EX MACHINA Hero
Op.6

EX MACHINA

Damnation for solo violin and string orchestra

« In Vienna, a spectator publicly stated that my performance was not surprising, as he had distinctly seen, while I played my variations, the devil at my elbow, directing my arm and guiding my bow. »

— Niccolò Paganini

Duration

5'

Instrumentation

violin, string orchestra

COMMISSIONED BY

Toulouse Chamber Orchestra

Publisher

Scripta Manent Editions

PREMIERE

Manon Galy and the Toulouse Chamber Orchestra

May 4, 2026

Toulouse

Score

EX MACHINA Partition

Program Notes

The myth of the possessed virtuoso has haunted the history of music for centuries. We remember Niccolò Paganini, whose every concert fed rumors of a devilish pact. Chronicles speak of a body seized by trances, oversized, almost spider-like hands running over the strings with inhuman precision.

But what if the legend had blamed the wrong culprit? What if the possession resided not in the man, but in the instrument itself?

It is said that there is an anonymous violin, a wooden carcass long abandoned in the shadows, that crossed Europe leaving fever and madness in its wake, passing from hand to hand like a curse. It is not an instrument: it is a haunted relic, a receptacle of dark memories, waiting for a breath to awaken and claim the soul of whoever dares to draw the next sound from it.

Coming Soon

Video Performance