Chen Yi, the Chinese composer for our Society's Hún Qiáo Concert of Remembrance and Reconciliation, was recently named the winner of the Charles Ives Living Prize. This prestigious $225,000 prize, the largest one awarded exclusively to composers, is given every three years by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The Charles Ives Living Prize was established in 1998 with royalties from Ives's music, the copyrights for which were bequeathed to the academy by the composer's wife, Harmony. This year the Academy made its choice based on Ms. Chen's large body of work, in which Chinese and Western influences and instrumentation mingle freely and colorfully.

Chen Yi visited our Society last October, and in an interview with Karle Gehrke from WCAL described her compositional style. She frequently adapts the flavor, sound, style and performance techniques of Chinese instruments to western instruments. In turn, she transports the western idiom on to Chinese instruments, creating an unique style and voice in the process. Chen Yi began her work for Hún Qiáo a year ago, developing ideas for its structure, title, textures and images. Bearing in mind our Society’s dual goals of remembrance and reconciliation, she settled on ‘Ning’ for its title. The word Ning has a double meaning in Chinese. It is an abbreviation for Nanjing, the site of one of the darkest chapters in the Asian Conflict of World War II; but it also means peace. Throughout her work for violin, cello and pipa, Chen Yi will create different musical textures with these instruments to convey her remembrance of the past and to express her yearnings and wishes for a better future. The piece will end with a peaceful, forward-looking texture.

Ning will be one of the four commissioned works receiving their world premieres at Hún Qiáo with Yo-Yo Ma on May 30, 2001, at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul.

Excerpt from MUSIC REVIEW: Concert by Music From China Ensemble
By MICKEY COALWELL in The Kansas City Star
Date: 01/18/01


Chen Yi's "The Points," for pipa solo, is an unequivocal success. Blending virtuosity and soul, the work was inspired by the brush strokes of Chinese calligraphy (the title refers to the contact points between brush and paper). It was given a magnificent performance by Chen Yihan, who seemed to bring some of the energy of flamenco and even modern rock guitar playing to her intricate plucked figurations.

For more information on the Hún Qiáo concert, please visit the Hún Qiáo page.

 

The Chamber Music Society of Minnesota was recently honored with a major grant from Meet the Composer. The award in the amount of $20,000 is in support of new compositions for the historic Hún Qiáo concert.

In January 2000, the CMSM submitted the grant request outlining the unprecedented nature of the event, and its goals for international remembrance and reconciliation. Meet the Composer responded with the award for presentation of new works by American composer Andrew Imbrie and Korean-born composer Hi Kyung Kim.

This year's applicant pool was described as "extremely competitive", with the CMSM's project being one of only 24 that were selected. In announcing the year 2000 awards, MTC's President Heather Hitchens said: "Commissioning new music is a central aspect of Meet the Composer's mission. The 2000 award list is a compelling representation of the diversity and vitality of our American culture."

Meet the Composer was founded in 1974 as a project of the New York State Council on the Arts, with the mission of increasing opportunities for composers by fostering the creation, performance, dissemination and appreciation of their music. As evidenced by this prestigious grant, interest in and support for the Hún Qiáo concert continues to grow throughout the Twin Cities, the US, and the world.

For more information on the Hún Qiáo concert, please visit the Hún Qiáo page.