The Bridgeport-based string duo presents an evening-length work for detuning instruments by Shi-An Costello.

Shi-An Costello’s diminishing 5ths is based upon a fantasized musicological scenario in which all wooden instruments would reach permanent decay within a few hours of being played. In this scenario, the standardized notion of tuning would be left behind, and each musician would be free to play their instrument in the most natural way the wood of the instrument allows. The goal of music making would be less centered around easy access to specific pitches by means of uniformity, but rather, to listen closely and react in ways that support the unique capabilities of the instruments.

Missing Piece premiered an incomplete version of diminishing 5ths in their debut concert “Tonewood” in June 2022. For this performance at ESS, Missing Piece is excited to premiere the complete, concert-length performance of Shi-An Constello’s diminishing 5ths.