Expressions (2008) is a little concert piece for solo violin. The initial goal of writing this work is trying to experiment a vibe which should coexist the “awkward” beauty and the “unusual” glamor — for the versatile instrument violin, one of my favorite musical instruments. To achieve the ambition, I try to abandon the most sense of the tonal hierarchies that are developed since the 17^th century, but maintain the melody and linear movement as organized as possible just like what should be taken care of when writing tonal music.

 

In harmony, it combines several syntheses that include the mixture of major and minor seconds scale, whole tone scale, and the chromatic scale. The music can be divided into five sections as A, B, C, D, and A’. Except the section D, each section develops, recalls, or transforms materials derived from the preceding section. Consequently, the section B is the mutation of the section A, and the section C can be regarded as the evolution of the section B. The section A’ turns out the finale that ends up with successive harmonics played in a tranquil mood.

 

As the title, this composition expresses various musical gestures within a limited space.