moonstruck by MIZU

“The wine that one drinks with one’s eyes
is poured down in waves by the moon at night...
Lusts, thrilling, and sweet,
float numberless through the waters!
The poet, urged on by his devotions,
becomes intoxicated with the sacred beverage...”

The opening lines of Arnold Schoenberg’s 20th century masterpiece Pierrot Lunaire (with text by Belgian symbolist poet Albert Giraud), have haunted many a tortured soul since the work’s premiere in 1912. The piece’s origins lie in the late-17th century commedia dell’arte, in which the character Pierrot, depicted as a sad clown, was noted for his many misfortunes. Since the character’s birth, Pierrot has become an allegory for the disenfranchised.

In "moonstruck", the trials and tribulations of Pierrot are reimagined in a drama for digital media: an electronically-tinged five-part suite, with an accompanying film.

The music, derived in pitch and thematic content from the Schoenberg original, is a digital exploration of cello, vocals, and piano - adorned with percussive attacks, warped through digital processing, and vitalized through analog effects. A live version, with accompanying parts for the modern-day Pierrot ensemble (piano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, percussion, and singer), was premiered by the National Sawdust Ensemble in March 2025.

In the film by Aldo Alessio, we see a tormented character split into multiple guises; though recognizably human, the subject is digitally manipulated to appear alienesque in moments, sardonic in others, and as a whole disturbingly grotesque. The character, perhaps a contemporary re-imagining of Pierrot, is a metaphor for the alienated soul.

MIZU explores themes of transformation and the infinite possibilities of self through her singular cello playing and daring performing.

Trained as a cellist at Juilliard, her experimental practice sees her transforming self-recorded explorations on her instrument into bold and distinct soundscapes.

Portrait by Honglin Cai.

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