Tzigane (1978)

Tzigane was written in 1978 as an entry for the Carl Flesch Award. The piece was inspired by some of the 19th century author George Borrow’s writings about Romany folk. Borrow writes vivid descriptions of their lore, language and customs and creates powerful images of their lives and activities, which for me, translated naturally into music for unaccompanied violin. In addition, the long-standing traditional style of eastern European string music, particularly for unaccompanied violin, have also influenced my approach to this piece.

Tzigane lasts approximately 10 minutes and is dedicated to Benedict Cruft.

Brian Elias (2021)