"Pixelandia" premiere and a Boston Globe write-up

Pixelandia, a commission from Boston Modern Orchestra Project with funding provided by the Fromm Music Foundation, was premiered on April 21st at Jordan Hall by BMOP and its Artistic Director, Gil Rose. A multi-movement work for full orchestra, Pixelandia was inspired by video games Yu-Hui played in her youth, including an arcade shooter from the 80s, “1943: The Battle of Midway”, and a PC strategy game titled “Heroes of Might and Magic”. For the premiere, Yu-Hui wrote:

The idea of “Pixelandia” came when one day I saw my husband teaching my two little daughters how to play “The Legend of Zelda”, a series of Nintendo video games that first started in 1986. It occurred to me how my generation was the first to grow up with video games when they were in their earlier developing stages in the 70s and 80s, before they became multi-billion dollar business, and before they exist ubiquitously in everyone’s smart phone. I began to recall my first encounters with some of the games when I was a child, such as “Space Invaders”, “Breakout”, and “Pac-Man”. I wanted to write a piece commenting on this unique experience, when kids could have tremendous joy with 2D games and with graphics so primitive that every scan line and pixel was visible. After the piece was finished, I realized what I wrote was not just about video games, but about a simpler time, and the youth that will never return.

Prior to the premiere, Zoë Madonna did a preview piece in the Boston Globe featuring Yu-Hui and her new work. To read the article, follow this link: “Composer goes for the high score with video game-inspired ‘Pixelandia’“.