Program NotesTwo
pianists are separated by the bodies of two grand pianos as if they
were separated by the ocean. The strings resonate between them as they
touch the keys like sunlight bouncing on the waves.
The title
refers to Angel Island, the Ellis Island of the West Coast, where
Chinese sojourners carved their poetry into the walls of the
immigration barracks. I think about their hardships and desires as I
etch out sounds with gestures that come from the main theme.
These
migrations, variations in the classical sense, vary from performance to
performance because I've cut open the notation. Melodies and chords
float around the score. Across the distance, the pianists hear each
other.
Press Quote"I've
heard him conjure more beauty and expressiveness out of two stones
clacked together than many composers can with a full orchestra; he
likes to couple his exquisite aural imagination, movingly, with themes
of migration and distance."
Gavin Borchert, Seattle Weekly