The date of the world premiere of your piece is approaching. Who are the dedicatees of the composition?
László Tihanyi: Kim Kashkashian and Péter Nagy requested me to write a duet for viola and piano a couple of years ago, therefore it was a pleasure for me to dedicate my composition to them.

As far as I know, this is not your first composition dedicated to Ms. Kashkashian. How did your cooperation begin?
I had dedicated to her a concerto earlier: it was my Passacaglie, also premiered by her. I owe our acquaintance to Péter Nagy; it was he who put us in touch with each other after Kim had listened to my works and found them interesting. Since then we have met several times and, as we have repeatedly been teaching together in the workshops of the Bartók Festival in Szombathely, so we had the opportunity for some longer conversations.

The work consists of eight movements of differing character, representing the various lunar phases (Full moon, Waning gibbous moon, Last quarter moon, Waning crescent moon, New moon, Waxing crescent moon, First quarter moon, Waxing gibbous moon). How did you arrive at the idea of threading a series of movements on the eight phases of the moon? To what extent is this idea a mere play, and to what extent do the phases of the moon serve as a genuine (associative, musical) starting point?
The idea came many years ago. Originally I was planning to compose a kind of rite-music but the execution has failed. When I started to think about this idea in an entirely new approach, i.e. in relation with the planned duet, it became clear soon that instead of the “rite-music” (which did not attract me any more by then) the work will be based on certain astrological- physical-psychological associations connected with the Moon. On this basis, I was easily able to create valid structures, being operable also musically, furthermore a mobile or cyclic structure of the whole work, i.e. one which can be started anywhere around the imaginary orbit of the Moon.

Why will the location of the premiere be Florence?
Kim Kashkashian recommended this world premiere to be part of an already contracted concert in Florence, and, to my greatest pleasure, the organizers accepted the idea.

As far as I know this is a piece that claims extraordinary demands on the performers. When do you think it will find its next interpreters?
Yes indeed, I assigned both performers a very difficult musical and technical task. However, the literature of viola-piano duet is not especially abundant as far as original compositions are concerned. So I hope that more than one performer will feel like learning the piece. I am convinced the forthcoming recitals of these two fine artists will motivate others.