Never mind the hideous cover photo of Evelyn Glennie; this is a fine disc containing some fascinating music. The least interesting work here is Thea Musgrave’s Journey Through a Japanese Landscape for solo marimba and wind orchestra. Composed to a four-movement, four seasons theme, it’s simply unmemorable either thematically or texturally. Alan Hovhaness’ Fantasy on Japanese Wood Prints is one of his finest works–and it refutes the notion that everything he wrote sounds the same. Glennie’s solo xylophone playing is perfect, and so is the accompaniment of the Singapore Symphony under Lan Shui.
The husband and wife team of Chen Yi and Zhou Long is getting a lot of attention both in concert and on disc, and deservedly so. Chen Yi’s percussion concerto evocatively comprises three titled movements: The Night Deepens, Prelude to Water Tune, and Speedy Wind. The second movement asks the soloist to recite a beautiful Chinese poem while playing, and while Glennie seems to do a terrific job (or so a Chinese friend tells me), a male voice as originally intended would have made for a better contrast with the light and diaphanous orchestral and percussion sonorities. Still, it’s a fine work.
Best of all, though, is Zhou Long’s Out of Tang Court, for orchestra and traditional Chinese Tang ensemble (consisting of gu-zheng, er-hu, and pi-pa). The music is hard to describe–sometimes grand, sometimes mysterious, always ear-catching–and although thoroughly modern in tone and technique, it’s obviously grounded in a rich musical tradition, and accordingly has a genuinely timeless quality. Zhou Long has a bunch of CDs out or on the way, and he’s certainly a composer to watch. As with all of the music on this disc, the performance is stunning and the sonics are state-of-the-art. The Musgrave is kind of a dud, but if you’re otherwise interested, don’t let that put you off. [8/5/2004]
