with/out (2024)
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Duration: 22 minutes
Instrumentation: 4 solo violinists, strings, percussion (1 player)
Commissioner: International Sejong Soloists (Kyung Kang, Creative and Executive Director)
Performance History
5/22/2024 Sejong Soloists w/ Frank Huang, Daniel Cho, David Chan, and Andrew Wan, New York, NY
8/24/2024 Sejong Soloists w/ Frank Huang, Daniel Cho, David Chan, and Andrew Wan, Seoul, South Korea
Review Excerpts
"...positively brilliant... a perfect end to a perfect evening." - Oberon's Grove
"고전적 음악언어와 현대적 제스처의 아슬아슬한 줄타기는 더욱 매력적이었다... 그것은 오늘날 사회가 균형을 이루는 모습이기도 하다." - 월간 리뷰, 송주호
"다양한 텍스쳐를 선보인 이 <with/out>은 서로에게 관여하면서도 또 다시 개인의 차원으로 되돌아가고, 또 한편으로는 합심하여 즐거운 합주를 만들어내고야 마는 그 공동체적 감각을 음악으로 고스란히 그려냈다." - 한국문화예술위원회, 신예슬
Program Notes
“with/out,” a concerto for four violinists, string ensemble, and percussion, addresses topics related to social distances (not social distancing) in contemporary society in three movements.
The first movement is about "The Lonely Crowd," the title of a prominent sociology book by David Riesman published in 1950. Interestingly, with all the new developments in contemporary society, including the instant connection among human beings via social media, we still face a similar (if not more intense) collective sentiment of loneliness. Solitude is also a term familiar to musicians, which would add more personal layers to the performers.
The second movement is about "being in the same boat" – on a bit darker side. Some communities are tighter than others, which would make their members feel stuck. This movement incorporates long unison and heterophony (related to Korean traditional music) passages, from which each player would struggle to deviate. It moves into a quadruple cadenza, inspired by the term "collective monologues" introduced by Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget. It is "a form of egocentric, unsocialized speech in which children talk among themselves without apparently communicating with each other in a meaningful way; that is, the statements of one child seem unrelated to the statements of the others." Unrelated individual cadenzas are interwoven, attempting to create a somewhat cohesive flow.
Opening with joyful cheers, the finale focuses on the bright side of "being in the same boat" and specifically celebrates the Sejong Soloists' 30th anniversary. Reflecting on the soloists’ words on how they cherish their experiences with Sejong (when I asked them) and the kinship among their musicians, this movement portrays delightful tunes and energy.
“with/out” was commissioned by the Sejong Soloists (Kyung W. Kang, Creative and Executive Director) to celebrate their 30th anniversary.
Duration: 22 minutes
Instrumentation: 4 solo violinists, strings, percussion (1 player)
Commissioner: International Sejong Soloists (Kyung Kang, Creative and Executive Director)
Performance History
5/22/2024 Sejong Soloists w/ Frank Huang, Daniel Cho, David Chan, and Andrew Wan, New York, NY
8/24/2024 Sejong Soloists w/ Frank Huang, Daniel Cho, David Chan, and Andrew Wan, Seoul, South Korea
Review Excerpts
"...positively brilliant... a perfect end to a perfect evening." - Oberon's Grove
"고전적 음악언어와 현대적 제스처의 아슬아슬한 줄타기는 더욱 매력적이었다... 그것은 오늘날 사회가 균형을 이루는 모습이기도 하다." - 월간 리뷰, 송주호
"다양한 텍스쳐를 선보인 이 <with/out>은 서로에게 관여하면서도 또 다시 개인의 차원으로 되돌아가고, 또 한편으로는 합심하여 즐거운 합주를 만들어내고야 마는 그 공동체적 감각을 음악으로 고스란히 그려냈다." - 한국문화예술위원회, 신예슬
Program Notes
“with/out,” a concerto for four violinists, string ensemble, and percussion, addresses topics related to social distances (not social distancing) in contemporary society in three movements.
The first movement is about "The Lonely Crowd," the title of a prominent sociology book by David Riesman published in 1950. Interestingly, with all the new developments in contemporary society, including the instant connection among human beings via social media, we still face a similar (if not more intense) collective sentiment of loneliness. Solitude is also a term familiar to musicians, which would add more personal layers to the performers.
The second movement is about "being in the same boat" – on a bit darker side. Some communities are tighter than others, which would make their members feel stuck. This movement incorporates long unison and heterophony (related to Korean traditional music) passages, from which each player would struggle to deviate. It moves into a quadruple cadenza, inspired by the term "collective monologues" introduced by Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget. It is "a form of egocentric, unsocialized speech in which children talk among themselves without apparently communicating with each other in a meaningful way; that is, the statements of one child seem unrelated to the statements of the others." Unrelated individual cadenzas are interwoven, attempting to create a somewhat cohesive flow.
Opening with joyful cheers, the finale focuses on the bright side of "being in the same boat" and specifically celebrates the Sejong Soloists' 30th anniversary. Reflecting on the soloists’ words on how they cherish their experiences with Sejong (when I asked them) and the kinship among their musicians, this movement portrays delightful tunes and energy.
“with/out” was commissioned by the Sejong Soloists (Kyung W. Kang, Creative and Executive Director) to celebrate their 30th anniversary.