Instrumentation: solo violin
Commissioned for: Jennifer Koh as part of "Shared Madness," with the generous support of Justus Schlichting (No. 1).
First Performance: No. 1 premiered as part of "Shared Madness" at National Sawdust, during the New York Philharmonic's 2016 Biennial, May 31, 2016. No. 2 premiered by Yuki Numata Resnick, violin on November 11, 2016, at National Sawdust.
Duration: No. 1 (“Dramatis Personae”): 4 min.
No. 2: 5 min.
Character Studies comprises two movements for solo violin, written in 2016, for Jennifer Koh and Yuki Numata Resnick, respectively. In Dramatis Personae, the linear writing introduces a revolving door of alternating personalities, impatiently waiting their turns to interject. The swiftly contrasting and unprepared shifts in character take inspiration from the “bianlian” (face-changing) tradition in Sichuan Opera, in which an actor changes masks and characters so rapidly that it resembles a magic trick. The second movement unfolds in two parts: a lyrical, improvisatory melody, and broken arpeggios with interruptions, occasionally detouring back into the melodic character of the opening.
Anthony Cheung
Live recording by Yuki Numata Resnick, with score:
Online performance by Miranda Cuckson for New Music Miami, July 2020: