Credits:

Lan Shui

Description:

About 30 years ago, when people spoke of modern Chinese music, they were generally familiar with only one of two works: either the Piano Concerto The Yellow River or the Violin Concerto Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai (The Butterfly Lovers). Indeed, these were the only two works permitted to be performed for audiences outside of China. However, such restrictions were lifted with the end of the Cultural Revolution (in the classical music world, exchanges with Europe flourished following Isaac Sterns visit to China in 1979), and as you know, we can now enjoy the works of a wide variety of talented Chinese musicians. This album features works by four such contemporary Chinese composers. Tang Jianpings pieces allow listeners to enjoy Chinese melodies set to grand orchestrations reminiscent of Hollywood film scores. Sheng Zongliang is a composer well-known to NAXOS listeners; his colorful timbres blend per