​Wind Ensemble

Rhapsody for a Flight of Stairs (2019/21)

Live performance at Madison Center for the Arts, Phoenix on 9.22.2021

Wang Ziyu · Rhapsody For A Flight Of Stairs (performance recording)

Cover art: M.C. Escher (1898-1972), House of Stairs, print

Rhapsody for a Flight of Stairs was written for the ASU Wind Ensemble in 2019. It animates the possible dreams, ambitions, happiness, confusion, and ecstasy, of a flight of stairs, as if it was alive. The rich and colorful timbres of the wind ensemble give the stairs distinct characteristics. The stepwise motive runs through the entire piece, and the hocketing rhythms between different instruments give this piece its rhapsodic spirit. It was the winner of the ASU 2020 Composition Competition for Wind Ensemble. Special thanks to the ASU Wind Ensemble and Dr. Jason Caslor, who made the premiere possible after two years of its completion.

Instrumentation: ​
​3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, clarinet in Eb, 2 clarinets in Bb, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 2 alto saxophones, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, 2 trumpets in Bb, 4 horns in F, 2 tenor trombones, bass trombone, euphonium, tuba, string bass, timpani, celesta, 4 percussionists (triangle, wood block, tambourine, snare drum, bass drum, crash cymbals, suspended cymbal, tam-tam, marimba, xylophone, vibraphone, glockenspiel, tubular chimes)