Victor Zheng

Being a pianist myself, I’m a little too familiar with the piano and always felt a little intimidated writing for it. When Liann asked me to work with her on this one, truthfully I had a few flashbacks of intense inadequacy writing for piano during my undergraduate times in the face of all the piano literature that I butchered in my youth. But I soon discovered that live sound design for a piano work would open my mind up to hearing the piano in a wholly new way. Liann’s integration of the acoustic and electronic conjures an otherworldly experience that seems to transform reality itself. It’s a rare privilege to become truly lost in a soundscape, even more so to be part of making such a phenomenon happen.

Emille was Liann and pianist Esther Lee’s winning entry to the 2024 21st Century Piano Composition Competition at the University of Illinois. It was premiered on February 3, 2024 by Esther on piano and Liann on electronics. I want to express my gratitude and appreciation for Esther’s artistry. After weeks of composing, synthesizing, and experimenting, hearing a work finally come together is always a special moment, one which Esther made happen breathtakingly through a fantastic collaborative rehearsal process and a phenomenal premiere performance.