RUSH TO THE PAST! for Cello Solo（2019）

A single dancer pirouettes intently on the dance floor. The movements gradually become more and more intense until she finds herself taken over by an ethnic rhythm，whereupon exotic music passes in front of her. Aural images associated with many different eras are wheeled out on this dance floor，giving the impression of a dance performed on the rails of time. The wheels rotate at dizzying speed. Quick! Speed is of the essence! The engine is set on full throttle as it speeds through time and space，with J.S. Bach as its final destination.
(From the programme notes to the work’s premiere)

This work involves a ride on a musical time machine in which we encounter folk dances along with the major figures who created the distinctive musical repertoire of the 19th and 20th centuries as we hurtle towards the final encounter with J.S. Bach. It was inspired by the overall structure of the recital given by Kei Yamazawa who gave the work its first performance. This involved performance of the six suites for unaccompanied cello by J.S. Bach being performed in alternation with newly composed preludes linked to the preludes of each suite.