for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano
Midnight Tunes was premiered on September 13, 2021, by the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble during the 11th International Young Composers Academy in Tchaikovsky, at the Composers’ Box Art Center in Tchaikovsky, Russia.
Program Notes
Midnight Tunes is based on the contrast between our perception of the world during the day and at night. While working late into the night, I became fascinated by the feeling that reality itself begins to dissolve as everything around falls asleep, losing its movement and intensity of sound.
Reflecting this experience, the music gradually becomes unstable and elusive. Rhythms lose their certainty, melodic lines blur, and the sound world constantly shifts beneath the listener. The fragile musical texture repeatedly searches for a point of stability, yet the choice of that support ultimately remains open to the listener.
Duration: ca. 6 minutes
Performance History
- September 13, 2021 — World premiere, 11th International Young Composers Academy in Tchaikovsky, Composers’ Box Art Center, Tchaikovsky, Russia. Performed by Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble: Oleg Tantsov (clarinet), Gleb Khokhlov (violin), Yulia Migunova (cello), and Maria Sadurdinova (piano).
- September 15, 2021 — Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble, Small Hall of the Moscow Philharmonic, Moscow, Russia.