With the Triode Variations, Ming Tsao pursues a process of dehierarchisation. The basis is Schoenberg's Variations for Orchestra, which is defamiliarized according to the model of electronic triodes and overlaid with the metric and rhythmic structure of a poem by J. H. Prynne. “Schoenberg’s work destabilizes things. It’s already a leap away to what is possible. But some aspects maintain coherence. He writes the position of a listening subject into the music. And there is the late Romantic gesture, with its rhythm, its phrasing, already criticised by Boulez. Despite the reach in the variations, Schoenberg still gives us a centre point where we can appreciate the work as listeners. My perspective is: What if that centre point is not possible? What if we were part of a much more complex world without anchors from which we can find ways to interpret things. For me, that is the materialist project: to remove the anchors that allow us to interpret. Because interpretation keeps us from experiencing the music directly. Without them our senses are sharpened and we see the richness of reality."
You can find the entire interview with Ming Tsao, written on the occasion of the premiere of the work in May 2022, in our magazine.
Ming Tsao also provides detailed information on his own website about the Triode Variations, Das wassergewordenene Kanonbuch and the Refuse Collection; he also talks at length about the Triode Variations in his essay written in November 2022 for the magazine MusikTexte. In addition, the CD booklet provides information about the works.
