ABSTRACT
Windswept Peaks, written after the tragic events in Tiananmen Square on 4 June 1989, is a significant composition in Chou’s oeuvre. Here he altered his musical language to employ fully chromatic “variable” (pien) modes inspired by structures inherent in the hexagrams and metaphysical meanings of the I-Ching. This chapter will discuss the variable modes as pitched scales, rhythmic durations, and patterns of tempo and timbre and their role in shaping the form of Windswept Peaks.
