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Conversation IV for string Trio - Young-Jun Lee
06:57

Conversation IV for string Trio - Young-Jun Lee

Conversation IV for String Trio Premiere as a part of ICIT 2023 program Composed by Young-Jun Lee All right reserved ⓒ 2023 - Young-Jun Lee ASCAP International Composition Institute of Thailand (ICIT) 2023 21st DEC 2023 at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) Conversation IV - mediated debate (2023) for violin, viola, and cello “Conversation IV - mediated debate” is a contemporary string trio that is deviated from the conventional melodic narrative, delving instead into a musical 'debate' facilitated by a exploration of timbre and texture. The composition portrays an auditory argument where the violin and viola often engage in a passionate exchange, while the cello acts as a mediator, guiding the discourse with resonant interjections. This piece opens with a declarative statement from the violin, immediately countered by the viola, setting the stage for a series of intense musical discussions. The cello enters with a broad, grounding tone, tempering the fervor of the upper strings and offering a reflective pause within the spirited exchange. The dynamic interplay of these techniques creates a textural landscape that is as varied and complex as the facets of an intense discussion. Rather than resolving in harmony, “Conversation IV” mirrors the realistic outcomes of debate—sometimes finding common ground in a consonant blending of timbres, other times concluding with the open-endedness of unresolved dissonance. The audience is invited to listen deeply to the 'arguments' presented and contemplate the subtleties of mediation and discourse as they unfold in this captivating auditory debate. Performed by Taceti Ensemble Ariana Kim - Violin (Guest Artists) Tapanatt Kiatpaibulkit - Viola Kantika Comenaphatt - Cello
Politicians for Baritone Saxophone and Violin - Young-Jun Lee
09:35

Politicians for Baritone Saxophone and Violin - Young-Jun Lee

Politicians for Baritone Saxophone and Violin Premiere in Peabody Conservatory : October 29th, 2023 All right reserved ⓒ - Young-Jun Lee ASCAP Violin : Qiao Dan Baritone Saxophone : Deer Ma Audio : Kai yeung Chu Video : Ben Giroux DEDICATION Dan Qiao, Deer Ma PROGRAM NOTE .. - / .. ... / . ... ... . -. - .. .- .-.. / - .... .- - / .- / -- .- -. / .-- .... --- .-..-. ... / .--. .-. . ... .. -.. . -. - / --- ..-. /- .... .. ... / -.-. --- ..- -. - .-. -.-- / -.-. . .-. - .- .. -. .-.. -.-- / ... - .- -. -.. / ..-. --- .-. / . ...- . .-. -.-- / .--. .-. --- --. .-. .- -- / - .... .- - / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / -- . .- -. / ..-. --- .-. / --. .-. --- .-- - .... .-.-.- / .- -. -.. / .. / ... - .- -. -../ ..-. --- .-. / .--. .-. --- --. .-. .- -- ... / - .... .- - / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / -- . .- -. / --. .-. --- .-- - .... / .- -. -.. / .--. .-. --- --. .-. . ... ... .-.-.- / -... ..- - / .. - / .. ... / .- .-.. ... --- / . ... ... . -. - .. .- .-.. / - .... .- - / .... . / -. --- - / .- .-.. .-.. --- .-- / .- / -.. --- .-.. .-.. .- .-. / ... .--. . -. - / - .... .- - / -.-. --- ..- .-.. -.. / -... . / -... . - - . .-. / ... .--. . -. - / -... -.-- / - .... . / .--. . --- .--. .-.. . / - .... . -- ... . .-.. ...- . ... .-.-.- .. / .-- .- -. - / .... .. ... - --- .-. .. .- -. ... / - --- / ... .- -.-- / - .... . ... . / .-- . .-. . / - .... . / -.-- . .- .-. ... / .--.... . -. / - .... . / - .. -.. . / -.-. .- -- . / .. -. .-.-.- / - .... . ... . / .-- . .-. . / - .... . / -.-- . .- .-. ... / .-- .... . -. /- .... . / ..- -. .. - . -.. / ... - .- - . ... / ... - .- .-. - . -.. / - --- / -- --- ...- . / .- --. .- .. -. .-.-.- / - .... .- - .-..-.... / - .... . / --.- ..- . ... - .. --- -. / -... . ..-. --- .-. . / - .... . / .- -- . .-. .. -.-. .- -. / .--. . --- .--. .-.. . --..-- / .--. -.. / --- -. .-.. -.-- / -.-- --- ..- / -.-. .- -. / -.. . -.-. .. -.. . / .-- .... .- - / -.-- --- ..- / .-- .- -. - --..-- / .-- .... .- -/ -.-- --- ..- / .-- .- -. - / - .... .. ... / -.-. --- ..- -. - .-. -.-- / - --- / -... . --..-- / .-- .... .- - / -.-- --- ..- / .-- .- -. -/ - --- / -.. --- / .-- .. - .... / - .... . / ..-. ..- - ..- .-. . .-.-.- / .. / - .... .. -. -.- / .-- . .-..-. .-. . / .-. . .- -.. -.-- / ---- / -- --- ...- . .-.-.- / .- -. -.. / .. - / .. ... / - --- / - .... .- - / --. .-. . .- - / - .- ... -.- --..-- / .. ..-. / .-- . .-..-..-. . / ... ..- -.-. -.-. . ... ... ..-. ..- .-.. --..-- / - .... .- - / .-- . / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / .- -.. -.. .-. . ... ... / --- ..- .-. .... .-.. ...- . ... .-.-.- COMPOSITION NOTE This work is based on the final speeches of the first presidential addresses televised by Kennedy and Nixon. Morse code, being the only means of conveying a direct message in instrumental music without lyrics, served as the basis for the rhythms and themes that each performer plays. While Morse code directly encapsulates the beautiful speeches of the two presidential candidates and their efforts to communicate with the public, the rapid tempo at which they play in this piece is designed to prevent the audience from understanding this direct message. Furthermore, the two performers are designed not to listen to each other beyond a certain point, as each plays at the fastest tempo they can manage. This criticizes the absence of communication between the two candidates in their speeches, filled with the usual political rhetoric, and the lack of communication between the candidates and the public.
Nō for Alto Saxophone, Cello and Piano
06:21

