Commissioned by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the first performance of Fazıl Say’s China Rhapsody took place on 15 July 2016 at the Shanghai Music Festival featuring Say himself as the soloist.
The piece was written for piano and orchestra and as well as taking inspiration from traditional Chinese motifs such as classical Chinese music, the tea ceremony, Chinese instruments and lullabies, the composer was also influenced by the phonetic particularities of Chinese speech, even traditional Chinese dress.
Say makes use of five note Chinese pentatonicism, which can be viewed as an abstraction on Chinese music as well as a reflection of Say’s own creative impetus. The many different themes, rhythms and original colours present in the work come from this understanding.
– Translated by Gülay Eskikaya
The piece was written for piano and orchestra and as well as taking inspiration from traditional Chinese motifs such as classical Chinese music, the tea ceremony, Chinese instruments and lullabies, the composer was also influenced by the phonetic particularities of Chinese speech, even traditional Chinese dress.
Say makes use of five note Chinese pentatonicism, which can be viewed as an abstraction on Chinese music as well as a reflection of Say’s own creative impetus. The many different themes, rhythms and original colours present in the work come from this understanding.
– Translated by Gülay Eskikaya
2 · 2 · 2 · 2 – 2 · 2 · 1 · 0 – S. (I: P. · Glsp. · Vibr. · Tamt.; II: Röhrengl. · Tamb. · Barchimes; III: Tamb. · Tomt. · Riverwaves) (3 Spieler) – Str.
