Commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for Dame Evelyn Glennie and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Hatzis' Mirage? was written in 2009 when the world was entering an economic downturn that has often been compared with the Great Depression of the 1930s. The unmistakable connection between the years preceding that crisis and the "roaring twenties" accounts for the particular musical styles used in the work and the question mark in its title. The music of Mirage? is permeated by a sense of sadness and despair, lamenting the loss of something pleasurable that could not be held on to; of a way of living that less fortunate generations in our post-apocalyptic future may find hard to believe as possible.
Born in Greece, educated in the United States and a Canadian citizen since 1985, composer Christos Hatzis (b.1953) is becoming widely known as a leading figure in contemporary classical music. His works are performed and broadcast throughout the world, and their frequent combination of a powerful spiritual foundation with an immediately accessible appeal has made a deep emotional impact upon audiences and performers alike.
