PERFORMANCE VISION
Bright Sheng
MAJOR GUEST APPEARANCES AS CONDUCTOR AND PIANIST
San Francisco Symphony
(conductor, pianist)
New York Chamber Symphony
(conductor)
Seattle Symphony Orchestra
(conductor, pianist)
Carnegie Hall Association
(conductor, pianist)
San Francisco Ballet
(conductor)
Lincoln Center Festival
(conductor)
Tanglewood Music Center
(conductor, pianist)
Prince Music Theater, Philadelphia
(conductor)
Spoleto Festival, USA
(conductor, pianist)
Brevard Music Festival
(conductor, pianist)
Silk Road Project Workshop/Tanglewood Music Center
(conductor, pianist)
Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival
(conductor, pianist)
Hong Kong Philharmonic
(pianist)
New West Symphony Orchestra, CA
(conductor, pianist)
Lexington Symphony Orchestra, KY
(conductor)
Orchestra 2001, Philadelphia
(conductor, pianist)
Asian Youth Orchestra
(conductor)
Bowdoin Summer Music Festival
(conductor, pianist)
Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
La Jolla Chamber Music Festival
Seattle International Music Festival
Seattle Chamber Music Festival
University of Michigan Contemporary Direction
University of Washington New Music Ensemble
Western Washington University
(pianist)
(pianist)
(pianist)
(pianist)
(pianist)
(conductor, pianist)
(conductor)
(conductor, pianist)
MAJOR MUSIC DIRECTORSHIPS AND ARTISTIC DIRECTORSHIPS
Bright Sheng
San Francisco Symphony
“Wet Ink” New Music Festival
(two weeks, 8 concerts)
Tanglewood Music Center/Festival of Contemporary Music
(one week, 12 concerts)
(see attached programs)
Seattle Symphony
“East Meets West” -A Pacific Rim New Music
Festival
(two weeks, 4 concerts)
CONDUCTING REPERTOIRE
Bright Sheng
Traditional Music
Bartók
Fifteen Hungarian Peasant Songs
Hungarian Sketches
Dance Suite
Dance of Transylvania
Rumanian Folk Dances
Concerto for Orchestra
Suite #1 for orchestra, op. 3
Suite #2 for orchestra, op. 4
Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta
Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin
Piano Concerto #1
Piano Concerto #2
Piano Concerto #3
Concerto for 2 Pianos and Percussion
Viola Concerto, op. post.
Violin Concerto #1
Violin Concerto #2
Four Orchestra Pieces
Berlioz
Overture to Benvenuto Cellini
Harold in Italy, op.16
Requiem, op.5
Bernstein/Sheng
Arias and Barcaroles
Bernstein
West Side Story: Symphonic Dances
West Side Story: Overture
Overture to Candide
Chichester Psalms
Fancy Free: Suite
Trouble in Tahiti
Symphony #2 (“The Age of Anxiety”)
Serenade
Busoni
Turandot Suite, op. 41
Copland
Appalachian Spring
Two Pieces
Clarinet Concerto
Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson
Lincoln Portrait
Music for a Great City
Music for the Theater
Quiet City
El salón México
Symphony #3
Mussorgsky
Pictures at an Exhibition (arr. Ravel)
Pictures at an Exhibition (arr. Tushmalov)
Night on Bald Mountain
Night on Bald Mountain (arr. Rimsky-Korsakov)
Prokofiev
Alexander Nevsky, op 78
Classical Symphony, op 25
Piano Concerto #3
Violin Concerto #2
American Overture
Peter and the Wolf, op 67
Romeo and Juliet: Suites #1, #2, #3
Ravel
Ma Mere l’Oye (Mother Goose): 5 Pieces enfantines
Ma Mere l’Ove (Mother Goose): full ballet
Shéhérazade (w/solo soprano)
Shéhérazade, overture de feerie
Boléro
Piano Concerto in G major
Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D major
Daphnis et Chloé, Suite #1
Daphnis et Chloé, Suite #2
Rapsodie espagnole
Tzigane, for violin and orchestra
La Valse
Respighi
Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome)
Fontane di Roma
Rimsky-Korsakov
Scheherazade, op.35
Sinfonietta on Russian Themes, op.31
Tsar Sultan: Suite, op 57
Tsar Sultan: Flight of the Bumblebee
Shostakovich
Symphony #8
Symphony #5
Symphony #10
Symphony #13 (“Babi Yar”)
Chamber Symphony
Sibelius
Symphony #2
Symphony #5
Violin Concerto, op. 47
Strauss, R.
