Ma Shui-long: Bamboo Flute Concerto

“Anyone who has yet to encounter the playing of the astonishing young flautist Sharon Bezaly should do so without delay. She makes a sensational sound, can play anything from Bach to contemporary…” Classic FM Magazine

Together with the Taipei Chinese Orchestra and composer-conductor Chung Yiu-Kwong, Sharon Bezaly explores the sonic possibilities of the combination of Western flute and traditional Chinese instruments such as the erhu, guzheng, yangqin and zhongruan. Transverse (side-blown) flutes (typically made of bamboo) have long been important in Chinese music for more than 2000 years.

The sparkling music on this disc includes two newly composed works by Chung Yiu-Kwong, both dedicated to Bezaly, as well as a the arrangement of Ma Shui-Long’s concerto for bamboo flute and symphony orchestra into a concerto for piccolo and Chinese orchestra.

Of the remaining three shorter works, The Thivats of Autumn is an arrangement for chamber ensemble of a traditional Chinese classical tune for pipa, depicting the sadness experienced by Wang Zhaojun, one of ‘The Four Beauties’ of ancient China, as she is forced to by the Emperor Yuan (48-33 BC) to marry a foreign ruler and leave her country.

OUR Recordings is proud to announce the third installment in their pioneering “Dialogue - East Meets West” series.

The music of many of China’s greatest living composers and musicians remains unknown outside of their homeland. As a part of their ongoing series, “Dialogue – East Meets West”, Michala Petri and Lars Hannibal, provide the opportunity for Western and Chinese musicians and composers to creatively collaborate in a truly international, musical dialogue.

Chinese Recorder Concertos features four contemporary masterworks by Chinese, Chinese-American and Taiwanese composers recorded in stunning SACD sound.