Nō for Alto Saxophone, Cello and Piano

Premiered in St.Petersburg as part of reMusik.org, 2023 Performed by GAMEnsemble INSTRUMENTATION Alto Saxophone, Cello, Piano DURATION 6' 30'' PROGRAM NOTE “Drugs Take You To The Hell Disguised As Heaven” – Donald Lyn Frost DEDICATION Nahyoung Kim COMPOSITION NOTE Nō( ) is a Japanese words that means brain. I was really inspired by how brain signal changes after it is exposed heroine that looks similar to Dopamine(which is the chemical hormones that is released in the brain to make a human feel good) in our brain. In this piece, the sonic structure is focused on neuron's activity that is triggered by a stimulus from outside of sources such as chemicals or drugs. Because of artificial excess of methamphetamine which has a similar chemical structure as Dopamine, human experience the heaven, joy or happiness that they have never experienced in their lives. As a trade, after drug users are awake from meth, they often experience depression, fatigue and loss because brain cells cant produce Dopamine anymore by itself due to unbalance. I used the Japanese word "No" as a title since it also implies Nancy Reagan's Campaign slogan "Just say no" in 1970s regarding drug abuse and addicts. The piece started from static, normal brain activities of neuron to complete ecstasy that increases its activity. While brain is still functioning, I wanted to increase the amount of outside stimuli that is gradually increased by drug users to alert and alarm how dangerous and severe this addiction can be.
l'orchestre for Violin, Viola, Piano, Electronics and Video - Young-Jun Lee
08:06

