When the Chinese government displaces millions of people and submerges one of its great natural wonders to build a giant dam, what's a composer to do?
Glorify it through a symphony.
Liu Yuan's [刘湲] Echo from the Three Gorges depicts the massive construction project now going on up the Yangtze River from Chongqing. It is the latest result of his collaboration with the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra (read in English or Chinese). Don't get me wrong; I think the orchestra's heavy emphasis on contemporary Chinese composers is a good thing (as it should be). Very few composers in China have achieved international fame of any level (Tan Dun being the most famous by far). However, it's hard to make much sense of this piece.
I searched around a bit for Liu's music, and was able to drum up a piece called Shadier's Legend [沙迪尔传奇], played by the Traditional Music Orchestra at Renmin University, conducted by Yang Chunlin. Shadier is a Uighur peasant who inspired people to struggle through his song. He was killed by his enemies. Can you believe that the same composer who chronicles the life and death of a hero who struggled against an oppresive government is writing about the miracle of a terrible construction project?
(When is the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority to announce the BSO is premiering the Big Dig symphony next season?)
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