Side Profiles (2026)
for violin (6 minutes)
Riff
Song for two
Perpetuum Mobile
What can be seen in a person’s side profile? Not everything, to be sure. This restricted perspective can, however, be illuminating about someone’s features. Each movement of this work presents a distinct character sketch based on a different formal principle – cycles of repetition in “Riff”, a constant back-and-forth between two voices in “Song for two”, and incessant rapid movement in “Perpetuum Mobile”. These principles emerged from specific musical genres and styles, and are associated with whole universes of timbres, textures, and performance techniques. My work takes a “sideways” look at these found musical materials, playfully redirecting listeners to certain peculiar qualities while retaining an overall recognisability. The result is often uncanny, at times witty or fanatic, at others deeply haunting. Side Profiles asks the proverbial “What if?” of musical conventions and how they can be stretched further.
— Tan Tiag Yi
Please contact me for a perusal copy of the score