Bright Sheng first gained international attention in 1988 with his orchestral work H'un (Lacerations; In Memoriam 1966-76), a tribute to the victims of China's Cultural Revolution.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Bright Sheng's music blends Eastern and Western cultures, striving to re-capture a receding China for himself and recreate it for Western audiences, often using Chinese instruments with Western elements.
Composer Biography
Bright Sheng moved to New York in 1982 and studied with notable figures like Leonard Bernstein, Jack Beeson, Chou Wen-Chung, George Perle, and Hugo Weisgall.
Performer Biography
Sharon Bezaly, the flutist on this album, began studying flute at age 11 and was invited to perform as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at 14 by Zubin Mehta.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Bright Sheng views music as a way to express both spontaneous feelings and concrete thoughts, aiming for a maximum result by combining these two opposites.
Compositional Technique
After H'un, Sheng explored a gentler, more melodic style, combining Chinese pentatonic scales with modern Western harmonies and employing Chinese and Western instruments side by side to create new timbres.
Composer Biography
Bright Sheng, born in Shanghai, China, started piano lessons at age four and later worked for seven years as a pianist and percussionist in a folk music and dance troupe during the Cultural Revolution.
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