The first piece in the series is a piano duo – The Chandelier Abandoned by the Sea. It paints a picture of our preconceived notions and expectations regarding Impressionism: light, movement, and freedom. The crashing waves, the playful sunshine on the broken crystal, the odd nature of the subject matter… Éduard Manet once said, „I paint what I see, and not what others like to see“. With this liberating attitude in mind, the composer walks away from his reverie and onto the halls of the Museum. The five following pieces for piano solo represent the different stages of his day trip, his impressions and, perhaps even more significantly, his perceptions. Here is a temple, the Mecca of Impressionism, a great serious institution celebrating the lives and work of these wonderful outcasts and rebels who changed the course of history. Light, movement, and freedom is in every canvas and sculpture, but no less in the halls themselves: the enchanted visitors paint a picture with their very bodies, moving from painting to painting, from sculpture to sculpture, at times quiet and observant, at times with great excitement. Like a fly on the wall, the composer observes their changes in posture and demeanor as they allow the artists to transport them to the depths of their own souls and then quickly go back to their quotidian preoccupations, until the next work of art catches their eye again. The atmosphere of the Museum, this rustling and bustling contrasted with the serenity found in the art works, is brought to life on the piano keys in these five pieces. The epilogue of the series – The Floating Museum for piano duo – takes all of these impressions and perceptions back to the world of dreams. In this final reverie the museum breaks free from its own structural constraints and floats swiftly through the great sea of life with a new and enlightened freedom of movement.

Somar Ajalyaqin started his relationship with the arts at an early age in his hometown Damascus. After having studied both poetry and painting, he began his musical journey on his mother’s advise, as she advocated a holistic approach to artistic expression. That idea would later become the very foundation of his style as composer, as he endeavors to transcend the barriers of formal structure and the barriers within himself in order to express the absolute freedom of movement and emotion in the human soul. His debut CD „Contemplations“ was released in 2021 by Viennese label Gramola and the scores to his compositions have been published by Apoll-Edition, also in Vienna.

A Day Trip to Musée d’Orsay is available for streaming and download on every major platform, including Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and many more!