Hände im Schnee
for piano and ensemble
2025 – rev. 2026
10 min
My piece Hände im Schnee (Hands in the Snow) is a kind of miniature piano concerto, dedicated to my mother – whose name, Tuyêt, means “snow” in Vietnamese. She’s a wonderful pianist and loves playing Debussy. One of his pieces that holds a special place for both of us is his prelude Des pas sur la neige (Footsteps in the Snow). Instead of footsteps, I imagined hands in the snow, and from that image came the idea to write a piano concerto in which the soloist’s hands are frozen.
When body parts freeze, ice crystals begin to form in the skin tissues or even in the blood. Prolonged exposure to extreme cold can lead the body temperature to drop dangerously low, sometimes leading to an altered mental state, hallucinations, and eventually death.
Premiered by Divertimento Ensemble at the closing concert of the IDEA Academy in Sofia (Bulgaria), 03.07.25
Listen to the live recording (wav) of the premiere of the first version here:
Instrumentation (has changed since the revision):
Piano solo
Flute (also Piccolo)
Alto Saxophone
Clarinet in Bb
Horn
2 Violins
Viola
Cello
Contrabass
Percussion (2 players): Vibraphone, Marimba, Glockenspiel, Crotales, Bass drum, Snare Drum, 2 Suspended Cymbals, Triangle, Finger Cymbals