, and how the passing of a friend provokes multiple emotions from sadness to reflection, even anger.”

Lullaby was premiered by Anssi Karttunen on November 16, 2019, at Villa Mairea, Noormarkku, Finland.

Aleksi Barrière, October 2023