Onlooker

Dedication note

To Lu Xun(鲁迅）and Mu Xin(木心）

Contents note

The first movement, “Blind onlookers,” is to provide two different angles from inside and outside. The inside (bar 1-18) is chaotic, representing the helpless people yelling for help. And the outside (bar 19-57) is restless, full of discussions about whether to help or ignore. Ignore the disaster, meaning an invisible tape will blindfold the outsiders.

The second movement is called the “Unlucky-elegy.” Finally, the outsider refuses to help. Then they held a memorial service (bar 58-75) for the insider. A songful- uncompleted melody appears by solo piano, which presents their fake condolences. Then the short peace is quickly destroyed by the unknown risks; the outsiders now face the potential danger, and the violin and cello are playing the dense- uneasy semiquavers. (The techniques of retrograde and reversal are used here). Finally, after a series of struggles, the only survivor from outside sings the old melody with repentance.

The third movement is called “The bondage is also the freedom.” This is an imaginary movement about what if the outsider comes to help, about fantastic and fictitious. In the beginning, a series of septuplet in violin and cello brings us back to the chaotic inside. The painful pleading reappears, and the outsiders decide to help this time. In the E section, the disaster was released. The people from both sides sing the song together, and now the melody is completed and warm. This is the best ending that the composer wants to create.

Performance history