Zvony Nagy
Suizen
Short instrumentation: 2 2 2 2 - 2 2 2 1, timp, perc(3), hp, str
Duration: 9'
Solos:
shakuhachi
Instrumentation details:
piccolo
flute
oboe (2 players)
clarinet in Bb (2 players)
bassoon (2 players)
horn in F (2 players)
trumpet in C (2 players)
trombone (2 players)
tuba
timpani
11th percussion
12th percussion
13th percussion
harp
violin I (16 players)
violin II (14 players)
viola (12 players)
violoncello (10 players)
double bass (8 players)
Suizen
Sample pages
Work introduction
Influenced by traditional Asian religious practices and music performance, this evocation for shakuhachi and orchestra is inspired by ‘suizen’ — a blowing meditation; suizen is known as a form of Zen practice characterized by the ritual of playing the shakuhachi bamboo flute (a Japanese end-blown flute) as a means of achieving a state of self-realization. Suizen may be best described as a tone poem for orchestra — a sound image of the moments of inner reflection and musical experience. The instrumentation enhances this experience whereby the oscillations of harmonies, melodies, and rhythms resemble one’s breathing – the experience suggested in the opening and closing sections of the work.
Recipient of the 2011 Seattle Symphony Composition Prize “Celebrate Asia Festival.”