Don Juan, op 20
Don Quixote, op 25
Metamorphosen
Salome’s Dance
Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche
Stravinsky
Le Chant du Rossignol (Song of the Nightingale)
Agon
L’Histoire du soldat (The Soldier’s Tale)
Pétrouchka (1947 version)
Firebird Suite
Symphony in C
Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring)
Danses concertantes
Capriccio for piano and orchestra
Les Noces
CONTEMPORARY REPERTOIRE
Includes works by:
John Adams
Hang Yong
David Lang
P.Q. Phan
Bright Sheng (All Works)
Steve Stucky
Tan Dun
SAMPLE PROGRAMMING IDEAS
Bright Sheng
Chinese Theme
Program I
(possible title: “China Dreams”)
Stravinsky
Le Chant du Rossignol (Song of the Nightingale)
Sheng
Flute Moon
=========
Sheng
China Dreams
Bartók
Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin
Program II
(possible title: “China Dreams”)
Ravel
Ma Mere l’Oye (Mother Goose): 5 Pieces enfantines
Sheng
Two Poems from the Sung Dynasty
==========
Sheng
Postcards
Busoni
Turandot Suite, op. 41
Silk Road Theme
Program I
(possible title: “From China to Rome”)
Bartók
Fifteen Hungarian Peasant Songs
Sheng
Flute Moon
=======
Sheng
Red Silk Dance
Respighi
Pini di Roma (Pines of Rome)
Program II
(possible title: “The Thread of Silk”)
Stravinsky
The Firebird Suite
Sheng
“The Song and Dance of Tears” for pipa, sheng,
violoncello, piano and orchestra
========
Ravel
Shéhérazade
Sheng
China Dreams
Program III
(possible title: “The Huns of Asia”)
Sheng
Tibetan Swing
Bartok
Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta
=========
Sheng
Two Poems for Violoncello and Orchestra
Rimsky-Korsakov
Scheherazade, op.35
"War and Repression"
Program I
Sheng
Nanking! Nanking!
========
Shostakovich
Symphony #8
Program II
Sheng
Hun (Lacerations): In Memoriam 1966-1976
========
Shostakovich
Symphony #10
FESTIVALS
“Pacific Rim”
(with the Seattle and Vancouver Symphonies)
(possible titles: “East and West”; “Music of the Pacific Rim”)
“Chinese Music”
(with festivals in Hong Kong and China)
“Silk Road Music”
(with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project)
"American Music"
(with the Tanglewood Music Center)
(possible titles: “America the Beautiful”; “The Splendor of American Music”)
Artistic approach:
Each festival includes elements of:
1) Western classical composers whose works reflect these regions;
2) non-Western musical traditions from these regions;
3) works by contemporary composers from these regions;
4) works by contemporary composers not from these regions but influenced
by the music from these regions.
Community outreach:
Each festival can incorporate Western and non-Western performers from the
local community, as well as composers and performing groups specializing in
ethnic genres. The program also can be brought to individual, possibly
underserved communities within the region; we bring the music to them, as
well as invite them to come to us.
The impact of such a music festival is intensified by coordinating it with other
festivals in the area that highlight related genres such as literature, art, or
theater. Ancillary events – such as exhibitions, lectures, and artistic
demonstrations at local museums and universities – can also be presented,
to help further involve the community in this venture, offer fascinating
insights, and provide for a city-wide enthusiasm, or "ownership," of the
festival.
