What is your new orchestral piece about?
– *The Eternal* revolves around a state of being rather than a story—where time is experienced as stillness, presence, and being.
If you could describe your work *The Eternal* as a color palette—which colors would dominate, and why?
– The colors emerge as slow, chord-like pillars: brown, yellow, orange, and turquoise as the base, with shades of purple, pink, and blue as overtones. Together, they create a sonic world that feels both grounded and ethereal, like the Northern Lights.
Is there any place in the world where you feel the music of *Det Eviga* would sound best?
– In a room with a long reverberation time or beneath the vast Nordic sky, where the silence is palpable and the sounds are allowed to move freely throughout the space.
When you think of the word “eternity”—what sound or tone comes to mind first?
– A slowly pulsating sound field in shades of turquoise and blue-violet—a tone with no clear beginning or end.
If Leif Segerstam could hear *Det Eviga* today—what do you think he would say to you?
– I believe Leif Segerstam would remind us of what he himself so aptly put it: “Music is NOT what sounds, but music is WHY what sounds, sounds the way it does WHEN it sounds.” And that he would recognize this approach in the work’s stillness and concentration.
Is there a personal experience or memory that makes themes like the passage of time and the immortality of art feel especially close to you?
– Over time, awareness of the transience of life has grown, while faith in art’s ability to convey something timeless has deepened.
When you’re not making music, what do you like to do with your time?
I like to seek out moments of quiet even then—through reading, walking, and reflection, where ideas take shape slowly.
Read more about the world premiere here :
norrlandsoperan.se/forestallningar/bortz-och-mozart
Photo: Mats Bäcker
