Catching up with Ji Sun Yang

The Ligeti Quartet will be performing Les accordéons V by Ji Sun Yang this weekend. Meryl caught up with Ji Sun to find out more about the piece and what she’s been up to since her New Dots project last June

The programme note in the score Les accordéons V talks about ‘breathing in music’ and the bellow movement of an accordion, can you tell me more about the piece and the inspiration behind it?

Les accordéons V is inspired by the bellows technique used by accordion players and it becomes an extension of their body, of the players’ breathing and their lungs. It’s the same logic as the circulation of air in the lungs - the bellows need to expand from their closed position and then once they are open, they are pulled together to release the air.

The sound of the accordion is similar for me to a string sound but it wasn’t easy to translate into a piece for string quartet. There’s 2 major gestures linked to the below movement - very fast tremolando to represent the closed bellows and long notes with harmonics and glissandi to represent the extension of the bellows. The piece plays with the contrast of these 2 binary ideas.

What are you writing at the moment?

I’m not actually writing at the moment. I’ve just submitted my PhD thesis and finished a piece for a late music concert in York. When I’ve just finished a piece, I need to rest my creative brain. I’m still working, applying for funding, talking about new collaborations but I’m not writing. I travel, visit museums, listen to a lot of music, see what’s new. I do get a bit worried when I’m not writing, that I don’t know what’s coming and I worry that nothing new and interesting will come but it always does.

You mentioned listening to a lot of music when you’re not writing, what are you listening to?

I’ve been listening to a lot of contemporary traditional Korean music - new music using traditional Korean instruments as I’m interested in doing that in the future. I also listen to a lot of jazz when I’m resting, like Brad Mehldau and I’ll listen to friend’s music too, like fellow NMC New Wave composer, Paul McQuire

When you are writing, what’s the typical day like?

I love writing and I’m obsessive about it. I don’t really have a routine but when I’m writing, I work 10 hours a day and I don’t see anyone. Usually I’m a morning person but with deadlines it changes. My best time to write is 11pm to 3am. It’s more peaceful, more creative and more sensitive. The music becomes different in the dark; I can be crazy and unexpected things come out. I’m more free to think.

How do you start writing, manuscript first and then the computer?

I actually start with a blank sheet of A4 paper and I start with words and drawings. Then I’ll move to manuscript and the piano, working out the structural elements of the piece - the melody variations, the timeframe for gestures to return, limits for notes. Only after that, in the middle of the process do I move to the computer.

You mentioned using the piano, you’re a pianist aren’t you? Does that make a difference to how you write for piano?

For me, the piano is the hardest instrument to write for. I find strings and brass the easiest. I don’t really know why, but I can’t compose for piano solo, it just doesn’t come.

How much do you consider the musicians when you’re writing a piece?

I think about them a lot. The role of the musicians is half the piece. I love collaborating with a musician or ensemble, I get a lot of ideas and inspiration from them but it’s hard. I can create something really new and it can have a brilliant outcome. I particularly like working together on the choreography on stage, the visual aspect of the performance.

Sometimes it doesn’t work - I like the person but we can’t work together. Sometimes the musician doesn’t like the piece that comes out of the process.

You wrote a piece for London Sinfonietta last year, what was it like working with them?

It was great to meet Loré Lixenberg (mezzo-soprano) and Oren Marshall (tuba) and I found sessions with them on extended techniques very helpful. It was amazing to work with them as soloists and to have a recording by NMC. 2014 was an amazing year for me, including this opportunity with NMC, Sound and Music and the Sinfonietta, which was really the highlight of my time so far in the UK.

You’ve worked in the UK, the Netherlands and in South Korea. How do the new music scenes differ between places?

The Netherlands seems to have much more international music scene - composers and musicians from all over the world, whereas the UK and Korea focus more on supporting their local, resident composers. The Dutch seem to like experimenting whereas Koreans seem to like ‘notes’ more, the more traditional classical music. But I can see the future in Korea and how it’s changing.

So what’s next for you? Do you have plans to go back to Korea?

I am planning to go back to Korea at the end of this year and to work with other young musicians there. To form an ensemble, maybe start a festival and invite some musicians from the UK.

What do you do to chill out?

I love to cook. I cook Korean food, invite friends to my home to share food and a bottle of wine

The Ligeti Quartet will perform Les accordéons V at Hoxton Basement on 31st May. More info here

There’s more info about Ji Sun on her website and on soundcloud