-- Bright Sheng, January 4, 2003
(Sample festival programs I)
“AMERICA–THE BEAUTIFUL”
FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
TANGLEWOOD 2002
BRIGHT SHENG, Artistic Director
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROGRAM I
July 20, 2002
A Celebration of American Art Songs: A musical tribute to soprano
Phyllis Curtin
Roger Sessions
(1896-1985)
On the Beach at Fontana (1930)
soprano, piano
John Cage
(1912-1992)
The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs (1942)
baritone, piano
Theodore Chanler
(1902-1961)
Thomas Logge (1937)
baritone, piano
A Bidget (1937)
tenor, piano
Virgil Thomson
(1896-1981)
Susie Asado
tenor, piano
Ned Rorem
(born 1923)
The Serpent (1969)
I am Rose (1955)
soprano, piano
Remarks and reflections on the life and work of Phyllis Curtin
by Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe
Ned Rorem
Some Trees—Three Poems for Three Voices (1968)
Some Trees
The Grapevine
Our Youth
Soprano, mezzo-soprano, bass-baritone, piano
Alan Smith
(born 1955)
Vignettes: Letters from George to Evelyn (2002)
(world premiere; commissioned by the Tanglewood Music Center)
Prologue
1. Stationed in Europe:
I had seen fire
Good morning darling
I am still the busiest guy
…the build up
2. Crossing the English Cannel—Recitativo:
I am the only officer
3. France, having survived the Normandy
Invasion, D-Day:
Downpour of rain
The order of the day
It is still inconceivable
4. Telegram—Schism
WESTERN UNION
Epilogue
soprano, piano
William Schuman
(1910-1981)
From Five Rounds on Famous Words (1956)
Health
2 baritones, 2 bass-baritones
Beauty
4 mezzo-sopranos
Caution
3 tenors
Aaron Copland
(1900-1990)
Vocalise (1927)
soprano, piano
From Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson (1949-50)
There came a wind like a bugle
I felt a funeral in my brain
mezzo-soprano, piano
I’ve heard an organ talk sometimes
Going to Heaven!
mezzo-soprano, piano
Carlisle Floyd
(born 1926)
From The Mystery: Five Songs of Motherhood (1960)
Gentleness
Rocking
soprano, piano
Leonard Bernstein Two Love Songs (1948)
(1918-1990)
Extinguish my eyes…
When my would touches yours…
tenor, piano
‘Make our Garden Grow’ from Candide (1956, rev. 1973)
all singers and piano four hands
PROGRAM II
Overture: American Classics –– 10:30 am
John Cage
(1912-1992)
Credo in US (1942))
percussion, record player, radio, piano
Jacob Druckman
(1928-1996)
Valentine (1969)
doublebass
Tromba Marina (1981)
4 doublebasses
Aaron Copland
(1900-1990)
Sextet (1937)
Allegro
Lento
Finale
clarinet, piano, string quartet
==========================
Morton Feldman
(1926-1987)
Extensions IV
three pianos
(1953)
George Crumb
(born 1929)
Madrigals, Book I (1956)
I. Verte desnuda es ercordar la tierra
(To see you naked is to remember the earth)
II. No piensan en la lluvia, y se han dormido
(They do not think of the rain, and they’ve
fallen asleep)
III. Los muetos llevan alas de musgo
(The dead wear mossy wings)
mezzo-soprano, double bass, percussion
Stefan Wolpe
(1902-1972)
Piece for trumpet and seven instruments (1971)
clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, violin, viola, cello,
double bass
Charles Ives
(1874-1954)
The Innate (1908)
Largo Risoluto No. 2 (1908)
Hallowe’en (c. 1906)
2 violins, viola, cello, piano
(total time: ca. 40'+36'=76')
PROMGRAM III
Evening Concert –– 8:30 pm
Frank Zappa
(1940-1993)
G-Spot Tornado* (1991) (5')
Ensemble Modern size of players
Milton Babbitt
(born 1916)
Triad (1994) (15')
clarinet, viola, piano
William Bolcom
(born 1963)
“Twilight: After Haying” and “The Clearing,” from
Briefly It Enters
“Oh to be a Dragon,” from I will Breathe a Mountain
tenor, piano
September 1, 1939
tenor, piano
===============
Evan Chambers
(born 1963)
Cold Water, Dry Stone** (1998) (10')
I. The Cold Water of Himara
II.The Road to Gjirokaster
Clarinet, alto saxophone, bassoon, violin, persussion,
piano
Leon Kirchner
(born 1919)
Triptych (1988) (11')
I. For Solo Cello
II. For Violin and Cello Obbligato
III.[presto]
violin, cello
John Adams
(born 1947)
Chamber Symphony* (22')
I. Mongrel Airs
II. Aria with Walking Bass
III.Roadrunner
fl-picc/ob/Eb cl-Bb cl-Acl/bn/c.bn/
hn/tpt/bn/synth/1perc/vn/va/vc/cb
(total time: ca. 35'+43'=78')
Program IV
July 22, 2002
Prelude –– 7:30 pm
John Corigliano
(born 1938)
Mr. Tambourine Man, Seven Poems of Bob Dylan (2000)
Prelude: Mr. Tambourine Man
I.
