Coming To (Preview)

Coming To (2010)
Coming To (2010), for violin and piano, is an encore piece commissioned by American violin
virtuoso Hilary Hahn as part of her In 27 Pieces: the Hilary Hahn Encores project. Accordingly,
this short work incorporates the expressivity, dynamism and dexterity typical of Hatzis’s
writing for string instruments, and provides violinists with an opportunity to demonstrate
that their musicianship is of the highest calibre. Coming To is an enjoyable journey from
subdued microtonal meanderings to dramatic lyricism, with frequent intermingling of the
two states. The violin’s woozy surges, full of quarter-tones and fine timbral detailing, steadily
transform into expressive passages that demand quick hands in swapping between arco and
pizzicato techniques. The accompanying piano supports the story of the piece throughout,
emerging from delicate, harmonic padding to provide polyrhythmic background figures and,
finally, punchy rhythmic support as the work nears its manic climax.
The composer writes:
The task of composing a work under five minutes in duration presented me with the
challenge of developing a complete musical idea in a short period of time. To overcome
this challenge I looked for ideas in the structuring of music videos – a story is told within
the given time constraints but it unfolds at a leisurely pace, belying its actual clock time.
This is an exceptional composition for me, as I do not usually dabble in programmatic
music. In Coming To, the story goes something like this:
A young man, a ballet dancer, lies mortally ill in a hospital bed. In a hallucinatory state he sees
a beautiful woman next to his bed, playing a violin. Music initially emerges from the beeping
monitors the man is connected to. As the music gradually comes into focus the man rises from
his bed and performs a slow dance with the violinist. The dance becomes increasingly frantic
and exhausting. At its climax the man performs a virtuosic pirouette and collapses to the floor.
Coming To was commissioned and premiered by Hilary Hahn. It was sponsored by Chen Zhao
and Carri Abrahms, in honour of daughter Mila. It received its premiere performance by
PE119 – v