works

Violinist Concerto

Sungkum Yang (https://www.jennieyang.com/)

project ensemble morph

30.07.2023, Nodul Island, Seoul

Nostalgia for today

Year: 2023
Instrumentation: solo violin, unspecified instruments

+ electronics

++ live amplified body sound, multiple violins with wireless system and mini-speakers attached

Duration: ca. 15' (various, open form)

Program note:

Violin concertos showcase the exquisite and unique sounds produced by a highly skilled violinist as well as fine musical interaction with an orchestra, whereas this concerto may highlight the efforts and physical qualities of the performer and the (in)efficiency of the orchestra instead. These aspects, developed through years of education, practice, and experience, remain present and perceptible in violin playing, albeit mainly taking a peripheral role as they serve the purpose of producing violin sounds. However, in this particular concerto, these peripheral qualities are exaggerated and become the main focus, leading me to refer to it as a “Violinist Concerto," where the presence of the professional individual becomes the aesthetic essence itself.

The piece is deliberately left mostly unspecified, allowing its definition to be shaped by the personal history of the violinist. For the premiere, I have provided an example score that includes excerpts from five historical concertos listed below. While three of them were suggested by the violinist, the other two were chosen by the composer myself. In future performances, the piece can be reorganized and all the materials can be selected by the violinist, depending on their repertoire.

At a certain point in the piece, the audience also experiences an intimate moment where the amplified sounds of the violinist's body on the stage resonate directly through the violins held in their hands.

List of violin concertos used:
Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041, Johann Sebastian Bach

Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77, Johannes Brahms
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, Felix Mendelssohn
Violin Concerto in G major, K. 216, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47, Jean Sibelius

up to (version 2.1)

Self-performance

21.07.2023 ACS Seoul

Metapoetries

Sponsored by ARKO

Year: 2023

Setting: performer, live-amplified body sound, electronics, and light

Bodily performance

Duration: ca, 4'

up to

Self-performance

20.06.2022 HfM Dresden

Porträtkonzert Manos Tsangaris zum 65. Genburtstag

Year: 2022
Bodily performance

Duration: ca. 4'

the (           ) love song of ?

Richard Ander-Donath

project ensemble morph

2022, EarPort Duisburg

Year: 2022
Setting: solo cello, unspecified objects

+ bodily performance and 

Duration: ca. 12' (various, open form)

Program note:

Score:

#####d[^_^]b#####
Byungseon Park
I am [ ]ing, Seoul

Year: 2016
Instrumentation: clarinet
+ electronics (stereo+subs)

++ all the people in the room wear ear-protectors such as earmuffs, earplugs

Duration: ca. 10′

Program note:
The traditional musical space, which we call “concert hall”, is built to maximize the “proper” resonance of instruments.
It is a publicly shared cultural space.
That historical chamber does not exist anymore in this piece, but we appreciate our own personal small room, i.e. ears.
In this personal room, we may build a new instrument and a new musical space as well.
Extreme loud noise space, where we cannot hear anything else and even get pain without protecting our ears.
In the closed-ear room, the dangerous space is not something horrible, but it provides an experience like a spacewalk. The earplugs, in this situation, are the same as a spacesuit.
They filter out all the unpleasant obstructions and let us be conscious of the very pure essence of the human sense.

*Using headphones is recommended.

Prufrock II
Open Cube, Graz

Year: 2018
Setting: robotic piano player, electronics (stereo+subs)
Duration: ca. 27′

Program note:
Prufrock is a poetic narrator in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock written by T. S. Eliot (first published in June 1915). I had started composing an ensemble piece Prufrock in 2012 and finished in 2013 (revised in 2014). The piece was lamentations for a miserable life. Prufrock II is the contemplation of………. God, an awareness of death and carnal love in life.

Outs
Impuls Festival, Graz
ChampdAktion LAbO, Antwerp

Year: 2018
Three performers (one with instrument)
+ electronics (stereo+subs), light
Duration: ca. 8′

room study
ZKM, Karlsruhe

Year: 2017
Setting: stereo, subs
Fixed media
Duration: ca. 7′

*originally composed for concert circumstance where several monster-subwoofers are available.
However, it may work as it is. Use headphones.

meanwhile
Ensemble Proton
Dampfzentrale Bern

Year: 2018
Instrumentation: English horn, bass clarinet, contraforte, cello
+ four music stands
Duration: ca. 5-6′

Program note:
Meanwhile,
I was
-ing…

*a miniature piece for pub or bar.