Symphony No. 1 'Chimera'

‘Auerbach, who freely acknowledges the power of tradition, indeed cannot imagine writing music without the past, is more committed to the idiom of an Igor Stravinsky or a Gustav Mahler in the Symphony No. 1 ‘Chimera’: Powerful parallel runs of the instruments provide the necessary ‘expressive pressure’. Catchy, sometimes harshly pounding rhythms - both can be found right at the beginning, but especially in Gorgoyle's 3rd movement, which is entitled Allegro molto, ossessivo - are reminiscent of the beginning of Mahler's Sixth Symphony or Stravinsky's key work ‘Sacre du printemps’. Auerbach came up with a special finesse with the integration of the theremin. The electro-acoustic instrument, which is played with both hands - one hand controls the pitch, the other the volume - was developed around 1920 by the Petersburg-born Léon Theremin. The buzzing, singing sound of the theremin can be heard in two places: a cantilena and the glissandi typical of the instrument are integrated into the third movement of Gorgoyle, and the theremin can also be heard quite clearly at the end. Auerbach utilises the extreme range of nine octaves here.’ (Torsten Möller, programme booklet Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, 2006)