steven yi :: music

The Living Ocean

Steven — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:54:33 +0000

Completed: 2012.05.14
Duration: 5:17
Ensemble: Electronic (blue, Csound)

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Project Files - Click here (.blue, .csd)

“The Living Ocean” is a piece inspired by Stanislaw Lem’s “Solaris”. I was struck by the humans encounters with the living ocean on the planet, their fascination and draw into it, and their utlimate inability to rationalize and understand it. Their experiences often left them with more questions than answers, not only about the living ocean, but also themselves and the nature of their own existence.

For me, the story of “Solaris” holds many parallels to the experience of art that I search for when composing. Listening: drawn in, fascinated, the rational mind at rest, only an irrational experience is left. Afterwards: awe, questions about the work, questions for myself, curiosity.

Solaris – Stanisław Lem

Steven — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:22:04 +0000

I finished reading Stanisław Lem’s Solaris this weekend and was just so completely drawn into the work. The Solaris ocean, the idea of encountering life that existed truly outside of human experience, the exploration of man’s coming to some terms with understanding what it is, and through it learning something of themselves… I had seen the 1972 Tarkovsky film adaptation some time ago, but remembered very little of it except that I thought it somewhat surreal. I’d like to revisit the film now, and perhaps even watch the 2002 version as well.

One of the things that I am still thinking about now is the ocean as something somewhat unaware of the humans, something that is reacting to but only mildly curious of them. Something that just is, going on about itself, and the humans there observing, pondering. It made me think too of music, one that was not in dialogue with an audience, but something that moved along freely in time, existing, simply being, and an audience there as observers, listening and pondering the piece. In this the piece could move along in its own time, by its own set of rules, perhaps ones by which listeners may or may not understand.

I think the music I have found most connection with has had these kinds of qualities. A co-existence in space and time, breathing and moving along, unaware of those around. A freely living sound.

I imagine I will revisit Solaris more than a few times in my lifetime. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and am still very much deeply contemplating it…

Kaija Saariaho’s “L’amour de loin” at the Canadian Opera Company

Steven — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:26:19 +0000

Lisa and I just attended the opening performance by the Canadian Opera Company of Kaija Saariaho’s hauntingly beautiful opera L’amour de loin (Love from Afar). This was the second opera we had seen there and I have to say I absolutely love the venue: intimate, stylish, classy. My experience there was as enjoyable if not more so than our last, and I think now it is my favorite opera venue.

The production was fantastic. The use of doubles was tasteful, as was the use of acrobats. The latter could easily be a simple spectacle, but here I felt it was well done, very much adding to the experience of the work. The production accomplished such a wonderful surrealism: I found myself enchanted by, and lost in the work throughout.

The three main singers performed admirably (Russell Braun as Jaufré Rudel, Erin Wall as Clémence, and Krisztina Szabò as The Pilgrim). Braun’s voice really opened up in Acts IV and V, while the other two were spot on throughout. The music was generally performed excellently, though I did feel like the chorus could have been a little better: adequate, but not exceptional.

Overall, I found the work incredibly gripping, the love so painful, so beautiful. Powerful and subtle. Mesmerizing. I have long enjoyed Saariaho’s work, and although I have owned a copy of the DVD for quite some time, I had not seen it before, something I will certainly do when we return home from Toronto. (I am very curious to see another production…) Just from my experience today though, I would easily say it is a major work that I would be surprised if it was not a common work in the repertoire many years from now.

Kindle Fire Cardboard Stand – Design 2

Steven — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:33:10 +0000

I came up with a second design for a Kindle Fire cardboard stand:

I think this design is interesting in that it holds its shape when the Kindle Fire is not in the stand, but on the other hand, it only works for landscape orientation and not portrait. Also, I notice that the bend for the bottoms of the legs make the cardboard a bit raised when I try to flatten out the cardboard. So there’s some interesting pluses and minuses to both designs.

Kindle Fire Cardboard Stand

Steven — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 02:37:44 +0000

I just finished making a Kindle Fire stand out of cardboard and have been very happy with the results! I posted two videos about it below on YouTube, enjoy!