Timbres, espace, mouvement (Timbre, space, movement) is a work for orchestra composed by Henri Dutilleux in 1978. Dutilleux subtitled the work La nuit étoilée (The Starry Night), in reference to the 1889 painting by Vincent van Gogh. The composer wanted to translate in his composition the "almost cosmic whirling effect which (the painting) produces".[1] Dutilleux dedicated the work to the memory of Charles Münch and to Mstislav Rostropovich, the conductor of its premiere.
Mstislav Rostropovich commissioned the work, and conducted the premiere with Washington National Symphony Orchestra on 7 November 1978. Dutilleux revised the work in 1990 with the addition of an interlude for 12 cellos between the two original movements. The work is approximately 20 minutes' duration.
- ^ French,"effet de tournoiement quasi cosmique qui s'en dégage" – Dutilleux.