8 January 2024
Helsinki, Finland

It has not been an easy turn of the year by any means- another circumnavigation of the globe, three performances including the world premiere of Vivacissimo (2023) in Hong Kong by the absolutely brilliant LiLa and Hong Kong Dance Company, and now, the first steps together on Otherhood (2022), the commission by the Finnish Cultural Foundation for vocalists Martti Anttila, Iris Oja, and pianist Anna Kuvaja, for which we recorded some materials with the multi-talented Taavi Oramo. Tonight- the flight back to Hong Kong and finally some stasis and peace. 2024 will require a lot of it. 

But still a word about Vivacissimo. I wrote in my last post, just before year’s end (in fact, I had two- one at Haneda Airport departing for home, and another from the West Coast, yet again) and lamented my sort-of-estrangement from the creative process that past year. For that I have mostly myself to blame, though not entirely. Yet, experiencing the brilliant choreography of Ong Tze Shen, the passionate virtuosity of LiLa, and Hing Chao‘s inspired direction of the entire project was a powerful shot in the arm. I had many doubts with this piece- too conservative? after all it’s all in E minor. too simple? too obvious? too bare? with just cello. But it wasn’t any of those things. It was a tour de force performance from all involved, and a completely novel approach to martial arts and dance, pairing it with music that was decidedly not Eastern, and yet- anything but a clash.

Just when I begin to question the entire thing, a performance and a project like that returns all the faith. The afternoon spent with Iris, Martti, Anna, and Taavi likewise was a return to the sort of familiarity and collegial music-making I miss so much living in Hong Kong where the local forces are decidedly uninterested in collaborating with me. But projects – and life – move forward and all the usual paradigms are somehow challenged anyway, whether they expect it or not. 2024 is a year without expectations and few plans. I like it.