[String Quartet]
Upcoming premiere by Mivos Quartet

Program Notes:

In my String Quartet No. 2, I draw deeply from the rich cultural and musical heritage of Shanghai, weaving its folk melodies with contemporary techniques to create a tapestry of sound that is both rooted and exploratory.

The quartet opens with a dynamic first movement based on the children's song "Gardenia," a cherished melody from Shanghai. This motif undergoes various transformations, driving the piece through shifts in tempo and mood, reflecting the vibrant spirit of Shanghai's streets and the playful spontaneity of childhood.

The second movement takes inspiration from the famous Chinese painting "Thousand Miles of Mountains and Rivers." This slow, lyrical section unfolds like a scroll, with musical density and texture gradually increasing. It invites listeners on a journey through an aural landscape, as each phrase reveals new emotional and sonic vistas.

In contrast, the third movement bursts with rhythmic energy, employing twelve-tone rows constructed from various pentatonic scales, each centered on a different tonal center. This results in a driving, aggressive soundscape, blending traditional scale structures with modernist intensity, capturing the bustling pulse of the urban environment.

Through this quartet, I aim to present a dialogue between past and present, folk and contemporary, capturing a snapshot of Shanghai’s traditional culture and modern vibrancy.