Description

In 2004, I re-read Victor Segalen’s early 20th century series of poems Stèles, obituary and commemorative texts in the traditional Chinese manner. I Have since written several “Steles” for different instrumentations. Each of them is a hommage: STELE I was dedicated to the John Cage of the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Stele I was a piece for prepared piano embedded in the score of my evening-length trombone concerto “Inside a Native Land” (2005). After the Berlin premiere, the pianist Ernst Surberg convinced me that it could stand alone. It has since been performed as a solo work by many pianists around the globe.