For bass drum, celesta, string quintet and strings
Eterniday
Hommage à W. A. Mozart
An intimate orchestral work by Lera Auerbach, written in the shadow of loss and rebirth — with bass drum, celesta, soloistic strings, and the subtle presence of the young Mozart.
Commission
Commissioned by Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie Koblenz.
World Premiere
25 April 2010. Koblenz — Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie Koblenz, conducted by Daniel Raiskin.
Dedication
Dedicated to Daniel Raiskin.
The Work
Eterniday is Auerbach’s homage to W. A. Mozart, shaped by a remarkable story of destruction, memory, and artistic renewal. The original manuscript was lost in a devastating electrical fire in the composer’s New York studio, along with her Steinway concert grand and the apartment around it.
Rather than reconstructing what had been lost, Auerbach began again. The work changed character and scale: what had first been imagined for a fuller chamber orchestra became an intimate score for bass drum, celesta, string quintet and strings.
The music places the principal string players in a concerto-grosso-like relationship to the ensemble: sometimes integrated within the orchestral fabric, sometimes speaking with strongly personal voices.
Work Information
Abbreviations PDF
Mozart, Memory, Rebirth
Koblenz is connected with the child Mozart, and Auerbach’s own experience with Mozart’s earliest keyboard works shaped the spiritual atmosphere of Eterniday. The young Mozart becomes less a quotation than a guardian presence — a figure of fragility, wonder, and persistence after loss.
- Mozart The homage is inward and atmospheric rather than literal.
- Fire The final work emerged after the loss of the original manuscript.
- Strings Principal string players move between ensemble texture and personal statement.
- Eterniday The title fuses the fragile day with the idea of the eternal.
Publisher and Materials
Published by Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski. Score and rental materials are available through Zinfonia.