(Premiere: 28 April 2006 – De Doelen, Rotterdam – Nobuko Imai, Susanne van Els, viola, and the Schönberg Ensemble, conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw)

The piece contains many repeated notes and recurring motifs, which pass back and forth between the two violas. Hence, the title Meme, derived from the Greek mimema, meaning “imitation.” At times, the gestures of both instruments almost coincide, so that they sound as one, as if one instrument identifies itself with the other to the point of complete surrender. — Willem Jeths