The inspiration for Richter 938–5 for oboe, bassoon and piano is taken from a painting by German artist Gerhard Richter — painting number 938–5. I often draw inspiration from visual art, and this particular painting seemed to me to be full of energy, full of wildly contrasting, even clashing, colors. So I thought that basing each movement on a different color from the painting might create a richly varied set of pieces. This accounts for the somewhat schizophrenic character of the work as a whole.
My original conception allowed for any or all movements to be played in any order. However, the ordered presented here (suggested by Erika) seems right. It was only a few weeks ago that we decided to divide the GRAY movement into three transitional "submovements." Another late decision was to segue quickly between GREEN and GRAY 1, between RED and LIGHT BLUE, between DARK RED and ORANGE, and between GRAY 3 and YELLOW, creating a kind of symmetrical structure. The listener is invited to judge whether this ordering works as a whole.
GREEN — the undulating contours of a verdant landscape.
GRAY 1 — the color of machinery. Bassoon cogs and levers.
RED — the color of interjections and warnings.
LIGHT BLUE — bassoon lyricism against a disquieting backdrop.
GRAY 2 — an oboe crankshaft.
DARK RED — the color of deep, intense richness.
ORANGE — the color of fire.
GRAY 3 — a piano gadget.
YELLOW — the sun; a canary; sulfur; lemon zest.
