Violin Concerto 'The Border of the Mountains'
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Wenchen QIN Violin Concerto ‘The Border of the Mountains’ Cello Concerto ‘Dawn’ Suona Concerto ‘Calling for Phoenix’ Mengla Huang, Violin • Li-Wei Qin, Cello • Qianyuan Zhang, Suona ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra Gottfried Rabl Wenchen Qin (b. 1966) and the sometimes glassy, sometimes whistling tones of III. The Border of the Mountains • Dawn • Calling for Phoenix harmonics. The orchestra provides support to this line, Fire chattering below, or briefly seizing control of the music in Like a sea rising to the sky, Wenchen Qin (b. 1966) is a composer and teacher in and Taiwan. His major compositions include Yin Ji (2001) short outbursts before leaving the soloist alone altogether. And like Pegasus wild and unbridled, Beijing, where he is a professor of composition at the and Pilgrimage in May (2004) for orchestra; Nature’s Finally we reach the third movement, Dancing in It sweeps across toward the river. Central Conservatory of Music, and a distinguished Dialogue (2010) for tape and orchestra; the suona Mountain Shadow, which has a strong rhythmic impetus professor at the China Conservatory of Music. concerto Calling for Phoenix (1996), the violin concerto and more prominent rôle for percussion (including the The suona concerto Calling for Phoenix (2010) is an Qin was born in 1966 in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, and The Border of the Mountains (2012), Echo from the Other percussive effect of col legno from the strings). After the orchestral adaptation of a work written by Qin in 1996 for became familiar with the folk music of his home while still Shore (2015) for guzheng and orchestra, and chamber highly lyrical character of much of the earlier two traditional Chinese instruments. The suona is a small very young. In 1987 he went to study composition at the music works including Lonely Song (1990/2015), He-Yi movements, here the music is driven forwards with little double-reed instrument a little like a shawm, traditionally Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where his tutors (1998/1999), Huai Sha (1999), Five Songs on the Horizon rhythmic cells, full of energy. The ensemble builds to a used in music for public occasions such as wedding and included Jian-er Zhu (b. 1922) and Shuya Xu (b. 1961). (2005), The Sun Shadow (1987-) series and the Sounds long-held, ecstatic chord over which the soloist recalls the funeral processions; similarly, it is employed in Chinese He joined the staff of the Central Conservatory in Beijing that Awake Memories (2006-) series, as well as his singing lines of the work’s opening; eventually, this fades opera to mark significant events or the arrival of important in 1992 and, between 1998 and 2001, studied with second string quartet Wind Lament (2013) and Towards a away until just the high winds are left, calling like birds into characters. This seems entirely appropriate given the Nicolaus A. Huber in Essen, Germany, thanks to the Far Place, 30 pieces of chamber music for Chinese the silence. subject matter of the piece: the phoenix is a symbol of sponsorship of the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch- instruments (2010/2011). His music is published The cello concerto Dawn (2008) consists of three virtue, grace, loyalty and honesty in Chinese legend, the dienst (DAAD). exclusively by Sikorski Musikverlag, Hamburg. movements, each of which is based on a fragment of perfect balance of Yin and Yang. Qin was inspired to Qin is one of China’s most influential composers, and The violin concerto The Border of the Mountains was poetry by Hai Zi (1964-1989), one of the most famous compose Calling for Phoenix after viewing the painting has written commissions for many international music completed in 2012, and was commissioned by the poets in mainland China in the 1980s. However, Qin’s series Phoenix in Fire by Xiao-he Tang and Li Cheng, and organisations, including the Deutsches Symphonie- Shanghai Conservatory of Music for its 85th anniversary. music is not intended to depict or ‘explain’ the poetry, but being struck in particular by the vitality and spiritual Orchester Berlin, the Beethovenfest Bonn, and the We begin with a long antiphonal passage, the solo violin rather to function as a counterpoint to Hai Zi’s words. richness of the images. The piece falls into three parts: a Warsaw Autumn, Bayerischer Rundfunk and Shanghai pitted against the orchestral strings playing high in their Thus, whilst certain musical devices appear to reflect highly rhythmical and energetic central section framed by Spring International Music Festivals. His works have been registers: Qin’s exaggerated depiction of songs sung aspects of the poetic scenes (the stillness of the very an almost chamber-like opening and a slower, deeply widely performed by more than seventy well-known between Chinese people in the mountains, almost like opening; birds chirruping in winds and strings through the emotive final section. This mirrors the story of the musical groups in China and