Lei Liang: Brush-Stroke
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Composer: Lei LiangConductor: Stephen Drury
Performer: Arditti String Quartet
Performer: Callithumpian Consort of the New England Conservatory
Performer: Takae Ohnishi
Performer: Aleck Karis
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2009-07-28
Music Label: Mode
Soundtracks:
- Serashi Fragments, for string quartet
- Some Empty Thoughts of a Person from Edo, for harpsichord
- Memories of Xiaoxiang, for alto saxophone & tape
- Trio, for cello, piano & percussion
- In Praise of Shadows, for flute
- My Windows, pieces (4) for piano: Tian (Heaven)
- My Windows, pieces (4) for piano: Seven Rays of the Sun
- My Windows, pieces (4) for piano: Magma
- My Windows, pieces (4) for piano: Pausing, Awaiting the Wind to Rise...
- Brush-Stroke, for chamber orchestra
Music reviews of Lei Liang: Brush-Stroke
Music Review: Concentrated, Beautiful, and Wild
Rating: 5 Stars
The just-released CD (Mode Records) of music by the young Chinese-American composer, Lei Liang, is a complete joy. While Liang's music does have its influences, from traditional Chinese music to American and European modernism, the works on this disc are crafted from a synthesized and digested personal language which reveals itself throughout this CD.
The first piece on the disc, "Serashi Fragments", played outstandingly by the Arditii Quartet, underlines this synthesis: it is both a tribute to the Mongolian fiddler Serashi and includes fragments of what sound like traditional Chinese melody to my Western ears (2:25 for example) but is at the same time highly organized and tightly constructed, reflecting Liang's modernist training. The work is texturally varied, emphasizing melodic and frenetic writing, sharp punctuations, a hint of traditional Chinese music, and wild glissandi, and yet manages to integrate these ingredients into a dense but congealed seven-minute experience.
Liang's music is both extremely clear in its unfolding, and yet paradoxically highly unpredictable due to his concentrated attention to detail, making each moment unique. That being said, certain characters tend to repeatedly rear their heads. The music is most often either slow (even timeless) and contemplative, or wild, bordering on the out-of-control. These characters can be heard in, among others, "Brush-Stroke", played beautifully by the Callithumpian Consort, which is a journey from the contemplative to the crazy, as well as in "In Praise of Shadows", a solo flute piece performed with great sensitivity by Paula Robison. This piece follows a rough ABA' form, with two sections of contemplative, slowly unfolding, highly-arcing melodies outlining a jazzy, wilder section which focuses on noiser sounds such as key clicks punctuated by outbursts, finally climaxing on a high, shrill note.
The performances in general are excellent. High praise goes to Aleck Karis for his rendition of "My Windows", harpsichordist Takae Onishi for "Some Empty Thoughts of a Person from Edo", Saxophonist Chen-Kwan Lin for "Memories of Xiaoxiang" for saxophone and electronics (the only work with electronics on the disc), and the Callithumpian Consort for "Trio", for cello, piano, and percussion.
The works, which range form solo to large ensemble pieces, give an overall impression of an artist on a quest to integrate the many parts of his musical personality without resorting to pastiche. Composed from 1996-2007, the pieces collectively form a self-portrait of an idiosyncratic composer who delves deeply within himself to find his personal musical language but is in touch with his heritage and the outside musical world. If you are looking for music by a young composer with a strong, personal voice, look no further. The concentrated, beautiful, wild music of Lei Liang is proof that contemporary music is in good hands.
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