Eleven Smithereens

Waterhouse, a cellist and composer, wrote Eleven Smithereens^[1] in early 2021 under the impression of the COVID-19 lockdown that gave him time to explore the sound qualities and techniques of his instrument.^[2][3] He premiered the work at the Gasteig HP8 in Munich, on 14 November 2021.^[4][5] He played it there again on 29 September 2023, together with the premiere of his Cello Sonata "Birkenlicht".^[1]

The titles of the eleven movements were built by using the word Smithereens as a acrostic, providing the first letters of the movement titles forward and the last letters backward, and the rule that each title is one character longer than the previous one:^[3]

1. S
2. MN
3. IcE
4. TreE
5. HypeR
6. EveriE
7. RoguiH
8. ElephanT
9. EucalyptI
10. NightdreaM
11. SmithereenS

The duration is given as 25 minutes.^[4]