As one of the major figures among today's composers, Chen Yi's music defies definition. She writes works that are vivid and descriptive, bold in design and expression, occasionally harsh but always heartfelt and personal.
Often, the Chinese-American composer infuses her music with Eastern idioms, which makes it compelling and dynamic. Once heard, her music is not easily forgotten.
Chen will be coming to the University of Utah next week as part of the Maurice Abravanel Distinguished Visiting Composers Series. Canyonlands New Music Ensemble, under the direction of Morris Rosenzweig, will play one of her works, ". . . as like a raging fire . . ." at its concert Tuesday evening.
Chen by phone from her home in New York said that ". . . as like a raging fire . . ." was written in response to 9/11. "It has all the emotions and expressions I had when I heard the news."
She was in New York when the attacks took place and was overwhelmed by what had happened. "I read all the stories in the New York Times. I was sad and angry, and this work reflects these emotions."
The piece was premiered in Philadelphia in late 2001 by Network for New Music and since then has been played frequently. At Tuesday's concert, it will be performed by Carlton Vickers, flute; Jaren Hinckley, clarinet; Joe Evans, violin; Noriko Kishi, cello; and Kimi Kawashima, piano.
Chen said that ". . . as like a raging fire . . ." is only one of several works she wrote as a result of the events surrounding 9/11. "I also wrote a choral work, a symphony and a string quartet that reflect on my thoughts on peace and war."
While some may not consider Chen's music accessible, there is no denying that it makes an impact on the listener. Her music contains an element of unbridled power that belies the soft-spoken woman behind it. "My music is intense and has a feeling of finality to it. I have written many works which are dramatic and make great demands on the players."
But of equal significance to her music is Chen's interest in and use of idiomatic Chinese elements. "Much of my music is also folklike and relates to Chinese folk culture."
Chen was a professional violinist with a Western repertoire. "I had an Eastern style of playing on traditional instruments, but my technique was also influenced by the West." This dichotomy of styles is mirrored in works such as "Qi," which is abstract in concept but firmly rooted in Eastern idioms. "My music is direct and straight and always reflects my feelings."
Chen grew up loving Western classical music. She began playing the piano at 4 and later the violin. But when the Cultural Revolution swept over China in 1966, her musical training was abruptly halted. She had no schooling for 10 years, and for two of those years Chen was forced to live in the country, to work and be re-educated. "We had to build a military castle and grow rice and all kinds of vegetables."
But because Chen was a violinist, she was suddenly exempted from laboring in the fields and taken to the Beijing Opera Troupe, where she played in the orchestra for eight years. "The military came one day and picked me up and told me that I was needed in Beijing."
In 1978, after the Cultural Revolution, Chen was one of a group of young composers — which included Bright Sheng and Zhou Long (to whom she's now married) — who were admitted into Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music. "Of 10,000 who applied, only 32 were composers," Chen said. "I was the only one from my province who was admitted."
Chen graduated from the conservatory in 1986 as the first woman to receive a master's degree in music. That same year she came to New York on a scholarship to attend Columbia University, where she studied composition with Chou Wen-chung and Mario Davidovsky.
Dividing her time between New York City and Kansas City, Chen is now a professor of music at the University of Missouri. She's served as composer-in-residence for Chanticleer and sits on the advisory councils of the American Composers Orchestra, the International Alliance of Women in Music and the Walden School.
Other works at Tuesday's concert will include Milton Babbitt's "Philomel," Gyorgy Ligeti's Horn Trio and selections from Karlheinz Stockhausen's "Twelve Zodiac Signs." Soprano Julie Wright Costa, pianist Jed Moss, hornist Stephen Kostyniak and percussionist Glenn Webb will also perform.
If you go. . .
What: Canyonlands New Music Ensemble
Where: Dumke Recital Hall
When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
How much: Free
Also. . .
What: Lecture, Chen Yi
When/Where: Monday, 10:35-11:35 a.m. (Dumke Recital Hall); 2-4 p.m. (Room 302, Gardner Hall)
E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com