Metamorphosis für Klavierquartett

Some of the great artists that I admire, like jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, have evolved not so much by changing their personal voice, but by changing the environment in which they express themselves. For instance, Mile’s trumpet playing in the 60’s or early 70’s was not that much different from his playing in the 50’s. But his music sounded different because he kept changing the lineup of his groups in order to best achieve the ensemble sound that he was looking for at a given time. So he moved from bebop to cool jazz to his very free interpretations of standards and originals in the 60’s and finally to fusion in the later part of his career without ever losing his highly recognizable instrumental style. The concept of “Metamorphosis” is very similar to such an evolution. The main theme, which is first presented by the violin, occurs repeatedly throughout the piece. But, with the order of its pitches basically left intact, the musical environments that surround it keep changing.   Like all of my concert music pieces “Metamorphosis” features groove-oriented sections which are influenced by musical styles such as jazz, rock & roll, electronica and different kinds of world music. Harmonic and structural elements are influenced by 20th century concert music. Gernot Wolfgang

"(...) Metamorphosis gefällt durch ein expressives, ideenreiche Wandlungen durchlaufendes Violin-Thema. (...) Gernot Wolfgang findet, dem Geist Schostakowitschs und Strawinskys folgend, durch Gespür für sinnlich-plastische Gestalthaftigkeit und klare formale Plots zu eigener Handschrift." (Jazz-Zeit)   “... a striking piano quartet by Gernot Wolfgang... His compelling solutions in Metamorphosis sounded neither forced nor artificial. At its core, the piece is a wild minor swing with Balkan Gypsy gestures and rhetoric.” (The Los Angeles Times)     “... a strikingly muscular and momentum-filled piece of music... for many the highlight of a wonderful musical evening... surprising, sometimes jarring – but never incoherent and never unmusical.” (Vineyard Gazette)