23.5 N / 121 E (2025)
Violin Concerto
Introduction
Commissioned by Taipei Symphony Orchestra in 2020, and written for the long time violinist friend, InMo yang.
The violin concerto 23.5 N / 121 E is inspired by the Taiwan red cypress (Chamaecyparis formosensis), tracing its geological migration, historical exploitation, and cycles of renewal. Across two movements, the music reflects vast migrations and transformations of life—from germination and destruction by fire or felling, to silence and rebirth. Historical layers, including Japanese colonial logging, postwar development, and the California redwood fires, are transfigured into sound. Rejecting the “heroic” soloist tradition, the violin becomes a single tree within the forest, sharing its voice with the orchestra. Through glissandi and scratch tones, the work embodies migration, resilience, and rebirth.
about The Concerto
23.5° North, 121° East—the coordinates memorized from childhood textbooks—mark the mountains where the Taiwan red cypress (Chamaecyparis formosensis) thrives in Alishan. The species’ ancestors may have come from other members of the Chamaecyparis genus and, through climatic and geological shifts, eventually took root in Taiwan, evolving into an endemic species unique to this land.
The work unfolds in two movements. Grand Migration evokes the vast scale of life’s journeys, while Migration of Beings traces cycles of transformation—from germination, destruction by fire or human felling, to silence and rebirth as tender shoots from charred trunks. The musical structure mirrors this layered history: from movements across geological epochs, to the large-scale logging of the Japanese colonial era—when timber was shipped to Kyoto for temples and shrines—and the postwar period, when red cypress became an economic resource. The work also translates the catastrophic wildfires of California’s Big Basin redwood forest into sound, condensing the image of a “sea of death” engulfing the woods.
Here, Taiwan red cypress is placed in dialogue with California redwood (Sequoia sempervirens). Both are ancient giants, symbols of resilience and deep time. The red cypress’s ancestors likely trace back to North American conifers, dispersing across continents before adapting and enduring in Taiwan.
In writing this concerto, the composer deliberately rejects the traditional “heroic” narrative of the soloist. He asks: in today’s democratic age, what meaning does the heroic soloist still hold? Instead, the violin breathes alongside the orchestra, sharing the same sonic material. The soloist becomes like a single tree in the forest—noticed in the instant when the vastness of the forest “collapses” into our perception. It is one among many lives, yet by being seen, becomes symbolic. Here, the soloist does not proclaim a monologue, but teaches us how to breathe, how to listen, and how to journey through migration.
The concerto’s musical language is built from two elements: glissandi and scratch tones. Glissandi embody the movement between pitches; scratch tones capture shifts in sonic states. Each carries a migratory impulse, and their interplay and recombination create a sound world that is varied yet unified.
Ultimately, 23.5 N / 121 E is a music of migration: it recounts the journey of trees across centuries and geographies, while also serving as a metaphor for cycles of transformation and renewal in all forms of life.
More Information
Title: 23.5N / 121 E, Violin Concerto
Year of Composition: 2025
Instrumentation: 2 Flutes (2nd also Piccolo)、2 Oboes、2 Clarinets in Bb (2nd also Bass Clarinet)、2 Bassoons (2nd also ctr bassoon) 、4 Horn in F、2 Trumpets in C、2 Trombones、Tuba、3 Percussions、Strings (12/10/8/6/4)
Duration: 27” / two movements
Performance History:
Premiere on 2025 13th September at National Concert Hall, Taiwan. Nicholas Carter conducting TSO, Violinist InMo Yang.
Score available
Email at: shiuanchang0311@gmail.com
