Oheim, waz wirret dir?

Program Note

The character of Anfortas, the Fisher King, appears in many versions of the Grail Legend cursed by an unhealing wound that must be cured by the questing knight protagonist. The source of this wound and its treatment vary between stories (in Wagner’s Parsifal, the title character touches the site with the Holy Lance), but in many versions the solution is found in a “healing question.” The question is different from story to story, as is the answer Anfortas gives. The most interesting variant is when the King does not answer, and the asking of the question itself becomes the cure. In the case of Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzifal, the title character merely asks the ailing king “Oheim, waz wirret dir?” (“Uncle, what ails you?”) and the wound is healed.

This piece is a reflection on the Anfortas wounds that curse our lives, our communities, and our relationship with the planet, and an invitation to ask the begged questions that are necessary for the healing process to begin.

This work was composed for the May 2026 Eötvös Foundation composition workshop with Thomas Adès and Gregory Vajda, then revised immediately after. Many thanks to cimbalomist Mihály Kovács for playing the premiere and providing feedback during the workshop process.