The underlining metaphor of Encounter suggested that the embracing of technical, stylistic and aesthetic dissimilarities could generate further opportunities for the exploration of a wider instrumentation palette and the extension of allegorical traits in the musical discourse. The confrontation of dissimilar music traditions may open up some interesting perspectives where compositional contexts can be delineated by processes of both assimilation and dissimilation of stylistic idioms and performance techniques. In the case of Encounter a gradual process of assimilation of two dissimilar performance techniques, and to some extent idioms takes place; they will eventually converge in the final cadenza and finally be projected onto a wider space by the electronics.

In Koan, written in 1999, for shakuhachi and chamber ensemble²⁶

I decided to use a more confrontational approach in two ways: i) by discarding the electronics (i.e. a third component); ii) by including the shakuhachi within a typical European chamber music context. In defining such a scene, the instrument was detached from its original cultural background and confronted to some technical and stylistic logistics of European contemporary chamber music. I wished to explore how far, by disconnecting an instrument from its original musical idiom it can still delineate precise cultural allusions. The shakuhachi’s technical idiosyncrasies are thus enclosed within the stylistic paradigms of contemporary Western music, such as the use of extended techniques. This circumstance allows the instrument both to merge with the rest of the ensemble and retain its own traditional characteristics. The latter are not only emphasised, but also amplified by the Western instruments throughout the work. Also, the shakuhachi retains the primary role within the ensemble, for instance by initiating gestures which are taken over by the rest of the ensemble (see Fig. 13).

The shakuhachi’s timbral and lyrical qualities are explored from different angles, for example through the prolongation of specific notes by other instruments of the ensemble (see Fig. 13), as a virtuoso instrument – as soloist (see Fig. 14), in duet with a wind instrument (see Fig. 15) and as an equal component of the ensemble (see Fig. 16). The dialectic of the work is focussing on virtuosity as a transcendental feature of the musical discourse. In Zen Buddhism, Koan means ‘a public document’, and is an enigmatic question that serves as a concentration of the mind on the question of essential nature of being. The Koan’s objective is the arousing of doubt and pushing it to its furthest limits. The entire concept of the work is modelled around such a thought-provoking idea of oriental wisdom which provides the conceptual source of inspiration for the continuing pulsation of instrumental gestures throughout the entire work. Another Oriental element is the haiku poetic form here applied to 17 units of notes or sections.

It would be erroneous to think of the music of the 21st century as a conglomerate of compatible musical styles and instruments. In fact, the confrontation of