l'orchestre for Violin, Viola, Piano, Electronics and Video - Young-Jun Lee

l'orchestre for Violin, Viola, Piano, Electronics and Video Composed / Directed by Young-Jun Lee Dedicated to Fontainebleau schools of music and fine arts *Videography & Editing : François Bibonne Performers *Violin : Albert Steinberger *Viola : Rachel Haber *Piano : Dane Ko [Program Notes] When I first got to Fontainebleau, I was already so overwhelmed by busy schedules and projects as well as the tight schedules that I had (or even had to get) from cities. To release the pressure that I had, I was walking in the chateau to get some fresh air and to organize my thoughts. While walking in the chateau and taking a lot of time in the garden, I realized that I haven't listened to the sound of nature for a while. Immediately, I was really inspired by the nature of Fontainebleau, and I had to close my eyes and listened to the sound of nature for hours because sounds of the natures were actually the orchestra. As soon as I got back to home from chateau, I decided to discard what I was writing for Fontainebleau school and write a new piece that conveys the orchestral sounds that I was hearing from the nature. So, I started to collect the footage of sounds and videos of Fontainebleau with my friend François Bibonne. I really wanted to leave the sound of nature in my piece as untouched as possible so that audience can have time and enjoy the sound of nature. While I was trying to bring the essence of the nature in my piece, I realized that I actually had to bring a lot of technology, electronics as well as artificial sounds to even try to mimic the sound of nature. Despite the fact that mankind is the part of nature, it was paradoxically interesting that human needs a lot of technology to even preserve, bring or live in the nature. I wanted to include this paradox by using the monitor or video of nature conduct and queue the instrumentalists, who are humans. In this piece, all the rhythmic figures or pitch materials are very fluid and flexible because I wanted to include the fluidity that the nature has. While I was observing the nature, I thought that all the aspects that form plants, animals, landscape as well as human are actually not concrete. For example, human says that moon is the sphere shape or sky is blue although they are actually neither sphere nor blue due to crate and the time differences. Human were actually the only animal who wanted to simplify and define the various spectrum and the pattern of nature. To avoid the sturdiness or solidification of the pieces, most of the notations are based on proportion. 퐁텐블로에 처음 도착했을 때, 이미 바쁜 일정과 프로젝트, 그리고 도시에서 받았던(혹은 받아야 했던) 빡빡한 일정에 압도 되곤 했습니다. 이런 압박에서 탈피하고자 저는 성당 안에서 산책을 하며 신선한 공기를 마시고 생각을 정리하려고 나섰습니다. 성당 안에서 걷는 동안과 정원에서 많은 시간을 보내면서, 얼마나 오랜만에 자연의 소리를 듣지 않았나 깨달았습니다. 즉시 퐁텐블로의 자연에 매료되어 영감을 받았으며, 자연의 소리가 사실 오케스트라인 것처럼 느껴져 눈을 감고 몇 시간 동안 자연의 소리를 듣게 되었습니다. 성당에서 집으로 돌아온 순간, 그동안 퐁텐블루 학교를 위해 작업하고 있던 것을 모두 버리고 실제로 듣던 자연의 오케스트라 소리를 전달하는 새로운 작품을 쓰기로 결정했습니다. 그래서 저는 친구 François Bibonne와 함께 퐁텐블로의 소리와 영상을 수집하기 시작했습니다. 자연의 소리를 가능한 한 그대로 남겨 관객들이 시간을 가지고 그 소리를 음악과 함께 즐길 수 있도록 구상하기 시작했습니다. 작품에 자연의 소리를 최대한 그대로 담기 위해 기술과 전자기기, 인공적인 소리를 사용하지 않고는 불가능하다는 사실을 깨달았습니다. 인간도 자연의 일부이지만, 역설적으로 자연을 보존하거나 가져오거나 자연에서 살기 위해서 많은 기술이 필요하다는 것이 흥미로웠습니다. 작곡가로서 이 작업을 통해 이 역설을 작품 안에 포함 시키고자 하였으며, 자연의 동작을 보여주는 모니터나 비디오를 사용하여 인간인 악기 연주자들을 지시하는 역할을 하게 했습니다. 이 작품에서는 모든 리듬적인 형태나 음높이 소재가 매우 유동적이고 융통성 있습니다. 이는 작곡가로서 자연의 유동성을 그리고 형이상학적인 측면에서의 고찰을 담고 싶었기 때문입니다. 자연을 관찰 하면서 나무, 동물, 풍경뿐만 아니라 인간을 이루는 모든 측면이 실제로는 그 형태나 모양이 단어로서 정의될수 없다고 생각했습니다. 예를 들어, 사람들은 달이 구체적으로는 구 형태라고, 하늘은 파란색이라고 말하지만, 사실은 달표면에 존재하는 크레이터 때문에 실제로는 달은 완벽한 모양에서의 구형태라고 정의할 수 없으며, 하늘역시 마찬가지로 시간차나 색의 스펙트럼때문에 파란색으로 정의할수 없습니다. 인간은 실제로 자연의 다양한 스펙트럼과 패턴을 단순화하고 그를 단어로서 정의하려는 유일한 동물이었습니다. 저는 작곡가로서 이러한 자연의 성질에 착안 작품이 규칙적인 형태나 예측가능한 모습을 음악으로 피하기 위해 대부분의 음표는 명확한 리듬을 갖기 보다는 연주자가 곡의 악보를 보고 자유롭게 해석할 수 있게 그래픽 및 비율에 기반하여 표기하였습니다.
4 Structures for Solo Piano - Young-Jun Lee
10:42

