A new major work by Christos Hatzis, Arabesque is to be first performed by Angèle Dubeau and the all women ensemble La Pièta at La Fête de la Musique, Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada, on 6 September 2009. This world premiere performance will be followed by further performances with Dubeau and La Pièta through Canada and the USA in September and October. Arabesque, for solo violin, piano and string orchestra, was written for and dedicated to Dubeau and La Pièta. Dubeau is one of Canada’s most prominent virtuoso violinists and has performed with La Pièta across America and Asia since founding the ensemble in 1997. Hatzis describes Arabesque as ‘an autobiographical’ work in many respects. The four movements, titled: ‘Innocence,’ ‘A.D. 1980,’ ‘With Regret’ and ‘Gypsy Heart’ suggest a metaphorical description for the stages of life, in the composer’s words: ‘starting with the childhood purity and innocence of the first movement, rambunctious, disco-like exuberance of the second, introverted, moody, coming-of-age in the third movement to the defiant refusal to surrender in the finale.’ Arabesque draws on a variety of musical genres in the course of its four movements.