Bunte Blätter (Colorful Leaves)

After an early mini piece for this instrumentation, Bunte Blätter (Coloured Leaves) is my first real piece for two pianos. It has become a collection of highly diverse and multifaceted pieces and forms, ranging from Walzer (Waltz) to Danse macabre, from ‘Fanfare’ to ‘Zirkusparade (Circus Parade).’ The fact that the interpreters of the world premiere, Arthur and Lucas Jussen, are siblings, may and should be felt in the teasingly affectionate ‘Fangspiel (Game of Tag)’ in which the two pianists sometimes deliberately ‘play past’ each other. The collection is completed by ‘Rätsel (Riddle)’ for Peter Sloterdijk’s 75th birthday, a small, sphinx-like piece for the librettist of my Babylon opera. – Jörg Widmann