Composed as a birthday present for Uschi Kurkiewicz. There are several quotations to be found in this Havanaise: from the Sacre du printemps, (e.g. measure 12), the name “BACH” (b flat - a - c - b natural, transposed e.g. measure 6) and the first theme of the fugue by Bach, BWV 849 (e.g. measure 35). But of course the character of the piece has little to do with these other compositions: it is about the tropical heat and the resulting feeling of laziness that is portrayed in the Habanera rhythm.

photo by Eltjo de Lang