Victor Cui

Composer

“fundamentally musical” — Olga and Paul Menn Foundation

Growing up in the suburb of Beijing, I have always been fascinated by the complex soundscape of the mountain. Crickets’ surreptitious chirping, cicadas’ brazen buzzing, katydids’ gentle lullaby immediately hushed as soon as you divert your footstep towards their lodging, against the cheerful clapping waves of pagoda tree leaves, the rustling of honey suckle and Chinese mahogany, the occasional owl hooting, and the faint fireworks from afar. Without even the slightest notion of art music, I was nourished by the polyphony of nature.

For that reason, I have always been attracted to sounds that are visceral, boisterous, and raw, and I strive to create ritualistic sonic tapestries that invoke the internal drama of sound. I especially love unconventional instrument combos, or the unconventional sound palettes of conventional groups, for they represent to me something whimsical and spontaneous, something less formulaic, something extremely human. What if the cello plays higher than the violin? What about an orchestra that only whispers? What does it mean, the seismic shrill of eight piccolos? Through reversal and subversion, I invent fresh listening experiences untethered to any particular aesthetical bound or moralistic grid.

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Photo credit: Qinfan Lyu