I. Allegro vivo
II. Lento
III. Presto
First performance 19 July 1935 by the chamber orchestra of the Philharmonic Society (Filharmonische Vereniging) in Brussels (Concert Jeunesse), conducted by Hermann Scherchen. Awarded with the Prix Henri le Boeuf.
Almost all Nico Richter’s surviving compositions date from his student days. Most of them are ultrashort, inspired by Webern and Berg. As a student of medicine, he directed the student orchestra MUSA. He joined the resistance, was arrested in 1942 and sent to work in successive concentration camps. A physical wreck, he dictated his final composition on his deathbed just after liberation. His talent never reached full maturity.
by Dr. Julia Muller-van Santen