Ultimatum 1 is an angry lament which bursts into 14/16 time towards the end. It is an energetic, masterly and technically very challenging piece in three parts. The first pathetic part is directly followed by an “energico e aggressivo”, a real battle with sounds and the permanent change of time. After a tremolo climax, which is a short reminiscence of the beginning, the “dance of the whip” begins the groovy third part of the piece in a 14/16 time. The last exhausting beats of madness are stopped by a sudden “fall”. The melody, moving in half steps and augmented seconds, and an uneven groove give this raving, powerful work a touch of the Balkans.