Xiaogang Ye was a graduate of the legendary group that came out of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing after China opened to the West in the late '70s. Said to be among China's most highly regarded symphonic composers, trained partly in the U.S., he is less well known than others in the Central Conservatory group (like
Tan Dun). However, this pair of works is enjoyable for anyone and perhaps gives a better introduction to his style than the political pieces and film scores that have appeared on other albums devoted to his work that are available in the West. Like his contemporaries, he fuses traditional Chinese music with a Western orchestral idiom, but his solutions to this challenge are unique and interesting. Consider the opening
The Faint Gingko, Op. 92 (
Ye's works are often designated with opus numbers in the traditional Western fashion), with its subtle orchestral colors. This 2023 version is actually the work's third, revised from premieres in Istanbul and Melbourne. The other work on the album, the evocatively titled
Song of Farewell Without Words, Op. 61B, also exists in multiple versions; it is derived from an opera about an old-time theatrical group with the texts removed. The titles of the four movements are those of the opera's four acts. It would be worthwhile to hear the whole opera on recordings, for
Ye's structures seem compact and ingenious, with a percussion blast at the beginning, executed by players from the Beijing Opera, seeming to scatter traditional sounds of a pipa (Chinese lute) and Dizi (bamboo flute) among the more Western-textured melodies. Both of these solo parts are clearly executed by top-notch players, and the
Hangzhou Philharmonic, under its longtime conductor,
Yang Yang, shows clear results from his efforts to upgrade the orchestra's skills through exchanges with the West. Special recognition should go here to producer
Jakob Händel, who captured a great variety of sounds and dynamics well in what was likely an unfamiliar hall. A strong entry in the growing
Naxos catalog of recordings made in China. ~ James Manheim
