Program Notes

YELLOW EARTH PROGRAM NOTES Quanta was commissioned by China’s Quanta (2012) Blow It Up, Start Again National Centre for the Performing Arts for the Sebastian Currier (b. 1959) “Composing China” project. It was premiered (2011) [United States Premiere] on March 17, 2013, in Beijing with the National Jonathan Newman (b. 1972) Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra, When I first came to China with a group of my conducted by Kristjan Jarvi. If the system isn’t working anymore, then do colleagues, I was often asked, “how is China what Guy Fawkes tried and go anarchist: blow it Not recorded different from the United States?” Implicit in all up, and start again. the question is that it is indeed very different, —Jonathan Newman and of course in many ways it is. But touching The Color Yellow: down in Beijing from New York, one cannot help Concerto for Sheng (2007) Blow It Up, Start Again was commissioned but note the many similarities. Sure, when one by the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras visits the treasures of the past, the Forbidden Huang Ruo (b. 1976) and premiered on May 13, 2012, at Chicago City, the Temple of Heaven, one encounters [West Coast Premiere] Symphony Center, conducted by Allen Tinkham. difference. But that is to travel far back in time. The more modern the context the more similar Sheng, the Chinese mouth organ and a Not recorded we seem. The grid structure, the materials used thousand-year-old traditional instrument, is for roads, the design of traffic lights, the more often referred to as the ancestor of the Western Chroma (2007) modern architectural structures—all have close organ. The modern Sheng contains 37 bamboo Joby Talbot (b. 1971) parallels not only in the United States, but in pipes ranging from the pitch G below middle C, most modern cities. But there was one thing, up to the G above the treble clef—four complete Chroma is a suite of seven short pieces of totally ubiquitous, that did remind me at every octaves with every chromatic pitch in between. music that I assembled at the request of turn of my head. That was the written Chinese choreographer Wayne McGregor for his Olivier language: a testament not only to a divergent Creating a concerto for a Western orchestra Award-winning 2006 ballet of the same name. past, but a different present. To a westerner, with a Chinese solo instrument is not an easy I had met Wayne in spring of that year, and he one is immediately struck both by its aesthetic task. My challenge is to mix these very different told me that he had heard a recent orchestral beauty and its total incomprehensibility. instruments from both the Eastern and Western piece of mine—Hovercraft—that he was keen The piece I wrote, Quanta, starts from this worlds into one united whole, as they not only to choreograph for his first work as resident perspective. sound quite different, but also tune differently. choreographer of The Royal Ballet in London. One of my solutions is to “de-tune” the Eastern He asked if I had any other music that might Quanta creates a sonic analog to a series of and Western instruments, using sounds work well alongside it, and outlined his vision Chinese characters, but from an outsider’s point between pitches, then melting them into a big for a 25-minute piece consisting of alternating of view: that is, they exhibit energy, gesture, pot to create a common ground for each to sections of darkness and light. form, and emotion, but not meaning per se. express its own character and identity freely. Nearly the entire piece consists of a series of The title of my Concerto for Sheng and Chamber For the “light” sections I suggested three of short fragments, each separated by a rest— Orchestra is The Color Yellow. In Chinese, 玄 the miniatures I’d written for my album Once fragments are two measures long, the rest is 黃. 玄黃 means a gate, with something hidden Around The Sun: Cloudpark, A Yellow Disc Rising one measure. Thus, in my mind, it simulates the inside, and many paths that could lead to an From The Sea, and Transit Of Venus. Originally graphic structure of a Chinese text, but in sound entirely different journey. However, one could scored for a handful of players, I reworked these rather than image. In doing this I wanted to only take on such a journey by passing through chamber pieces to match the full symphonic create a dialogue between my world and theirs. the same entrance. The very same gate, in this sound of Hovercraft, using gongs, tuned I am fascinated by the Chinese language and concerto, is the Sheng. The solo Sheng not only percussion, and solo strings to try to create a like to look at it without comprehending it, but guides the orchestra, but also the listeners, as sense of empty space and effortless stillness. feel drawn to it. I hope that you will listen to my it goes through its various stages and worlds. piece in the same spirit. As we traveled around Yellow is the color of skin, yellow is the Yellow For the “dark” sections Wayne wanted China on our wonderful trip orchestrated by Earth, the Yellow River, and the Yellow Mountain. something completely contrasting. At one point the National Centre for the Performing Arts The Color Yellow is a work that echoes the past, there had been talk of playing loud rock music (Beijing)—driving through stunningly beautiful spells the present, and foresees the future. through the speakers of the Royal Opera House rice-growing regions, boating down the Li while the orchestra took a break, but, by happy River, walking through the electrified streets of —Huang Ruo coincidence, I was just finishing off a project Shanghai, seeing the awesome view from the of my own which I thought might fit the bill. I The Color Yellow was premiered on Friday, Great Wall—as time went on, I would start to played Wayne some of the unfinished mixes March 14, 2008, at the Troy Savings Bank recognize certain characters and felt that the from Aluminium—an album of orchestral re- Music Hall in Albany, NY with Wu Wei and the slow process of decoding had started. I wanted imaginings of songs by the Detroit-based two- Albany Symphony, conducted by David Alan my piece to parallel this process. As one listens piece rock band, The White Stripes— that I had Miller. The work was written for Wu Wei. it first seems like a series of (hopefully pleasing) been working on, and he chose three tracks: random gestures, but as time goes on, one Not recorded the (almost) title track Aluminum, The Hardest starts to recognize some of them and the piece Button To Button, and Blue Orchid. starts to take on a larger, less fragmented form. Aluminium was the idea of Richard Russell, —Sebastian Currier boss of the hugely successful independent continued on page 43 CABRILLO FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC 41 YELLOW EARTH PROGRAM NOTES continued from page 41 record label, XL Recordings, that numbers The which we realized with the help of my long-time Chroma was premiered on November 17, 2006, White Stripes amongst the artists they put out. friend and collaborator, conductor and arranger, by The Royal Ballet and Royal Opera House A recent convert to classical music, Richard Christopher Austin—was to use the orchestra Covent Garden Orchestra in London, conducted had been listening to The Andrew Oldham to try to capture, and indeed enhance, the raw by Daniel Capps, with choreography by Wayne Orchestra’s extraordinary 1966 album, The intensity of the original songs. McGregor. Rolling Stones Songbook, and was wondering Recommended Video Recording: Wayne Since its premiere, Chroma has been revived why the practice of recording orchestral McGregor: Three Ballets: Chroma, Infra, Limen. several times at Covent Garden, toured versions of contemporary rock music seemed Royal Ballet and Royal Opera House Covent internationally by The Royal Ballet, and to have gone out of fashion since its 1960’s Garden Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Capps. heyday (or at least had mostly become the subsequently taken up as a repertory piece province of kitschy, tongue-in-cheek, pastiche). by other companies worldwide, but the music The White Stripes were a band of legendary has never been played in its entirety in concert asceticism, with songs stripped back to a before now. I can think of no better place for bare minimum of voice, drums, and electric that to happen than at the wonderful Cabrillo guitar (even the color palette of their artwork Festival at the hands of Maestra Alsop, and and live shows was restricted to three shades: only wish that I could be there to hear for myself red, black, and white), and would seem an odd what I’m sure will be a thrilling performance. choice for a classical album. But our plan— —Joby Talbot CABRILLO FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC 43.

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