Hans Werner Henze

Fraternité

In October of 1997, I received an invitation from New York Philharmonic Music Director Kurt Masur asking me to contribute a musical message for the coming millennium. Maestro Masur's letter read 'My dream would be to have you provide us with a work lasting from 10 to 15 minutes that could both stand on its own or perhaps be combined with musical messages with other composers which we might compile for a full evening's concert.'I welcomed the opportunity to bring one of six unique perspectives to this collective exploration of the meanings of the new millennium, and it is my hope that the Multi-Arts Production Fund will chose to support the New York Philharmonic's Messages for the Millennium project. My Millennium Message, Fraternité, Air for Orchestra, can best be described as a quiet and placid work in which all the instruments of the orchestra are as one ... and sing in praise of harmony and peace.- Hans Werner Henze