further afield, including hoarse shouting as the lines bounce off against each first movement; a striking contrast between frenzied phoenix, who was born and grew up in the dark, matured Ensemble Intercontemporain and L’Itinéraire in France, other and occasionally intertwine. The malleable sonic activity and total stillness in the second movement as if through a baptism of fire, and finally flew to the sun. The the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, the Stuttgart nature of string instruments is constantly exploited, sliding the music is seen from ‘near... and yet... so far away’), suona writing is intensely virtuosic, featuring rapid Chamber Orchestra and ensemble recherche in up and down between pitches and pressing semitones there are also moments of high contrast and vibrant passagework, flutter-tonguing and lightning-quick leaps Germany, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the and even quartertones closely together within the orchestral colours that find no direct parallels in the text, through the instrument’s compass: all of which are also Ensemble Europeo Antidogma in Italy, the Tokyo City ensemble writing. As the movement progresses, the but seem to complement the images depicted. characteristic of Qin’s writing for the solo violin and cello Symphony Orchestra, the St Petersburg Philharmonic, forceful rhythms of speech-like patterns from the whole in the other concertos featured on this recording. Calling the Nieuw Ensemble Holland, the Ensemble Phoenix orchestra are contrasted with passages in which the I. for Phoenix is intended to represent the determination of Basel, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the pulse seems suspended, the strings and soloist holding Dawn the natural world to create and perpetuate life against all Contemporary Music Ensemble Korea (CMEK), and the line as if in space. The second movement makes use Which chariot will carry you to a distant land? odds and in the most difficult circumstances. Sinfonia Varsovia in Poland. His music has been of a short segment of Shanxi folk song, the writing more It is so far away that you’d never return. broadcast on major radio stations in Germany, Austria, lyrical and almost religious in character. The song itself, Oh, which is the chariot? Wenchen Qin France and Switzerland, including North German Radio Couples are happy together, but you are not here, is the (NDR), West German Radio (WDR), Radio France, Swiss story of a woman alone among married friends, since her II. Edited by Katy Hamilton Radio, Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) and ORF- husband has had to travel far away to find work. Qin Wind Radio Wien. exploits an extraordinary array of colours in the solo There goes the sun’s music, and the sun’s horse; Qin is the recipient of seven awards at international violin: simple open intervals, bowed and plucked lines So near you are seated, and yet you are so far away. composition competitions in Germany, the USA, Japan together, sudden jumps and leaps through the register, Wenchen Qin (geb. 1966) Sprünge über die Register hinweg, mal gläserne, dann I. Die Grenze der Berge • Morgendämmerung • Der Ruf nach dem Phoenix wieder pfeifende Flageoletts. Das Orchester unterstützt Morgendämmerung diese Linie, zwitschert, plaudert und übernimmt wohl auch Welcher Wagen wird dich in ein fernes Land bringen? Der chinesische Komponist Wenchen Qin wurde 1966 in Dialogue (2010) für Tonband und Orchester; Echo from gelegentlich in kurzen Ausbrüchen die Führung, bevor der Es ist so weit weg, dass du niemals wiederkehrst. der innermongolischen Stadt Ordos geboren und war the Other Shore (2015) für die chinesische Solist völlig allein gelassen wird. Schließlich erreichen wir Oh, was ist das für ein Wagen? schon sehr früh mit der Volksmusik seiner Heimat Wölbbrettzither Guzheng und Orchester. Dazu kommen den dritten Satz (Tanzen im Schatten des Berges), der vertraut. Seit 1987 studierte er Komposition am etliche kammermusikalische Stücke wie Lonely Song einen starken rhythmischen Impetus und eine prominentere II. Konservatorium von Shanghai, wo er unter anderem von (1990/2015), He-Yi (1998/1999), Huai Sha (1999) und Rolle für das Schlagzeug enthält (dazu gehören auch die Wind Jian-er Zhu (geb.1922) und Shuya Xu (geb. 1961) Five Songs on the Horizon (2005) sowie die Werkreihen perkussiven col legno-Effekte der Streicher). Nach dem Dahin gehen die Musik der Sonne und das Pferd der ausgebildet wurde. 1992 wurde er Lehrer am Zentralen The Sun Shadow (1987-) und Sounds that Awake äußerst lyrischen Charakter, der die beiden Sonne; Konservatorium von Peking, wo er inzwischen eine Memories (2006-). Erwähnt werden müssen überdies vorangegangenen Sätze über weite Strecken prägt, wird Du sitzt so nah dabei und bist doch so weit weg. Professur innehat. In gleicher Funktion unterrichtet er am sein zweites Streichquartett Wind Lament (2013) sowie die Musik jetzt durch kleine rhythmische, energie- China Conservatory of Music. Von 1998 bis 2001 konnte die dreißig Stücke Towards a Far Place für chinesische geladene Zellen vorwärtsgetrieben.