Philadelphia orchestra in China — Spring River Flowers By Moonlight

I am so thrilled to be touring with The Philadelphia Orchestra in China, which is premiering Spring River Flowers by Moonlight, for mezzo, baritone, and orchestra.  This is a setting of one of the most famous Tang Dynasty poems by Zhang Ruoxu.  The poem begins with beautiful pastoral imagery of moonlight glistening off the river, and then gradually reveals that the poet is a soldier on the front lines, pining for his maiden back home.  There is a kind of cosmic element in the poem’s meditations on time, passing generations, and aging.
 
My musical response begins with the female and male singers distant at first, with each singing two stanzas independently.  As the piece unfolds, their alternations become closer and closer – and in the last stanza, they finally sing together.
 

It is an honor to visit Beijing with Marin Alsop and Philadelphia Orchestra, which has visited the country for over fifty years.  I look forward to connecting with the commissioners from the Ministry of Culture and, of course, anyone at the concert who wants to find me on Weibo.

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我很高兴将和费城交响乐团一起在中国巡演,本次巡演将首演我为女中音、男中音和管弦乐而作的《春江花月夜》。乐曲文本《春江花月夜》是唐代最有名的诗歌之一,由唐代诗人张若虚所作。这首诗始于月照江面的自然情景,逐渐揭示了游子思妇的离愁别绪,将宇宙元素融入对时间流逝,年华逝去和世事更替的沉思中。

在这首乐曲中,男女歌手一开始相距甚远,各自唱两小节后,他们的交替随着乐曲的展开越来越近,最终在最后一小节一起演唱。

我很荣幸能与Marin Alsop(马林·阿尔索普)和费城交响乐团一起来到北京。在此前的五十多年间,费城交响乐团已经多次访华。希望文化部的官员及音乐会上任何想联系我的人可以在微博联系我: weibo.com/u/7959275518

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