two ways to be alone (2006)

for Piano Trio

Duration 8 minutes

Performance

February 18th, 2006  Sarana Chou DMA Recital, Eastman School

February 27th, 2006 Ossia New Muisc, Eastman School

July 12th, 2006  Neue Kammermusik, Akademie der Künste, Berlin, Germany

Program Notes

1. “It might be lonelier
   

2. Without the Loneliness”
   

3. by Emily Dickinson
   

This was the inspiration behind the composition. Dickinson suggested an

interesting relationship between the loneliness and the lonely feeling. I extended this relationship into the composition as participant vs. observer under the situation of loneliness vs. in the concept of loneliness. The piece was divided into three very short “movements,” but they should be performed continuously. The form, in large scale, is A-B-A, with an introduction of solo cello at the beginning, and a postlude of violin solo corresponding to the introduction. These “two ways to be alone” interweaving each other throughout the piece, suggests humanity’s ambiguous awareness of loneliness.

Audio     First movement