POSTLUDE (2024) for piano trio
Instrumentation: violin, cello, and piano
Duration: ~10 minutes
Performance/Recording History:
Premiered by Simon Hagopian-Rogers, violin, Ari Peraza-Webb, cello, and Yuchan Li, piano on May 11, 2024 at The NowBeat Concert at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music in New York City, NY.
Performed by Abigail Ko, violin, Ari-Peraza-Webb, cello, and Shiqin Wang, piano on October 21, 2024 at the Juilliard Composition Concert in Paul Hall at The Juilliard School in New York City, NY.
Program Notes:
In writing music, I often feel myself drawn to propulsive rhythms, driving ostinati, rapid and complex changes of meter, and a constant sense of motion. To put it bluntly, I really like writing fast music. However, I recognize the emotional and dramatic power of slower, more lyrical material, and have been wanting to explore this realm further in my work. So when one of my colleagues challenged me to write a piece that is entirely slow in tempo, I jumped at the opportunity. POSTLUDE is the result of this endeavor. Essentially, the piece is a series of alternations between a flowing, free melodic section and a delicate, nostalgic chorale. Although the two sections are kept separate, they influence each other, causing one another to morph and change as the piece progresses.