STRING QUARTET NO. 2 "KAZAKH STEPPE" (2017, rev. 2018)
Instrumentation: string quartet
Duration: 7'
Performance History:
August 15, 2017. highSCORE Festival, Pavia, Italy.
Quartetto Indaco
April 28, 2018. Intimacy of Creativity World Premiere Concert, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong.
Israeli Chamber Project
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April 29, 2018. Intimacy of Creativity World Premiere Concert, Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, Hong Kong.
Israeli Chamber Project
May 28, 2018. I Creation Mivos Composition Prizewinner Concert, Galerie Ora-Ora, Hong Kong.
Mivos Quartet
September 15, 2018. "Hong Kong-Kazakhstan" Concert, Kazakh State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Kazakh State String Quartet
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February 4, 2019. Student Composers Showcase, McIntosh Theatre, University of Michigan.
Converge Quartet
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April 7, 2019. Kevreson Rehearsal Hall, University of Michigan.
Converge Quartet
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April 27, 2019. Glendale City Church, Los Angeles, CA.
Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra
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April 28, 2019. Kevreson Rehearsal Hall, University of Michigan.
Converge Quartet
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April 28, 2019. First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica, Los Angeles, CA.
Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra
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May 20, 2019. National Opera Center, New York City, NY.
Mivos Quartet
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May 23, 2019. Intimacy of Creativity / Israeli Chamber Project Composer Exchange Initiative, Israel Conservatory of Music, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Israeli Chamber Project
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July 24, 2021. Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival Art of Illusion, Kuhmo, Finland.
Nome Kvartetti
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August 5, 2022. Del Mar International Composers Symposium, Del Mar, CA.
Hausmann String Quartet
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August 13, 2022. Chautauqua Chamber Music: La bonne chanson, Chautauqua, NY.
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Awards:
Winner of 2018 ‘Audience Vote' Prize at the Intimacy of Creativity Festival in Hong Kong
Winner of 2018 I Creation Mivos Quartet Composition Prize for Chinese Composers in New York
Selected out of 2,200 works for the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra Call for Scores in Los Angeles
Finalist for the 2019, 2020 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award
Winner of 2019 Musicus Society Call For Scores in Hong Kong​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Program Note:
String Quartet No. 2 "Kazakh Steppe" (2017, rev. 2018) is a seven-minute reconstruction of the Kazakhstani people’s past and of their nomadic culture. Scenes of Kazakh steppes, shamans, and baiga - one of the oldest traditions of Kazakh horse racing - have been the main sources of inspiration and compositional creativity, which determine the dynamic and contrasting musical content of the piece. In this "Kazakh" string quartet, I try to challenge the Western strings to sound like instruments from the lesser-known musical culture. For this, new extended techniques have been used to imitate the sounds of traditional instruments such as the Shankobyz, Dombra, Kobyz and Balalaika.
-- Meilina Tsui
2017