intermezzo

For two pianos, two violoncelli, two flutes, percussion, and narrator

In three movements; 4' each.

Duration: c. 14'

Composed Oct - Dec 2023

For performance/score inquiries please contact lertwatt.pun@gmail.com

Program notes:

Originating from social anthropology, liminality is defined as the phase between what one was and what one will become. intermezzo explores this notion in the 'actively dying' phase, where individuals may gradually lose cognitive and physical functions, descending slowly into nothingness. Interweaving quotations in texts and music from various sources, this work presents a nostalgic, recurring collage of withering memories juxtaposing with the struggle of the decaying body. The title not only further suggests the notion of liminality, but also directly refers to the centerpiece quotation: Brahm’s Intermezzo in A major, Op. 118 No. 2.

This composition consists of three movements performed attaca. Each represents different stages on this liminal highway. Through each movement, a fuzzy echoing memory of the Brahms gradually comes into focus. The attribution of a prelude, interlude, and postlude is inherently liminal. Traditionally, they are seen as pieces not performed as a “destination,” but rather as pieces leading into, in between, or leading out of something else. Thus, it is an apt play on words to attribute them to each movement of these pieces, for they exist as liminal space after another with no point to cling onto.

I. Quivering Breaths

II. Staggering Waltzes

III. Flickering Lights