Harlem River Drive

Instrumentation: Solo Piano

Duration: 9’

Year Composed: 2020

Premiere: May 6, 2020 (livestreamed during COVID-19 Pandemic)

Program Note:

     The zipper merge, celebrated by traffic engineers as the premiere method of merging when two lanes become one, is a procedure with which I am all too familiar. The symmetrical, alternating current of cars that would get us collectively from point A to point B with the least “backup” is simply impossible in the aggressive climate of New York City traffic. I am reminded of this fact almost daily at the crux of my commute approaching Exit 20 off Manhattan’s Harlem River Drive towards the George Washington Bridge. What could and should be a self-organizing, cooperative automotive dance becomes, in actuality, an everyone-for-themselves brawl to shave mere seconds off commute times. On my better days, I wait patiently and stay out of the fray. When I give into my lesser impulses, I become part of the problem. The platonically ideal zipper merge remains a tantalizing reminder of what could and should be, and has become a bit of an obsession. The zipper-like gestures that permeate “Harlem River Drive” fall victim to the very same brokenness that we encounter in attempts at large-scale cooperation, whether reflected in traffic patterns, political views, etc. The piece was commissioned by pianist Annie Jeng and premiered on the Virtual Norf Space live-streaming festival, hosted by Nief-Norf on May 6, 2020.