Clothes Line
II.
Blowin’ in the Wind
III.
Masters of War
IV.
All Along the Watchtower
V.
Chimes of Freedom
Postlude: Forever Young
Soprano, piano
(total time: ca. 35')
Concert –– 8:30 pm
Joan Tower
(born 1938)
Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman* (1986)
(3')
Second Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman*(1989) (3')
Third Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman* (1991)
(6')
(scored for brass ensemble-4331/timp/3perc)
Donald Crocket
(born 1951)
Scree (1997) (15')
I. Adagio, appassionalto, flessibile
II. Vivo
III. Molto moderato, cantando
IV. Disperato
Cello, percussion, piano
Augusta Read Thomas
(born 1964)
Passion Prayers* (1999) (12')
vc solo/fl/cl/1per/hp/pno/vn
==============
Elliot Carter
(born 1908)
Oboe Quartet (2001) (17')
oboe/violin/viola/cello
Steve Reich
(born 1936)
Triple Quartet (1999) (15')
I.
II.
III.
3 string quartets
(total time: ca. 39'+32'=71')
PROGRAM V
July 23, 2002
Prelude – 6pm
Steven Mackey
(born 1956)
Great Crossing, Great Divide (1996)
2 violins, viola, cello
Bright Sheng
(born 1955)
Three Songs for Violoncello and Pipa (1999)
I. Seasons
II. Little Cabbage
III. Native Dance
cello, pipa
Joel Haffman
(born 1953)
Fantasia Fiorentina (1988)
violin, piano
Concert – 8:30 pm
Julia Wolfe
(born 1958)
Believing (1997)
clarinet, cello, bass, percussion, electric guitar,
piano
Bright Sheng
Four Movements for Piano Trio (1990)
I.
II.
III.
IV. (Nostalgia)
violin, cello, piano
Bright Sheng
Two Poems from the Sung Dynasty (1986)
I.
Chai Tou Feng
II.
Sheng Sheng Man
soprano, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, 2
violins, viola, cello, bass, percussion, harp, piano
==================
Geroge Perle
(born 1915)
Critical Moments (1996)
(in 6 movements)
flute/piccolo, clarinets, violin, cello, 2 percussions,
piano
John Harbison
(born 1938)
Fourteen Fabled Folksongs (1992)
War-time
At our insistence
Right behind you
Be there later
At the restaurant
One sings the other listens
Three times two
Deep and mysterious
They haven’t met
From the old world
Nice but too short
Read it either way
Backroads
Almost a prayer
Lukas Foss
For Aaron (2002)
(1922)
(world premiere, Tanglewood Music Center commission)
flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet,
trombone, violin, viola, cello, bass, percussion
PROGRAM VI
July 24, 2002
Prelude – 6 pm
David Lang
(born 1957)
Cheating, Lying, Stealing (1993)
bass clarinet, cello, 3 percussions, piano
David Del Tredici
(born 1937)
From Three Baritone Songs (1999)
I. Quietness
II. Drinking Song
Baritone, piano
Arlene Sierra
(born 1970)
Neruda Settings (2002)
I. Oda al plato
II. Oda al la alcachofa
III.Oda a la lagartija
Soprano, flute, clarinet, horn, violin, viola, cello,
bass, percussion, harp, piano
Concert – 8:30 pm
Tanglewood Center Orchestra
Stephen Hartke
(born 1952)
The Ascent of the Equestrian in a Balloon (1995)
orchestra
Christopher Rouse
(born 1949)
Envoi (1995)
orchestra
Stephen Albert
(1941-1992)
Flower of the Mountain (1986)
soprano and orchestra
==============
Aaron Jay Kernis
(born 1960)
Musica Celestis (1992)
orchestra
Bright Sheng
Nanking! Nanking!—a Threnody for Orchestra and
Pipa (2002)
Pipa, orchestra
PROGRAM VII
8:30 pm, July 25, 2002
Lukas Foss
(born 1922)
Griffelkin
Act I
Act II
Act III
Hell’s Nursery
A Public Square
In a Garden or Street
(Sample festival programs II)
“Music from the Pacific”
Seattle Symphony, May, 2001
Artistic Directors: Bright Sheng and Gerald Schwarz
------------------------------------------------------------------------------PROGRAM I
Large Orchestra I -- May 10, 2001
Chen Yi
Ge Xu
(PNW premiere)
(8’)
(China)(woman)
Toru Takemitsu
(Japan)
From Me Flows What You Call Time
(PNW premiere?)
