Sheng: China Dreams / Nanking Nanking Samuel Wong & Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

• 1 Prelude 05:02
• 2 Fanfare 04:24
• 3 The Stream Flows 06:58
• 4 The Three Gorges of the Long River 09:10
• 5 Chai Tou Feng 03:09
• 6 Sheng Sheng Man 10:24
• 7 Nanking! Nanking! ... 26:31
• Total Runtime 01:05:38

Info for Sheng: China Dreams / Nanking Nanking

Bright Sheng was born in Shanghai, experienced living through the Chinese Cultural revolution as a child and later studied composition at the local Conservatory of Music. In 1982 he moved to New York where he studied further, under Bernstein among others, winning various awards both in his homeland and in the USA. His highly accessible music has an individual voice and a vividly unpredictable orchestral palette. The spectacular China Dreams was composed between folk music. Fanfare, the second of the four movements, a brilliant toccata well laced with percussion, is immediately arresting, and the following evocation of lapping waters. Juliana Gondek joins the orchestra for the Two Poems, early works from 1985, the first short and exotic including some expert vocal glissandi, the second, longer, more a symphonic poem, with atmospheric orchestral writing and startling percussion.

Nanking! Nanking!, completed in 2000 and depicting the massacre when the Japanese swept into that ancient city in 1937, opens powerfully and stridently with remorseless rhythms and echoes of the Rite of Spring. The pipa (a short-necked Chinese lute) provides a ruminative retrospective narration, remembering both the darkness and the heroism of the survivors. But the music again generates considerable violence before, in a warm postlude for the strings, both elegiac and hopeful, the composer celebrates conclusion, with a final soliloquy from the pipa—so sensitively played here by Zhang Qiang—is interrupted by a brief but desperate final warning from the orchestra. These are surely definitely performances, with the Hong Kong Orchestra responding superb to the dedicated direction of Samuel Wong, and the recording is outstanding too. (Penguin Guide)

'China Dreams, an orchestral suite assembled over time from three different orchestral commissions, is very lyrical, its stellar orchestration rendered with buoyancy and flexibility. Whether due to the Hong Kong Philharmonic's affinity for the music or to the composer's presence during the recording process, the results are superb.' (Ken Smith, Newark Star-Ledger)

Julian Gondek, soprano
Qiang Zhang, pipa
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Samuel Wong, conductor

Digitally remastered.

Samuel Wong - Conductor
Acclaimed for his clarity, confidence and passion, Hong Kong-born Samuel Wong has appeared as guest conductor on five continents, leading numerous world-class orchestras and soloists. Wong was appointed Music Director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra beginning with the 2000-01 season. He continues his role as Music Director of the Honolulu Symphony and also serves as Director of the Mannes Orchestra.

An exponent of contemporary music as well as the classics, Wong has led many significant first performances, including 15 world premieres at Carnegie Hall.

Samuel Wong made his debut in 1990 with the New York Philharmonic to critical acclaim, substituting for Leonard Bernstein. The following month he again earned high praise with the Philharmonic when he replaced Zubin Mehta at Avery Fisher Hall and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He was appointed Assistant Conductor and led over 35 concerts with the New York Philharmonic as well as accompanying them on their Far East tour.

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