Arrhythmia (2022)

for clarinet & piano

Death was a common theme in my experience of 2021. Topics of death infiltrated my artistic creations. For this piece, I approached death with the idea that the heart is a vital element in sustaining life, and thus explored how dysfunction of the heart can lead to death. The progression of the piece is based upon four dysfunctions of the heart called arrhythmias, which are irregular heartbeats. The four arrhythmias I delved into were ventricular fibrillations, tachycardia, premature ventricular contractions, and asystole. Ventricular fibrillations are when the heart flutters and the ventricles do not properly contract to pump blood through the heart; tachycardia is any accelerated heartrate that is greater than 100 beats per minute; premature ventricular contractions are “extra” or “early” heartbeats; asystole is when there is no electricity or movement of the heart – better known as “flatlining”. I expressed concepts of these arrhythmias in the textures of the piece and the relationship and interaction of the clarinet and piano.

Arrhythmia was premiered by Alexander Dudkin (clarinet) and Pei-Hsuan Lin (piano) on May 10, 2022 at University of Maryland in College Park, MD

Performances

• May 10, 2022 - University of Maryland in College Park, MD (premiere)

  • Performers: Alexander Dudkin, clarinet; Pei-Hsuan Lin, piano