The compositions in this programme are representative of the idea of variation as a formal device whereby the musical material is repeated in an altered form. But also of variation in an environmental setting where visual elements like light/shadow help transform a piece of music into a spatial experience. And lastly, of variation in its broader sense: change, contrast or even discrepancy. All pieces were written in the last 20 years by female composers.
The second movement of the sonata for four hands by Canadian composer Elisabeth Raum, titled Geneva Variations, illustrates the classical variation form in a programmatic setting. The theme of the variations is based on the composer’s granddaughter’s made-up tune and each variation explores a different aspect of childhood.
In Time of Trees II by Liao Lin-Ni, the Taiwanese composer takes visual and auditory compositional elements to build a dialogue between musicians and their projected shadows in a space created for the interplay and spatialisation of sounds.
The idea of discrepancy is found in Anxiety with Peace by Latvian composer Indra Riše, where the two themes of anxiety and peace are portrayed in a musical dialogue. And the idea of change appears in (re)inventio, an arrangement/reinvention for two pianos, by Luxembourgish composer Chiahu Lee, based on selected Bach’s two-part inventions originally written for solo keyboard.
Programme:
Time of Trees II (2017), Lin-Ni Liao
Anxiety with Peace (2020), Indra Rise
Sonata for four hands, 2e & 3e mouvement (2001), Elizabeth Raum
(re)inventio (2021), Chiahu Lee
