I think it's inspiring and encouraging and exciting that Jaap and the New York
Phil have decided to start this new era with a new work. The first note sounded will be something no one on Earth has ever heard before. There's a haunting
misconception that follows contemporary music around that you need a degree to
be able to listen to it, that there's some right way to experience the sounds.
My work intentionally tries to frustrate language. Even people who have those
degrees, I'm trying to stump them. I don't want your words to be able to describe
what you've heard when you hear my music. I hope that Jaap and the players of the
New York Phil bring a spirit of adventure to this piece. I hope that they
are willing to surprise themselves and to surprise the audience. I need from my
players a certain amount of wildness. I ask them to engage in chaotic sounds
and use techniques that are very counter to the way that they were trained, so I
hope to be able to elicit this energy from the New York Phil and find a new
way to work with them and draw from this chaotic sound source this melodic
potential, this expressive power.