Dschingis Khan

The overture recalls a hero in the history of the Mongols and one of the great conquerors in the history of mankind: Genghis Khan. He succeeded in uniting the Mongolian tribes, conquering Beijing and advancing into the heart of the Asian continent. He also left traces of horror in Europe. Genghis Khan brought down ancient cultures and created a world empire of immense expansion, which, however, only lasted for a short time.

Kees Vlak has designed the first and third parts of "Genghis Khan" in such a way that they musically trace the onslaught of the Mongolian cavalry armies, which made the Mongolian empire a great empire within a short time. Dramatic sounds, especially in the brass and percussion, symbolise the dangerous power of the Mongolian fighters on horseback. The middle section, on the other hand, is calmer and written in orientalizing tonal language. In this way the composer wants to depict the old cultural centres of Central Asia in particular, which Genghis Khan defeated in his wars of conquest. Here, the expressive playing of the woodwinds is particularly challenging.