Bright Sheng: Let Fly, Zodiac Tales & Suzhou Overture
2/12/2021, 8 Tracks, 1:07:48
Featuring
Dan Zhu
Bright Sheng
Suzhou Symphony Orchestra
Shanghai Symphony Orchestra
Did you know?
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Composition History
The title "Let Fly" for the violin concerto was inspired by the image of violinist Gil Shaham performing and a childlike rhyme Bright Sheng wrote for his daughter Fayfay.
Composition History
Bright Sheng's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra was commissioned by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and written for violinist Gil Shaham.
Historical Context
The Chinese zodiac, which assigns an animal to each birth year, is a concept also found in other ancient civilizations like the Greeks, Egyptians, Indians, and Babylonians.
Composer Biography
Bright Sheng was born in Shanghai in 1955 and moved to New York in 1982, where he studied composition and conducting privately with his mentor Leonard Bernstein.
Compositional Technique
Bright Sheng's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, titled "Let Fly," encourages the soloist to compose their own cadenza, based on the concerto's existing musical material.
Composer Biography
Bright Sheng, a MacArthur Fellow and leading contemporary composer, considers himself "both 100% American and 100% Asian."
Recording & Production
The Suzhou Overture, featured on this album, was commissioned by the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, which was co-founded in 2016.
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