Japanese Letters

Japanese Letters (2008) was composed in close collaboration with the violist Eriko Semba to whom the work is dedicated. The writing, very virtuoso, uses both the melodic and harmonic possibilities of the instrument, as well as various special sound effects (col legno, sul ponticello, pizzicato etc.) A series of five chords mark out the piece, chords that are stated as such or serve as the basis for a series of variations. However, not all of the material comes from this harmonic sequence, as there is, for example, at the beginning, after the presentation of the pizzicato chord series, a long sequence with an improvisational character, even though everything is written down.

The world premiere took place on 14 June 2009 at the Darius Milhaud conservatory in the 14th arrondissement of Paris by Prosper Lugassy.