Xiaogang Ye - Song of Farewell Without Words (Yang Yang)

Information

Composer: Xiaogang Ye

• The Faint Gingko, Op. 92
• Song of Farewell Without Words, Op. 61B

Yuanchun Yu, pipa

Tieshan Liu, jinghu

Hongxuan Chen, dizi

Beijing Opera Percussion

Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra

Yang Yang, conductor

Date: 2024

Label: Naxos

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Review

Xiaogang Ye was a graduate of the legendary group that came out of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing after China opened to the West in the late '70s. Said to be among China's most highly regarded symphonic composers, trained partly in the U.S., he is less well known than others in the Central Conservatory group (like Tan Dun). However, this pair of works is enjoyable for anyone and perhaps gives a better introduction to his style than the political pieces and film scores that have appeared on other albums devoted to his work that are available in the West. Like his contemporaries, he fuses traditional Chinese music with a Western orchestral idiom, but his solutions to this challenge are unique and interesting. Consider the opening The Faint Gingko, Op. 92 (Ye's works are often designated with opus numbers in the traditional Western fashion), with its subtle orchestral colors. This 2023 version is actually the work's third, revised from premieres in Istanbul and Melbourne. The other work on the album, the evocatively titled Song of Farewell Without Words, Op. 61B, also exists in multiple versions; it is derived from an opera about an old-time theatrical group with the texts removed. The titles of the four movements are those of the opera's four acts. It would be worthwhile to hear the whole opera on recordings, for Ye's structures seem compact and ingenious, with a percussion blast at the beginning, executed by players from the Beijing Opera, seeming to scatter traditional sounds of a pipa (Chinese lute) and Dizi (bamboo flute) among the more Western-textured melodies. Both of these solo parts are clearly executed by top-notch players, and the Hangzhou Philharmonic, under its longtime conductor, Yang Yang, shows clear results from his efforts to upgrade the orchestra's skills through exchanges with the West. Special recognition should go here to producer Jakob Händel, who captured a great variety of sounds and dynamics well in what was likely an unfamiliar hall. A strong entry in the growing Naxos catalog of recordings made in China.

— James Manheim

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Xiaogang Ye (born 23 September 1955) is a Chinese composer who was educated at the Central Conservatory of Music and the Eastman School of Music. His extensive oeuvre spans orchestral, chamber, stage and film music, often integrating Chinese cultural, philosophical and natural themes. Major works have been performed internationally, including The Song of the Earth and music premiered at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Ye has held prominent cultural and academic leadership roles in China and abroad, received numerous prestigious awards, and was the first Chinese composer signed by Schott Music.

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Yang Yang (born 13 April 1973) is a Chinese conductor. Trained at the Central Conservatory of Music, he gained global recognition after winning first prize at the 2006 International Dimitris Mitropoulos Competition, becoming the first Chinese conductor to do so. He has collaborated with major orchestras, opera houses and renowned soloists worldwide. Yang has played a key role in founding and leading major institutions, including the China Philharmonic Orchestra and Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra. He has led numerous opera productions and currently holds several prominent music directorships in China.

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