Audio Sample
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Performance by Arcko Symphonic Ensemble, Timothy Phillips from the CD X-ray baby |
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Score
Icy disintegration : for orchestra / Annie Hui-Hsin Hsieh.
Library shelf no. Q 784.2/HSI 1 [Available for loan]
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Work Overview
The numbers of the icebergs in Antarctica and the Arctic are
diminishing in a never-seen rate. Despite the normal calving
processes in the life of a berg, this acceleration of melting and
breaking is an alarming and potentially catastrophic phenomenon
that is often suggested as the result of climate change or, a
sign of global warming due to human activities.
Inspired by the disintegration of iceberg B15-A - the once
world's largest free-floating object, this work is a musical
correspondence to the process which led to the berg's sudden
breakage in 2005. Although written as one through-composed work,
the strong programmatic notion gravitates the structure into the
different stages of the event- from portraying a pristine object
of the sea, to the gradual appearances of fissures and cracks, to
the eventual 'breaking point' and the nostalgic aftermath as the
newly-formed ice floes drift to their separate directions.
The principle ideas presented in the work are assimilated from
various audio recordings gathered through mediums such as Youtube
videos and relevant scientific research centres around the world.
These samples were then translated into pitch materials and
various instrumental timbres forming the basis for gestures and
motives of the work, which in all resulted in a 'metaphorical'
use of orchestral colors and texture.
The serenity of icebergs have long been the staple image of the
great white continent, but in this new era of climate change, the
image has extended to that of uncertainty and concerns of the
modern world. Global warming or not, an awareness of such changes
in our surroundings should be addressed and such is the foremost
conception upon conceiving Icy Disintegration.
Work Details
Year: 2009
Instrumentation: Flute (doubling piccolo), oboe, 2 clarinets in B flat (2nd doubling bass clarinet), bassoon (doubling contraforte), 2 horns in F, 2 trumpets in C, trombone, tuba, timpani, percussion (2 players), prepared harp, prepared piano, strings (4 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, double bass).
Duration: 9 min.
Difficulty: Advanced
Commission note: Commissioned by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.. Written for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra 21st Century Cybec Composers Program
First performance: by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Bramwell Tovey — 5 May 10. CUB Malthouse, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Metropolis Series (Blood on the Floor)
Awards & Prizes
Year | Award | Placing | Awarded for/to |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | Art Music Awards: Performance of the Year | Finalist | Arcko Symphonic Ensemble |
Subjects
- Has as subject/About: Environmental themes
Performances of this work
16 Aug 2023: at Winter Dreams (Llewellyn Hall ANU School of Music). Featuring Alex Briger, Canberra Symphony Orchestra.
15 Oct 2014: at ASO: Memento Mori (Grainger Studio). Featuring Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Benjamin Northey.
2 Nov 13: Northcote Town Hall, Melbourne. Featuring Arcko Symphonic Ensemble, Timothy Phillips.
3 Feb 2013: at The Art of Migration Festival (Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center, University of California Davis ). Featuring Christian Baldini, UC Davis Symphony Orchestra.
13 Aug 11: Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Kew, Melbourne. Featuring Orchestre Nouveau.
5 May 10: CUB Malthouse, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Metropolis Series (Blood on the Floor). Featuring Bramwell Tovey, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
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