Background Rouse composed
Odna Zhizn as a tribute to an unnamed friend, using a musical code to spell names and phrases in what Rouse called "a private love letter." In the program notes to the score, Rouse wrote: In a September 2016 interview on
All Things Considered, Rouse revealed that piece was written for his wife Natasha, whom he married earlier that year. Describing the more unpleasant aspects of the piece, he remarked, "[Natasha] was sexually abused as a child, so she ran away from home at 16 and decided to hitchhike out west. One of the people who picked her up held her for three days and raped her repeatedly. She ended up in Arizona in Tucson and she was homeless, so she was living under a bridge and eating out of dumpsters. And all of that before the age of 18." He added, "I certainly couldn't have survived that, I don't think, and I'm not sure most people could either. But that's why the fact that she is this warmhearted, wonderful person is all the more amazing."
Instrumentation The work is scored for three
flutes (3rd doubling
piccolo), two
oboes,
English horn, two
clarinets,
bass clarinet, two
bassoons,
contrabassoon, four
French horns, three
trumpets, three
trombones,
tuba,
timpani, three percussionists,
harp,
celesta, and
strings. ==Reception==