The Week After

Programme Notes

On September 11, 2001, one of the most horrific events of my lifetime unfolded in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

Although I didn’t personally know anyone who lost their life in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center or the Pentagon, I felt as if life had come to a complete standstill. For seven days following September 11, I did very little other than watch the news, feel profound grief, and exude immense anger.

All these emotions culminated in the composition The Week After. Written seven days after the event, I used this piece as a personal means to come to grips with what had happened. In it, I explore an inner debate on whether I should feel optimistic or pessimistic about our future as a society. The use of a calm tempo with a pulsating beat, along with the Tremolo Rhodes sound (from a Roland JV-1080 synthesizer), underscores how this event had a surreal and numbing effect on my psyche.

– Frank Horvat