En avant was commissioned by the Sound Ways Festival in St. Petersburg for the
celebration of the Dimitri Shostakovich’s Centenary.
The perception of Shostakovich’s work has never been an easy one for me. How far can
political events affect our artistic stance? My own feeling is one of wanting to commemorate
uninhibited artistic work while celebrating vitality and enthusiasm as an incentive for new
inventiveness and a more promising future.
The world premiere of en avant took place at the 18th International Sound Ways Festival in St. Petersburg on 25th November 2006 and was performed by Alexander Machnev.