Movement for solo cello [2007]
In some ways, this is a very simple piece: it is constructed with only half notes with the half-note at a strict metronome marking of 60, mostly double-stopped minor sixths, and sempre pianisimo. However, the piece is extremely difficult to perform, with some of the double stops separately by wide leaps, which results in a kind of ironic situation with the cellist exerting tremendous energy to create a placid, haunting sound. The sound of the piece plays to similar extremes. The opening gesture is simple, and suggests a simple trajectory for the piece, but as the piece proceeds, it becomes more and more tangled.
This piece, in a way, was a turning point for me. In this piece, I used Heidegger's philosophy of aesthetics as a means of generating a piece. Heidegger suggests that artworks reveal and conceal themselves at the same time, in the same gesture. The extremes of the piece and the trajectory of the piece areboth drawn from this philosophy, and I feel this influence in all my pieces since.