🎧 listen to the piece
Program Note
I have always been intrigued by individuals possessing special talents or disabilities. I find their unique traits offer them a fascinating perspective on the world, while also evoking empathy for the struggles they endure. I wish to capture the elusive fragments of their fantasies and sufferings through mysterious, fragmented music.
This piece is inspired by the concept of "Body without organs" (BWO), which initially proposed by Antonin Artaud in 1947, has been applied to psychological therapy and theory. It refers to a state where the body is not yet differentiated or specialized in its functions, allowing all parts of the body to be involved in "thinking". The BWO is characterized by being filled with positive desire. Desire, inherently positive, manifests in the body as a ceaseless production and creation, always pushing boundaries and breaking free from confinement. The BWO is not a body lacking organs but rather one liberated from social constraints, regulations, symbolization, and subjectification, becoming detached and disarticulated from societal norms. The movement of the Body without organs aims to liberate desire from imposed social hierarchies, breaking the homogeneity of modernity, and creating a new postmodern subjectivity, the "schizoid subject". It represents the escape of the subject from the realities of capitalism and various constraints of repressive self and superego.
Yuchen Bian (b. 1998) is an emerging composer and pianist from China known for his innovative approach to music, blending performers' physicality with traditional composition. He has collaborated with esteemed ensembles and musicians, including Linea ensemble, Court-Circuit ensemble, Fifth House ensemble, and clarinetist Elizandro Garcia-Montoya. As a pianist, he has performed in various prestigious events and TV programs. Additionally, Bian is a dedicated music teacher, founder of QinYunZhiSheng institution, and recipient of numerous awards, including the First Prize in the Golden Key Composition Competition and the Third Prize in the Maestros Vision Awards international composition competition. Currently pursuing his Doctor of Music Arts degree at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University under the guidance of Dr. Du Yun, Yuchen holds bachelor and masters degree from New England Conservatory.
Everything has started being a poetic expression to me, the thoughts, the words and the way things shape around me even if it is the most mundane moments or situations.
All of which in some way or the other involves the thought of my organs.
My mind often thinks how the forms inside of us would look like if they were interchanged with each other - one in place of another?
Would such a transformation alter the functioning of our internal systems and the theoretical implications of such a scenario?
I think of this visual process in terms of spaces - how moving to another part of the world can leave us feeling displaced.
How does that impact our internal and external workings?
How is the physical form present inside of us change forms in that environment, which is absolutely new to us?
How does one adjust and respond to it?
The conversations in my head kept expanding over time.
I am in a pool of questions.
Does the space change the way I feel, or do my feelings change only because of a deeper sensation?
Do external spaces have any influence on my internal state at all?
There's obsession, curiosity and the urge to challenge myself to see how far I can take a mere word that pops up in my head.