blackout poetry (2017) for violin and piano
Austin Kleon’s poetry is written through an act of creative destruction. Each poem is written by redacting or “blacking out” most of the words on a page of a found text with a black marker, leaving only isolated key words and phrases. The finished “blackout poetry” is poignant and fascinating: fractured blocks of text hang suspended like puddles of light, and reading these poems feels like extracting luminous meanings from a sea of black.
In writing blackout poetry, I was interested both in this process of disintegration and in the aesthetic effect of reading these poems. In the first section of the piece, the violin and piano dance off of each other, illuminating hidden melodies in each other’s lines of running notes, just as Kleon’s poetry reveals a hidden lyricism and humor in an existing text. The second section is slow and glassy, with crystalline harmonies and ephemeral gestures hanging suspended in space. The piece is anchored by a short melody that begins and ends the piece, a slowly rising motif that seems to gently ask a question that is never answered. As the piece closes, fragments from earlier reappear and slowly disintegrate, and the music splinters, like words drifting apart…
blackout poetry was written for violinist Giancarlo Latta and pianist Wesley Ducote during the fall of 2017.
In writing blackout poetry, I was interested both in this process of disintegration and in the aesthetic effect of reading these poems. In the first section of the piece, the violin and piano dance off of each other, illuminating hidden melodies in each other’s lines of running notes, just as Kleon’s poetry reveals a hidden lyricism and humor in an existing text. The second section is slow and glassy, with crystalline harmonies and ephemeral gestures hanging suspended in space. The piece is anchored by a short melody that begins and ends the piece, a slowly rising motif that seems to gently ask a question that is never answered. As the piece closes, fragments from earlier reappear and slowly disintegrate, and the music splinters, like words drifting apart…
blackout poetry was written for violinist Giancarlo Latta and pianist Wesley Ducote during the fall of 2017.
selected performances
Jan. 2024 — Blaise Magniere and Winston Choi, UChicago Tea Time Concert Series, Chicago, IL
Mar. 2019 — MotoContrario Ensemble, Festival Contrasti, Trento, Italy
Dec. 2017 — Hear&Now presents Shepherd Composers, Shepherd School of Music in Houston, TX
Nov. 2017 — Shepherd School of Music Fall Composer’s Forum, Houston, TX
selected honors
MotoContrario Ensemble Call for Scores, Chosen Submission
Tribeca New Music Composition Competition, Emerging Composer
ICEBERG New Music Call for Scores, Finalist
Jan. 2024 — Blaise Magniere and Winston Choi, UChicago Tea Time Concert Series, Chicago, IL
Mar. 2019 — MotoContrario Ensemble, Festival Contrasti, Trento, Italy
Dec. 2017 — Hear&Now presents Shepherd Composers, Shepherd School of Music in Houston, TX
Nov. 2017 — Shepherd School of Music Fall Composer’s Forum, Houston, TX
selected honors
MotoContrario Ensemble Call for Scores, Chosen Submission
Tribeca New Music Composition Competition, Emerging Composer
ICEBERG New Music Call for Scores, Finalist