The Treachery of Tones

The Treachery of Tones was inspired by the painting “The Treachery of

Images” (1929) by surrealist artist René Magritte. The painting features an image of a pipe with the phrase “This is not a pipe” written underneath. This metacommentary was stuck in my mind when writing The Treachery of Tones, in particular about how I approached intonation and style. There is an indecisive aura to each musical idea I explored in the piece, tinged with a melancholic yearning in search of the correct combination. The treachery stems from knowing that, as the composer, there is always a different option that could have been.