Zwang und Zweifel was commissioned by Patchwork. It was composed in Cambridge, Massachusetts and completed in September of 2017.
Zweifel means ‘doubt’ in German. Zwang is much more difficult to translate to English. It can mean compulsion, coercion, constraint, pressure, obligation, restraint and force. My piece Zwang und Zweifel explores the inner tumult that happens when one tries to live with a choice between two options, both of which threaten to tear body and mind to shreds. Musically, this is reflected in the musical materials (body) attempting to devolve into chaos and mayhem, while the musical syntax (mind) is rigidly and strictly trying to constrain and control them.
Score Sample
Press
Patchwork’s contribution to the evening was the world premiere of Osnat Netzer’s Zwang und Zweifel, which shows the discombobulated pain of choosing between two terrible life options, either of which will rip you apart. Noa Even’s tenor sax and Stephen Klunk’s drumset are the right brand of funky noise for these distressing feelings. Netzer’s use of a huge range of extended techniques for both players — pops, rolls, whistles, and slams — grinds through many powerful timbres to create the desired tormented, rigid chaos.
David Kulma Cleveland Classical (2018)