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ETD Abstract Container

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Turbulent Mind - concerto for piano and orchestra

Lyu, Wenbin
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1703174578381735

Abstract Details

2023, DMA, University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music: Composition.
Turbulent Mind is a four-movement concerto for piano and orchestra. It was commissioned by the CCM Concert Orchestra and premiered by them at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory in April 2022, with Michael Delfín, piano soloist, and Brett Scott, conductor. I started to write this piece during the most threatening time of COVID-19 in 2020, when I had just moved from Boston to Cincinnati. However, a monotonous lifestyle under the pandemic could not stop my spiritual world, and that's how I decided to write this piece, in which I used music to express my turbulent mind. The four movements are written chronologically from the beginning of the pandemic till the Russian invasion of Ukraine, expressing what I witnessed and felt. The first movement, Predictable Pattern, introduces the pitch set [0157] and the pitch center "E," which runs through the entire concerto. The second movement, Turbulent Mind, is a fast-paced scherzo that serves to highlight the pianist's virtuosity. I enjoy the explosive timbre produced by striking the piano's lowest register. This movement was written mostly at the Tanglewood Music Center in 2021. Prior to leaving for Tanglewood, I had already lived in my tiny apartment without any social life for a year, and upon arriving at Tanglewood I couldn't stop working on this movement even though I was now freed from my four walls. The third movement, Back to Normal is quiet and lyrical. While composing this movement, I experienced a wealth of complex emotions. My sorrow and happiness are directly reflected in the piano’s melodic material in this movement. I composed the last movement, titled Air Raid Siren, after hearing the tragic news of the war in Ukraine. It features glissandi in many different instruments to imitate the sirens I heard in the many devastating videos of the war in Ukraine. I hope to send my blessing to the people who are suffering from the war and emphasize the importance of world peace.
Michael Fiday, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Douglas Knehans, D.M.A. (Committee Member)
Mara (Margaret) Helmuth, D.M.A. (Committee Member)
81 p.
Composition
Concerto; Orchestra; Piano; Set Theory; Timbre; Russian Invasion

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Lyu, W. (2023). Turbulent Mind - concerto for piano and orchestra [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1703174578381735

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Lyu, Wenbin. Turbulent Mind - concerto for piano and orchestra. 2023. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1703174578381735.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Lyu, Wenbin. "Turbulent Mind - concerto for piano and orchestra." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2023. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1703174578381735

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1703174578381735
33
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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.