Hyacinthus (2022/rev. 2026)
for solo piano
Duration: ca. 1.5′
PROGRAM NOTE:
Ovid’s Metamorphoses describes the beautiful Hyacinthus, who spurns his many suitors in favor of the god Apollo. However, the couple’s happiness is short-lived; Hyacinthus is killed by Apollo’s discus during a game of quoits in either an accident or an attack by the jealous wind god Zephyrus. Unable to join Hyacinthus in death due to his immortality, Apollo creates a new species of flower from his partner’s spilled blood. Hyacinthus (2022/rev. 2026) suggests the gentle swaying of this flower in the wind that may have killed the boy.