instrument+

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

Consumed Variations
project ensemble morph

Jenseits der Leere, wieder (빈곳의 바깥에서, 다시), Seoul

Year: 2021
Instrumentation: recorder, percussion, piano, violin, viola, cello
+ electronics (stereo+subs, stereo omnidirectional mics), webpage, video

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

Duration: ca.28' to 36'

*This piece contains a lot of physical (bodily) elements that one cannot experience with the recording. Some soft sounds in the recording are amplified for better understanding.  The video recording is to provide a glimpse of the piece. Using headphones is recommended.

and go
Ensemble Adapter
Adoptions, Berlin

Year: 2020
Instrumentation: flute, clarinet, percussion, harp
+ electronics (stereo+subs), light, self-built shakers
Duration: the piece lasted ca. 25′ at the premiere, however, it virtually lasts forever

Program note:
In the room the women

*This piece contains a lot of physical (bodily) elements that one cannot experience with the recording. The video recording is to provide a glimpse of the piece. Using headphones is recommended.

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.

while
Ensemble Proton
Dampfzentrale Bern

Year: 2018
Instrumentation: piccolo, vintage keyboard
+ electronics (iPhone), light (remote-controlled), self-built shaker (attached to the chair, remote-controlled)
Duration: ca. 4′

Program note:
While
I was
-ing…

*a miniature piece for pub or bar.

one’s name
Aleksandra Raszyńska (soprano) and NAMES Ensemble
Crossroads Festival, Salzburg

Year: 2018
Instrumentation: flute, clarinet, piano, electric organ, percussion, cello, violin
+ soprano, electronics (stereo+subs)
Duration: ca, 12’+

*Some audio elements including electronics are often extremely soft. Using headphones is recommended.

assessed
Project Ensemble Morph
Koreanisches Kulturzentrum Berlin

Year: 2017
Instrumentation: percussion, piano
+ electronics (four channels+subs)
Duration: ca. 15′

Program note:
Values of
Condensate
Emptiness

#####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.

eigen II

Year: 2016

Instrumentation: Trumpet, four horns, tuba
+ electronics, sound installation

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

Duration: ca. 15′

Program note:
We face numerous spaces in our daily life.
Our perception of the corporeal spaces is influenced by countless variables (e.g. temperature, air pressure, brightness, capacity, etc.), and changes with the passage of time.
All the time we differently absorb the visual and acoustic spaces depending on the conditions.
eigen suggests a contrary possibility of spatial perception.
Through the entire piece in two different corporeal spaces (opened, isolated), one encounters static high and low tones that are lying on the boundary limit of human acoustic perception.
They are not something that is “listened” to in the manner of our musical culture, however, they create impervious unchangeable spaces. Our real ambient spaces, i.e. concert hall and lobby, are fremd in this situation.
In this piece, earplugs allow one to be conscious of the invisible spaces that would be ignored in the ambient spaces
The historical function of the concert hall is neutralized and one may take a completely pure spatial experience in one’s personal room.

*The piece has never been performed. You can download the score from the below link. If you are interested in playing this piece, please contact me.

Added
Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble
The fourth international young composers academy, Tchaikovsky city

Year: 2014
Instrumentation: piano, accordion, violin, cello
Duration: ca. 14′

Program note:
In additional time, we perceive a space rather than the linear time.
The individuality of each sound creates its own dimension and soon we forget and remember in another dimension or in the additional time.

Prufrock
Ensemble Recherche
Tonlagen Festival Hellerau

Year: 2013/14
Instrumentation: flute, oboe, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, viola, cello
Duration: ca. 17-18′

Other works

in h
Project Ensemble Morph
지금 여기 – 숭고/Jetztzeit – Erhabene, Seoul

Year: 2018
Instrumentation: two recorders, percussion, piano, harpsichord, accordion, cello
+ electronics (stereo+subs)
Duration: ca. 15′

Added (nonet version)
Lucerne Alumni Ensemble
Lucerne Festival Academy

Year: 2014/2017
Instrumentation: flute, clarinet, horn, trumpet, piano, two violins, viola, cello
Duration: ca. 14′

*Reorchestrated (original work above)

Reduced
Ensemble nostri temporis
Kyiv international master class for new music COURSE

Year: 2015
Instrumentation: horn, cello
Duration: ca. 8′

Sonnets

Year: 2012
Instrumentation: string quartet
+ speaking performance
Duration: ca. 10′