It's already dark and from my office I can see the last lights of life going out in Yan An San Lu road, which leads to the harbour. The silence and tranquility of a summer's night lull to sleep this enormous city with its provincial appearance where lights disappear one by one leaving the embankments to die in the night.

From these large windows in my office, all the images of my life in China parade to the seasons' threads, to the moods of the moon, day after day, like postcards from a man who is fleeing time. It's all of that which les Quatuors Catai op.14. recount. This series of quartets, initiated in August 2005 and completed in February 2006, represents the rotation of events, images and emotions gleaned during a period of months in QWingdao in China. The name “Catai” was popularized by Marco Polo and describes the provinces of the North of China. This ensemble of quartets is the golden thread of my personal “Silk Route”.

My own silk is the music concealed deep down inside me and which I struggle to extract. It's why I am always sitting down and whatever the journey and the fog, there will always be a foghorn to give me the LA.

Guy Kummer-Nicolussi