Instrumentation: Flute, Alto Flute, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Contrabassoon, Euphonium, 2 Percussionists, Harp, 2 Violins, Viola, Violoncello, Contrabass
Year of Composition: April - July 2025
Performances:
Duration: 30 min. ca.
I can never forget that feeling five years ago as a 19 year old in London who had just arrived from Istanbul. I wanted to experience life, listen to and write music so much that I could explode. That explosion came in the shape of a piano quintet at the end of that year. When I arrived in New York last year, that feeling returned, and with it I started to think of the piano quintet I had written five years ago. I felt I had touched on an idea I hadn’t fully understood yet, and I needed to attempt it again.
Summer Nights grew out of that impulse. I tried to complete the thought that began years ago with more experience, awareness and intention. I failed in what I set out to do. When I had composed about half of what I initially wanted to compose, I realized that the piece was closing in on itself and that it had to end. My design and execution didn’t match. Now, every time I think about it, I think of its missing half - something only I will ever know the sound of. But maybe that’s the point. Maybe it’s the incompleteness itself that keeps music alive and our desire to keep exploring and imagining.