Spin-Flip (2014)
(The video above works if you click the middle.)
3(3=pic)3(3=eh)3(3=bcl)3(3=cbn)/4331/timp, 3pc, hp/strings
duration: 8 minutes
commissioned and premiered by Korean Symphony Orchestra with Hun-Joung Lim (cond)
4/1/2015, SAC Orchestra Festival, Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall, Seoul, South Korea
first performed in the US by Oregon Symphony Orchestra with Eun Sun Kim (cond)
1/24-27/2020, Arlene Schnitzer Hall, Portland, OR
Additional Performances:
1/28/2020, New York Philhramonic with Long Yu (cond), David Geffen Hall, New York, NY
2/28-29/2020, San Diego Symphony with Eun Sun Kim (cond), Copley Hall, San Diego, CA
3(3=pic)3(3=eh)3(3=bcl)3(3=cbn)/4331/timp, 3pc, hp/strings
duration: 8 minutes
commissioned and premiered by Korean Symphony Orchestra with Hun-Joung Lim (cond)
4/1/2015, SAC Orchestra Festival, Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall, Seoul, South Korea
first performed in the US by Oregon Symphony Orchestra with Eun Sun Kim (cond)
1/24-27/2020, Arlene Schnitzer Hall, Portland, OR
Additional Performances:
1/28/2020, New York Philhramonic with Long Yu (cond), David Geffen Hall, New York, NY
2/28-29/2020, San Diego Symphony with Eun Sun Kim (cond), Copley Hall, San Diego, CA
| Program notes by musicologist James M. Keller, program annotator of the New York Philharmonic |
Program Note
The proton and the electron in a hydrogen atom spin permanently with having their rotation axis parallel to each other. That being said, they could rotate in the same direction (clockwise-clockwise, for example) or the other way. When the directional relationship changes due to absorption or emission of a certain type of energy, it is called Spin-Flip. The same term could also mean a sudden change of a rotating Black Hole’s spin axis, mostly when it merges with another one. Regardless its use in physics, I titled my piece “Spin-Flip,” simply because of the image it gives: of table tennis, with spin serve and flip shot being ping-pong techniques.
I happened to share my name (spelled differently in English) with a legendary Korean table tennis player, Taek-soo Kim (b.1970), who coached the Korean National Team of table tennis. For this reason, when meeting new people in Korea, I am often asked if I am good at table tennis. Though the answer is “No,” this silly coincidence has lead me to write a musical piece about it.
'Spin-Flip' is an eight-minute overture which is all about Ping-Pong: it conveys the driving energy of a (good) Ping-Pong match; its primary motives are derived from the sound of cheering crowd and balls bouncing around on the table (and occasionally on the floor); its alternating harmonic pattern and somewhat random form reflect the alternation of service and unpredictable result, respectively.
Sometimes academic terms that are hard to explain, are easily understood by intuition. Wouldn’t it be true for music, too? I only hope that I can share the sheer fun I have with the audience through this piece.
close program note
The proton and the electron in a hydrogen atom spin permanently with having their rotation axis parallel to each other. That being said, they could rotate in the same direction (clockwise-clockwise, for example) or the other way. When the directional relationship changes due to absorption or emission of a certain type of energy, it is called Spin-Flip. The same term could also mean a sudden change of a rotating Black Hole’s spin axis, mostly when it merges with another one. Regardless its use in physics, I titled my piece “Spin-Flip,” simply because of the image it gives: of table tennis, with spin serve and flip shot being ping-pong techniques.
I happened to share my name (spelled differently in English) with a legendary Korean table tennis player, Taek-soo Kim (b.1970), who coached the Korean National Team of table tennis. For this reason, when meeting new people in Korea, I am often asked if I am good at table tennis. Though the answer is “No,” this silly coincidence has lead me to write a musical piece about it.
'Spin-Flip' is an eight-minute overture which is all about Ping-Pong: it conveys the driving energy of a (good) Ping-Pong match; its primary motives are derived from the sound of cheering crowd and balls bouncing around on the table (and occasionally on the floor); its alternating harmonic pattern and somewhat random form reflect the alternation of service and unpredictable result, respectively.
Sometimes academic terms that are hard to explain, are easily understood by intuition. Wouldn’t it be true for music, too? I only hope that I can share the sheer fun I have with the audience through this piece.
close program note