Other Minds Festivals ➔ Other Minds Festival: OM 9, Concert 2: 01 “Four Studies of Peking Opera” by Ge Gan-ru
Digital Audio
Event Type
MusicOrigin
Other MindsIdentifier
OMF.2003.03.06.01Program Series
Other Minds FestivalProgram Length
29 minDates
| broadcast| 2003-03-06 | created
Description
Each of the four movements (”Stage Music”, “Aria”, “Narrative”, & “Quick Beat”) distills some characteristic elements of Peking Opera. The first movement evokes the unique percussive timbres and rhythms which typically accompany the gestures of Peking Opera performers on stage. A variety of dramatic music accentuates the performers' gestures and underscores their individual roles. The second movement celebrates specific qualities of Peking Opera aria singing. Starting with the cello followed in turn by viola, violins and piano, a single line of music develops and expands through layers of variations into a complex texture. The piano concludes by summarizing the voices of the four strings. In the third movement, the instruments imitate the singers' spoken narratives which are as essential to Peking Opera as arias are to Western operas. Because of the four-tone system of the Chinese language, these narratives are far more melodic than we are accustomed to in English. The last movement, which is in rondo form, employs quickly accelerating rhythmic patterns that are typical of Peking Opera. —Ge Gan-ruGenres
20th century classicalMusical Selections
Four Studies of Peking Opera for Piano and String Quartet (2002-03) (28:22) / Ge Gan-ruPerformers
Gloria Cheng, pianoOnyx String Quartet
Anna Presler, violin
Karen Shinozaki, violin
Phyllis Kamrin, viola
Leighton Fong, cello
Subjects
20th century classicalMusic -- China
Piano quintets
Related Event
Other Minds Festival 9Related place
San Francisco (Calif.) (was recorded at)Related Entities
Other Minds FestivalOnyx Quartet
Ge, Gan-Ru, 1954-
Cheng, Gloria
Presler, Anna
Shinozaki, Karen
Kamrin, Phyllis
Fong, Leighton