Composer’s Note:

“Gelidi riflessi” (Frozen Reflections) were written after a request from my dear friend, Belarusian-Italian violinist Tatiana Reout. She was looking for a contemporary composition to be added to her program dedicated to Winter in Italy. It took me a long while to understand which way to go. I asked Tatiana a lot of questions about Italian winter. I was curious about colors, scents, feelings, anything that could be helpful. My true inspiration came after finding unusual black-and-white photographs of Winter in Venice. When we think about Italy we always imagine something joyful, colorful, from pizza and wine to sunny weather and good mood. The photographs I found were very different. San Marco cathedral in Venice was hardly to see on a misty day; gondolas, this eternal source of joy and romance, were lying down , forgotten, useless, covered with snow. One of the photographs had a seagull, whose reflection was to see in a half-frozen puddle. That image helped me find the title of this cycle.