Facing Death (2020)

Instrumentation: flute, clarinet, violin, cello piano

About the Piece:

The work was created during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the world has greatly changed everyone's lifestyle and mentality, which aroused my introspections deeply.

The work is a tribute to the war against COVID-19. The core materials of the whole work consists of 6 chords. The chords are expressed sequentially and alternately. As the music progresses, pitch content of chords get rearranged while extend the fragmented rhythms.

It results in a dense sound transmission and sense of spaciality. At the end of the piece, the music returns to the first chord, and the sound returns from saturation to the initial chromatism, fading away............

World Premiere: November 20, 2020, China Conservatory of Music, Beijing, China

Performers: Beijing Contemporary Soloists, Xiaoyu Lin, flute; Jiafan Yi, clarinet, Zijian Wei, piano; Wendi Wang, violin; Chen Zong, cello; Bohe Zhang, conductor

Duration: 6’