Quanquan Yan: Driftwood for Trombone Quartet

“Draftwood” is a piece for trombone quartet, inspired by a tranquil yet
symbolic image: a piece of withered wood floating on the surface of the water,
drifting with the current, surrounded by boundless blue sky and drifting white
clouds. Rootless and adrift, it has no control over its course.
The music draws from this image, using layers of timbre and gradual
motion to depict the subtle shifts between stillness and flow. It also seeks to
express a sense of clarity within uncertainty. There are moments of solitude and
suspension, as well as gestures that reach upward—just like the rootless wood,
which, though directionless, reflects light and sky, and reveals new meanings
along its journey.