Karim Al-Zand, Composer

Karim Al-Zand (born Tunis, Tunisia, 1970) Lines in Motion (composed 2022) Co-commissioned by Chamber Music Columbus and Chamber Music Houston for the Merz Trio)

Al-Zand was the 2011 recipient of the “Arts and Letters Award in Music” from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the 2006 Louisville Orchestra Composition Prize, and the 2003 Sackler Composition Prize, among many other honors.

“Describing your own music is a precarious business for a composer,” Al-Zand has written. “My pieces usually have a ‘thread’ that connects them to something outside of the music itself. That connection might be explicit or hidden; it might be musical or extra-musical, collaborative or inter-disciplinary; its context may be historical or contemporary, social or political. Whatever the thread is, it usually forms my initial inspiration and my guide as I create the fabric of a piece.”

A co-commission by Chamber Music Columbus and Chamber Music Houston, “lines in motion” by Karim Al-Zand draws inspiration from three striking woodcuts while connecting musically with three classic works that fill out the program. A unique combination of lush harmonies and scintillating texture characterize both the Rachmaninoff and Schumann Trios as well as the first movement of the Al-Zand in particular, while Al-Zand’s groove driven third movement forms a particularly effective dialogue with the danse macabre of Shostakovich’s eerily beautiful First Piano Trio.

For “Lines in Motion,” co-commissioned for the Merz Trio by Chamber Music Houston and Chamber Music Columbus, Al-Zand traces threads directly from each movement to one of three evocative illustrations: “En pleine mer” (1921)” by René Quillivic (1879-1969) for “On the Open Sea;” “America” (1923) by Frans Masereel (18891972) for “In the Big City;” and “Rhythms” (1922) by Wharton Esherick (1887–1970) for “At the Spirit Dance.”

Al-Zand has submitted the following notes for the work he has subtitled “Three pieces after kinetic illustrations by Quillivic, Masereel and Esherick:”

“Lines in Motion” is inspired by three striking black and white illustrations from the early 20th century. Though quite different in style, they all embody a strong sense of motion, with lines that project a kinetic energy that leaps off the page. In “En pleine mer” [On the Open Sea], the sweeping lines of Quillivic’s maritime engraving are reflected musically in a roiling, liquid texture and undulating waves of sound. “In the Big City” echoes Masereel’s imposing vertical cityscape through bold, chordal blocks interrupted by bustling activity. Finally, “At the Spirit Dance” turns Esherick’s iconic woodcut figures into a bopping musical trio, swinging to a rhythmic groove.

“Lines in Motion” received its co-world premiere performances in Houston on January 17, 2023, and in Columbus on May 6, 2023.