Work in Progress
February 2024 - present
Images from a blurred window
for piano trio
Composer's that influenced Images from a blurred window:
Kaija Saariaho
Unkuk Chin
Charles Ives
György Kurtág
Caroline Shaw
Images from a blurred window took shape during moments of quiet reflection while I was composing my opera without scene, The Cloud, for baritone and string quartet. These five images borrow material from The Cloud but take it in a new direction, adapted for piano trio.
In this work, the material is more straightforward and direct, focusing on the essence of the ideas without overthinking or explaining them. The piece is designed as a set of miniatures, each brief and self-contained, without too much emphasis on development.
While the movements are connected through harmony, sound, and an intentional sequence, they remain distinct, shaped by the different moments and contexts in which they were imagined. Together, they offer a view of shifting impressions, each shaped by its own moment of creation.
Music normally starts on a normal practice day at the piano, where I would improvise chords, melodies, mostly modal passages that allow me to explore sounds and to identify which sounds I want on that specific moment, considering the story that I had digested already.
However, since Images from a blurred window emerges directly from the harmonic core of The Cloud, there was no need for an initial stage of chord of melody improvisation.
Unlike The Cloud, Images from a blurred window presents its material in a raw, unembellished manner, without development or transformation. A clear example is Image 2, where the piano plays a rhythmic, high register pattern while the strings sustain long harmonic tones, creating a chord progression devoid of melodic-gesture--only rhythm and harmony unfolding through time.
So far, rhythm has been established through repetitive gestures - product of improvisation rather than deliberate planning. These gestures serve the harmony and shape of the images, functioning as organic, intuitive rhythmic cells.
Let’s Work Together