4 Structures for Solo Piano - Young-Jun Lee

Premiered in Cohen-Davison Family Theater, Peabody Institute Performed on May 3rd, 2023(World Premiere) Recorded on May 12th, 2023 Young-Jun Lee, copyright © 2023, All rights reserved ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 곡을 쓰다보면 흔히 - 이 곡은 특정 아티스트 같다. 혹은 이곡은 특정아티스트 같지 않다라는 이야기를 하곤합니다. 한 예술가를 그 예술가 답게 만드는것은 무엇일까요? 이 네개의 세트를 이루고 있는곡은 그 질문에서 시작되었습니다. 여태 다른 현대미술이나 무용 혹은 영상과 마찬가지로 작곡가마다 작곡을 하는 방법은 모두가 다 다르고 시작도 끝도 선택하는 매개도 다 다릅니다. 음을하나 고를때 혹은 악기를 고를때 역시 의도하지않았지만 작곡가의 "주관" 혹은 선택이 들어가죠. 모든 여타 다른 예술가들과 마찬가지로, 작곡가 역시 곡에 기보를 하는 매 순간순간 결정을 내립니다. 그 결정의 순간순간에 작곡가의 "선택"이 개입하게되죠. 그 어떤곡도 작곡가의 선택에서 자유로울수는 없습니다. 몬드리안이 "구성"을 그렸을때도 구조적인 아름다움에 포커스를 두고있지만 - 결국 빨강 / 파랑 / 노랑의 색을 선택하는 것은 그의 "주관"이 한 것이지요. 그럼에도 불구하고 이곡은 저의 색깔은 무엇인가 - 저라는 것은 도대체 무엇인가를 찾아나가보기위해 역설적으로 저를 최대한 배제해보고자 했던 작품입니다. 제가 작곡했던 기존의 곡들과는 다르게 이곡은 대부분의 음정 / 리듬 / 음역대를 포함한 모든 음악적 요소들이 이미 선택이 되어있는, 그러니까 결정되어있는 구조 혹은 수열에 맞추어 이 음악은 작곡되었습니다. 그 변수와 선택을 최소화하기위해 악기의 편성을 피아노 독주라는 형식으로 제한 함으로서 작곡가의 개입을 최소화 하여 작업하려고 노력했습니다. 각각의 악장은 모두 1)Gold 2)Klangstudie 3)Spriale 4)Pi라는 각각의 다른 구조를 가지고 있습니다. 구조별로 각각의 다른 최소화된 저의 선택이 들어가있습니다. 위의 구조적인 미학을 제가 어떻게 해석하였는지 같이 감상해보시죠 Composer : Young-Jun Lee Performed by Nahyoung Kim Audio : Peabody Recording Arts Video : Ben Giroux Duration : 9 minutes I. Gold - 00:17 II: Klangstudie - 05:43 III. Spirale - 07:58 IV. Pi - 08:53
Rabbit hole for large ensemble - Young-Jun Lee - Live Performance
07:05

Rabbit hole for large ensemble - Young-Jun Lee - Live Performance

Performed in Joe Byrd Hall, Peabody Institute Performed on April 23rd, 2023(World Premiere) Young-Jun Lee, copyright © 2023, All rights reserved Composer : Young-Jun Lee Performed by Old Bay New Music Ensemble Cover Illustration : Donghee Lim Dedication : Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez Duration : 7 minutes Conductor : Juliano Aniceto Flute : Lily Xie Oboe : Hailey Unger Clarinet : Dylan Rosenthal Saxophone : Nikolai Klotchkov Trumpet : Dillon Parker Bass trombone : Dylan Heid Percussion : Matt Boyle / Johnny Barker Harp : Sebastian Gobbels Piano : Sean McLaughlin Violin : Heeyun Cho Viola : Margaret Klucznik / Nikki Ponticelli Cello : Jihyeuk Choi Bass : Owen Boyd Composition Note Down the rabbit hole is the first scene from Alice in Wonderland. I was really inspired by not only the literature of Lewis Carroll but also by artworks, fashion, fine-dining, opera or motion picture that are inspired by it. Composition is divided into two part. The first half and the second half are drastically different in terms of timbre, register, regularity, gestures, harmonies and aesthetics. As a composer, I wanted to mix and blend the sound from both realm in my own language. So that I wanted to question the binary world that divides into two: * Reality vs Imagination / Realism vs Surrealism / Regularity vs Irregularity / High vs Low and so forth. I sketched the formal structure first, and started narrowing down one by one. It started from the highest register with very fragile sonic fabrication that eventually morphs into the deep and lowest but very devouring textures. Rabbit hole, in the mean time, also has a double meaning. It also means a complexly bizarre or difficult state or situation conceived of as a hole into which one falls or descends. So I wanted to express that by showing the strong pitch centricity to C that you will lose when you are actually going down the hole when towards the ending which you will sense by those descending gestures. Finally, I would love to express my deepest gratitude to Dr.Felipe Lara who supported me with not only compositional knowledge but also his office so that I could focus on composing. Also, I feel grateful for Maestro Juliano Ancieto and members of Old Bay New Music Ensemble for this amazing opportunities.
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