“Despair by Charm”

Duration: I. 3’00’’  II. 3’00’’ III. 3’00’’ IV. 2’15’’
Composed: 2024
Recordings: Piano played by Maryna Buksha

This suite comprises four piano works composed during the first half-year of my art music composition studies. It combines classical traditions with modern harmonic approaches. I aim to express the purest beauty that persists in the most desperate circumstances. The suite employs harmonic styles ranging from romantic to modern to evoke varied emotional landscapes.

I. “Night-blooming Flowers”

As if a vast plain of flowers were burning relentlessly through the night, this piece depicts the destruction of absolute beauty while giving rise to something new. Built on a simple harmonic minor scale motive, it develops this material extensively into a piece with the technical complexity and grandeur reminiscent of a piano concerto. Frequent use of delayed resolutions and modulations adds tension and color. The writing fuses clear melodic lines with dense harmonic textures and layered motivic development.

II. “Withering”

A variation of the main theme’s motive, portraying a mountain left to mourn once the burning plains are gone. The piece makes bold use of dissonant intervals such as minor 2nds and augmented 4ths. Harmonic chords and chromatic chords appear with nearly equal weight, blurring the tonal center and deconstructing traditional functional harmony. The result is a desolate but resonant harmonic landscape.

III. “Tempest”

The storm washes away all the ash and flame, striking the burnt ground relentlessly. This piece employs a reversed version of the theme motive in a whole–half scale and completely abandons traditional major–minor tonal conventions. The left hand provides a percussive, driving foundation, while unconventional playing techniques heighten the sense of aggression and chaos. Rhythmic force and textural contrast are central to its character.

IV. “Dawn”

A mysterious fog settles after the storm, suggesting the quiet formation of new beauty. This piece is built on two contrasting harmonic elements: the open perfect 5th serving as the “tonic,” and the ambiguous whole tone scale acting as a kind of “dominant.” These two elements intertwine to create an ambiguous, resonant sonic mist that closes the suite with quiet, unresolved tension.