BEIJING NEW MUSIC ENSEMBLE ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF DEBUT ALBUM WILD GRASS ON THE NAXOS LABEL
JUNE 1, 2009 -- The Beijing New Music Ensemble (BNME), China's only independent group performing contemporary chamber music, announces the release of its first album, on the renowned international label NAXOS. Comprised almost entirely of world premiere recordings, the disc marks a special collaboration with the composers Chen Yi and Zhou Long stretching back nearly three years.
During that time, BNME gave many China and world premieres of those composers' works. Highlights on the album include Taigu Rhyme, Zhou Long's piece for three traditional percussionists and Western chamber instruments, written for a Sino-Japanese reconciliation concert in the United States in 2003. Two pieces reflect the influence of famed 20th century author Lu Xun -- Chen Yi's Monologue (Reflection on the True Story of Ah Q), for solo clarinet, and Zhou Long's Wild Grass, for solo cello and narrator. Zhou Long served as both narrator and studio producer on this album. Also included is Zhou's work from the 1980s, for Western flute and guqin, the latter performed by innovative guest musician Wu Na.
Special concert events will be held in Beijing to celebrate this release on June 13, 14:00 at UCCA and June 15, 20:00 at Peng Hao Theater. The press releases for these events can be found in the following links.
NAXOS announcement http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.570604 About BNME http://www.beijingnewmusic.org About Chen Yi http://www.presser.com/Composers/info.cfm?Name=chenYi About Zhou Long http://www.oup.co.uk/music/repprom/zhoulong/ BNME CD Press website http://www.drop.io/bnme_wildgrass (You can download the CD with a password provided by contacting BNME office first) |