'Circle of Life' was commissioned for the International Piano Competition of the Wiesbaden Music Academy. At its centre is a Toccata which can also be played separately. In contrast, with regard to its use in piano programmes, it also has an Adagio which makes this piece a rather interesting cyclic work: Toccata, as 'vis vitalis', expresses the ecstatic feeling of spring through it's yearning and poetic nature: the music of youth. The adagio, 'Die Kunst der Ruhe', on the other hand, is a Zen exercise for piano, expressing infinity, tranquility and timelessness. It is a music of closure, of age.