shakuhachi and string quartet (2008)
Recorded on Elizabeth Brown: Mirage (New World 80751-2)
Elizabeth Brown, shakuhachi, with the Momenta quartet
duration: 11′
program note
Mirage (2008), for shakuhachi and string quartet, is one of a series of Elizabeth Brown’s pieces combining shakuhachi with western instruments. The two musical traditions exchange ideas and language in a series of scenes which emerge and then dissolve. Brown performed Mirage in New York City with the Momenta Quartet, then with the Grainger Quartet at the World Shakuhachi Festival 2008 in Sydney, Australia. Mirage was a prizewinner in the SGCM Composition Competition for Shakuhachi 2010, with a performance at Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, Takemitsu Memorial. It was also performed at the 2010 Prague European Shakuhachi Festival.