On Sunday, February 20, 2024, “Tutte le Corde: Piano Music After 1950” featured premieres of compositions by six composers at Black Box Theater in New York. Tutte le Corde is an annual concert where pianists and composers from NYU collaborate to create innovative works. Three composers from Nevermind the Noise—Jake Miles, Hyojin Kwak, and Jason Brauer—participated in this concert.
Jake Miles’s Runaround (2024) is a piece for solo piano that builds off of a tiny musical cell. Combining gradual rhythmic and harmonic development, the piece winds its way toward a bombastic conclusion.
Hyojin Kwak’s H Sanjo (2022–2024) is a solo piano piece inspired by the traditional Korean music genre Sanjo. It’s part of a series, and the piece performed at this concert is the third movement. It features lively rhythmic patterns (Jangdan), incorporating the melodies of the Korean folk song Baetnorae (Sea Shanty) while blending traditional and contemporary elements. The H in the title symbolizes the composer’s unique melodies and Jangdan style showcased in this composition.
Jason Brauer’s El sueño de la razón produce monstrous (2024) (The Sleep/Dream of Reason Produces Monsters) is based on the most famous of Francisco Goya’s fantastical, satirical etchings Los caprichos (Caprices). The print depicts a man asleep at his desk while owl-, bat-, and cat-like creatures swarm around his shoulders. This movement is inspired by several dialectical contrasts present in the etching: chiaro and oscuro, order and chaos, reason and fantasy, and torment and triumph.
Pianist YingQi Wang, who performed Jake’s piece, Joyce Li Yue, who performed Hyojin’s piece, and Juan Vasquez, who performed Jason’s piece, collaborated with NVMTN composers for several months to present their music to the world. Applause goes out to the six performers, including the three pianists who showcased brilliant performances.
Thank you for your interest in our Nevermind the Noise composers’ event. As composers representing Nevermind the Noise, we are dedicated to responding to your support by creating innovative, unique, and outstanding music.