Commissioned by International Summer Academy (ISA) of the mdw (University of Music and Performing Arts
Vienna) and Ensemble Fractales
Dedication
Ensemble Fractales
Category
Ensemble
Sub category
Large Ensemble
Composed
2016
Duration
11 minutes
Orchestration
flute/bass flute, bass clarinet, violin, cello, prepared piano
Availability
First performed
25 August 2016, Vienna, Arnold Schönberg Centre, by Ensemble Fractales
In 2017 “To Become a Tree” was chosen among 10 recommended works by the Rostrum jury.
Program Notes
“I value everything that influences our ability to consciously embrace the present moment and keenly observe that which surrounds us – the various facets of silence and noise as well as microscopic events in sounds and the musical process because, paradoxically, it seems that the more the composition process is tied to the music itself and the musical reality, the more it allows the music to mirror the surrounding existence and its patterns through moments of insight.
“To Become a Tree” observes daily life at the backdrop of technological singularity and biotic crisis. Our environment is constantly being monitored and even recreated, and yet it is more difficult than ever to maintain the balance of the ecosystem based on its simplest foundations. Data driven industries and technological singularity (a threat of uncontrollable processes in the technological sphere) cause the more profound reality-driven insights – i.e. our inherent ability to form a decision by integrating various levels of intelligence that involve intuition, inspiration and differentiation capacity – to shift from the centre of focus.”
“Walkers who visit one of the ancient deciduous preserves in the forest manage always report that their heart feels lighter and they feel right at home. If they walk instead through coniferous forests, artificial places, they don’t experience such feelings. Possibly it’s because in undisturbed forests, fewer “alarm calls” go out, and therefore, most messages exchanged between trees are contented ones, and these messages reach our brains as well, via our noses, so intuitively people can register the forest’s health.” –Peter Wohlleben
References and keywords:
spatial-temporal organization
bioaccumulation
informational motives that characterize life
emphatic forms of life
Peter Wohlleben and trees as social beings
wood wide web
biotic stress monitoring
remote sensing
symbiosis
tree talk
bioengineering and the intrinsic self-organization ability to form organized structures
safe chemicals policies – www.ipen.org
“I value everything that influences our ability to consciously embrace the present moment and keenly observe that which surrounds us – the various facets of silence and noise as well as microscopic events in sounds and the musical process because, paradoxically, it seems that the more the composition process is tied to the music itself and the musical reality, the more it allows the music to mirror the surrounding existence and its patterns through moments of insight.
“To Become a Tree” observes daily life at the backdrop of technological singularity and biotic crisis. Our environment is constantly being monitored and even recreated, and yet it is more difficult than ever to maintain the balance of the ecosystem based on its simplest foundations. Data driven industries and technological singularity (a threat of uncontrollable processes in the technological sphere) cause the more profound reality-driven insights – i.e. our inherent ability to form a decision by integrating various levels of intelligence that involve intuition, inspiration and differentiation capacity – to shift from the centre of focus.”
“Walkers who visit one of the ancient deciduous preserves in the forest manage always report that their heart feels lighter and they feel right at home. If they walk instead through coniferous forests, artificial places, they don’t experience such feelings. Possibly it’s because in undisturbed forests, fewer “alarm calls” go out, and therefore, most messages exchanged between trees are contented ones, and these messages reach our brains as well, via our noses, so intuitively people can register the forest’s health.” –Peter Wohlleben
References and keywords:
spatial-temporal organization
bioaccumulation
informational motives that characterize life
emphatic forms of life
Peter Wohlleben and trees as social beings
wood wide web
biotic stress monitoring
remote sensing
symbiosis
tree talk
bioengineering and the intrinsic self-organization ability to form organized structures
safe chemicals policies – www.ipen.org