Nexus Ensemble
(30’)
====================
Gerald Levinson
(USA)
Five Fires
Dorothy Chang
(Taiwan/USA)(woman)
Su-Nan Dances (West Coast premiere)
(10’)
Percy Grainger
(Australia)
Warriors
(20’)
Time: 77’
(World Premiere)
(9’)
Large Orchestra II -- May 17th, 2001
Graime Koehne
(Australia)
Powerhouse
(US premiere?)
“Rhumba for Orchestra”
(11’)
Lou Harrison
(USA)
Suite for Violin and Strings (PNW premiere?)
violin soloist
(20’)
=====================
Bright Sheng
(China)
Nanking! Nanking! (West Coast premiere)
Wu Man, pipa
(17’)
Akira Nishimura
(Japan)
Canticle of Light (US Premiere)
(22’)
Time: 77’
Chamber orchestra/chamber music I – May 12, 2001
(4 orchestral rehearsals)
P.Q. Phan
Flash (WC premiere)
(Vietnam)
(11’)
2222/2210/2perc/hp/pno/strings
Erik Santos
(Philippine/USA)
…con Cruces de Fuego* (WC premiere)
vn-cl-sax-bn-perc-pno
(11’)
Han Yong
(China)
Drifting Center-Samsara II (WC premiere)
2222/2000/3perc/strings
(18’)
=======
Carl Vine
(Australia)
Defying Gravity* (US premiere?)
percussion quartet
(12’)
Jacqueline Jeeyoung Kim
Longing under the Moon*
(6’)
(Korea)(woman)
Bright Sheng
(China)
(WA premiere)
violin, harp
Flute Moon
(WC premiere)
solo fl/picc-pno-hp-timp-4perc-strings
Time: 75’
*chamber music, no conductor is required
(17’)
Chamber orchestra/chamber music II -– May 19, 2001
(2 orchestral rehearsals)
Colin McPhee
(Canada)
Nocturne for Chamber Orchestra
1111/2perc/pno-cel/strings
(8’)
Karen Tanaka
(Japan)(woman)
Frozen Horizon* (WC premiere?)
fl-perc-2vns-va-vc-cb
(10’)
Shi-Hui Chen
(Taiwan)(woman)
Fu II* (WC premiere)
pipa-vn-vc-fl-bcl-per
(10’)
Unsuk Chin
(Korea)(woman)
Acrostic Wordplay (WC premiere)
(15’)
sop-vn-va-cb-fl-ob-cl-mand-hp-2perc
======
Tomiko Kojiba
(Japan)(woman)
Requiem “Hiroshima” (WC premiere?)
string orchestra
(9’)
Elena Kats-Chernin
Promotion* (US premiere?)
(Russia/Australia)(Woman)
cl-perc-gtar-pno-vc-cb
(11’)
Tan Dun
(China)
(18’)
Concerto for Pipa and String Orchestra
(WC premiere)
Wu Man, Pipa
Time: 81’
*chamber music, no conductor is required
American
Australian
Canadian
Chinese
Japanese
3
4
1
4
3
Korean
Philippino
Taiwanese
Vietnamese
woman composers
2
1
2
1
8