''Sakura-Variationen'' (''Sakura Variations'') is a 2000 trio composition scored for saxophone, piano, and percussion by

Helmut Lachenmann Helmut Friedrich Lachenmann (born 27 November 1935) is a German composer of contemporary classical music. His work has been associated with "instrumental musique concrète". Life and works Lachenmann was born in Stuttgart and after the end ...

. It is written in the form of

variations Variation or Variations may refer to: Science and mathematics * Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon * Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individual ...

on a Japanese folk song about the

cherry blossom A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of genus ''Prunus'' or ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especially in Japan. They generally ...

called "

Sakura Sakura , also known as "Sakura", is a traditional Japanese folk song depicting spring, the season of cherry blossoms. It is often sung in international settings as a song representative of Japan. Contrary to popular belief, the song did not originat ...

". It was published by

Breitkopf & Härtel Breitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf. The catalogue currently contains over 1,000 composers, 8,000 works and 15,000 music editions or books ...

. In 2008, Lachenmann expanded the work to ''Sakura mit Berliner Luft''.

History

Original version

Lachenmann composed the work for a concert for children at the

Kölner Philharmonie The Kölner Philharmonie is a symphonic concert hall located in Cologne, Germany. It is part of the building assemble of the Museum Ludwig and was opened in 1986. The Kölner Philharmonie is located close to the Cologne Cathedral and the Cologn ...

, given by

Trio Accanto Trio Accanto is a contemporary piano trio formed of Marcus Weiss (saxophone), Nicolas Hodges (piano) and Christian Dierstein (percussion). It is based in Freiburg, Germany. History Trio Accanto was formed as the result of a discussion between M ...

which at the time included his wife Yukiko Sugawara as pianist. He based the composition on a traditional Japanese folk song about the

, "

", and wrote

for saxophone, piano and percussion. The composer writes that he takes children seriously, and therefore composed a piece that is cheerful and serious. He comments further: Towards the end, the music becomes "pseudo-dramatic", with piano clusters, and "an almost ecstatic improvisation" of the saxophone. The trio was premiered by the

in Cologne on 18 February 2001. The duration is given as 6 minutes. It was published by

Expanded version

Lachenmann returned to the work in 2008 and produced a new version, ''Sakura mit Berliner Luft'', lasting 11 minutes. Trio Accanto gave the first performance – under the title ''Berliner Kirschblüten'' – on 6 August 2008, at the NDR Rolf-Liebermann-Studio in Hamburg (during the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival). That title has since been taken by a solo piano work. In this version Lachenmann also quoted the song "" which

Paul Lincke Carl Emil Paul Lincke (7 November 1866 – 3 September 1946) was a German composer and theater conductor. He is considered the "father" of the Berlin operetta. His well-known compositions include "" ("Berlin Air"), the unofficial anthem of Berlin, ...

had composed, originally for an operetta. Lincke's heirs protested because of copyright concerns, and further performances were disallowed. While ''Sakura mit Berliner Luft'' was programmed in

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital ...

on 7 May 2009 as part of the Festival 4020, again by the Trio Accanto (and under the final title), this performance is thought not to have gone ahead. Lincke went out of copyright on 1 January 2017, enabling further performances of such works as Lachenmann's. Breitkopf immediately announced the publication of the expanded trio, but it has not appeared. In 2019 Trio Accanto recorded both versions. Helmut Lachenmann was present for the recordings, and sang the folksong line at the start. The recordings were released on CD in 2020.Wergo WER 7393 2

Later history

''Sakura Variationen'' was played by

(at that time

Marcus Weiss Marcus Weiss (born 1961 in Basel, Switzerland) is a saxophonist and teacher. His repertoire includes all epochs, from the beginnings in impressionistic France to the present. As a soloist, Weiss worked with many European orchestras and ensembles o ...

(saxophone), Yukiko Sugawara (piano), and Christian Dierstein (percussion)) on 16 August 2010 at the

Rheingau Musik Festival The (RMF) is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres. Concerts take place at culturally important locations, such as Eberbach Abbey and Schloss Johannisberg, ...

, when the 80th birthday of

Walter Fink Walter Fink (16 August 1930 – 13 April 2018) was a German entrepreneur and a patron of contemporary classical music. He is known for being a founding member, executive committee member and sponsor of the Rheingau Musik Festival, where he initi ...

was celebrated by chamber music of living composers, including

Toshio Hosokawa is a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music. He studied in Germany but returned to Japan, finding a personal style inspired by classical Japanese music and culture. He has composed operas, the oratorio ''Voiceless Voice in Hiroshima'' ...

Volker David Kirchner Volker David Kirchner (25 June 1942 – 4 February 2020) was a German composer and violist. After studies of violin and composition at the Peter Cornelius Conservatory, the Hochschule für Musik Köln and the Hochschule für Musik Detmold, he wor ...

Wolfgang Rihm Wolfgang Rihm (born 13 March 1952) is a German composer and academic teacher. He is musical director of the Institute of New Music and Media at the University of Music Karlsruhe and has been composer in residence at the Lucerne Festival and the ...

, and

Jörg Widmann Jörg Widmann (born 19 June 1973) is a German composer, conductor and clarinetist. In 2018, Widmann was the third most performed contemporary composer in the world. Formerly a clarinet and composition professor at the University of Music Freib ...

References

{{italic title Compositions for saxophone Compositions for piano trio Contemporary classical compositions Variations 2000 compositions