Chinese piano music?

[ramseytheii]

Hi people.  Does anybody know what is out there as far as Chinese piano music (any level)?  I have a few advanced pieces by Chen Yi which are interesting, but I want to know what else is out there.  Any information would be greatly appreciated!

Walter Ramsey

[nicco]

Do you have the piece sunflowers by wang? yundi li made it pretty famous

[prometheus]

How can there be Chinese music for piano? The piano is a western instrument. Not only that. It is also an instrument that does not fit well with other musical traditions, like the chinese one.

Or do you mean a Chinese composing western music?

[sjskb]

They are basically arrangments of traditional chinese tunes. It's the same principle as Liszt "arranging" hungarian folk tunes for piano.

The piano is suited for the chinese pentatonic sound.

by the way, walter, any chance you can post some of your advanced chinese scores on the forum?

thanks

[ramseytheii]

How can there be Chinese music for piano? The piano is a western instrument. Not only that. It is also an instrument that does not fit well with other musical traditions, like the chinese one.

Or do you mean a Chinese composing western music?

Am I wrong to use the phrase Chinese music to mean a Chinese person writing music?
I don't think any Chinese person composes "western" music, moreover does any person in the western hemisphere compose western music?  I guess technically all of them.  Anyways, in response to the other person's post, I will try and get the scores I have scanned.  I have to check but believe I have two of them, both by Chen Yi.  I don't know how to scan into PDF, can anyone give me tips?

Thanks!
Walter Ramsey

[lanlan]

Are you interested in Chinese folksongs? I have a book which have 25 favourites with piano accompaniment. The songs also includes songs from China's Kazak, Uygur & Mongolian minorities.

[ramseytheii]

Are you interested in Chinese folksongs? I have a book which have 25 favourites with piano accompaniment. The songs also includes songs from China's Kazak, Uygur & Mongolian minorities.

Definitely!

Walter Ramsey

[prometheus]

I define music by the based on musical criteria. Not on passports of lines on maps. If there is such a thing as Chinese music then it is music that fits within the culture of music, defined on the grounds of musical technical criteria, that developed in China.

I don't think that using a Chinese melody in western music turns the music into Chinese music.

[ramseytheii]

I define music by the based on musical criteria. Not on passports of lines on maps. If there is such a thing as Chinese music then it is music that fits within the culture of music, defined on the grounds of musical technical criteria, that developed in China.

I don't think that using a Chinese melody in western music turns the music into Chinese music.

But your terms are just so frustratingly vague.  What is "western music?"  Is Rachmaninoff "western music?"  What about Russian composers that were writing music before the fashionable influx of central European culture.  And since when are all nations stuck with just "musical technical criteria" that developed in their culture?  Bartok, in his study of folk musics, found that the folk music of the world that thrived was the music that had the most influence from foreign cultures.  The folk music that was stagnant, and not developed, was the music in nations isolated from the world.  Is a composer like Chen Yi, born and raised in China, who plays the Chinese folk instruments, but writes music in idioms we traditionally think of as, to use your term, "western," no longer a Chinese composer?  Does she no longer write Chinese music?  The term "Chinese music" is obviously meaningful only as far as it tells you, a Chinese person wrote this music.  Just like noone can hear the works of Prokofiev, Scriabin, Medtner, Rachmaninoff, Gubaidulina, Schnittke, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, and then say exactly what "russian" music is, besides the fact that a Russian wrote it.

Walter Ramsey

[lanlan]

 Could I have your address? so  I can send the book to you.

[ihatepop]

If you want to hear chinese music on the piano, keep on pressing the black keys in a random way.

Chopin's 'Black Keys' reminds me of Chinese.....

ihatepop

[shun]

I don't know about chinese music but there is some pretty funky Japanese music out there.
Ever heard Yoshimatsu's "Threnody to Toki"?

[nicko124]

Of course that there is Chinese Piano Music out there (or at least chinese inspired piano music).

Here is some:-

https://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Namedrill?album_group=5&name_id=12719&name_role=1



Download link:-

https://www.megaupload.com/?d=BVVCJ9M0

The theme of this CD is chinese inspired piano music composed by Western composers.

Let me know if you want any of the sheet music. Check out 'The Great Wall' from 'Pieces of China' by Morton Gould. This piece is good fun to play.

[thaicheow]

How can there be Chinese music for piano? The piano is a western instrument. Not only that. It is also an instrument that does not fit well with other musical traditions, like the chinese one.

Or do you mean a Chinese composing western music?

The 'Chinese repertoire' has a very important role for those chinese musicians, especially those who come from last generation. During the cultural revolution, and many other disastrous political campaign conducted under Mao's rule, chinese musicians can't play a lot of standard 'western' repertoire. In order to get the practice and technical training they need, chinese musician create/compose the repertoire themselves. These repertoire has formed animportant training for pianist like Yin Chen-Zong (He is the 2nd prize winner of Tchaikovsky competition, same year when V.Ashkenazy won. He performed in Carnagei b4, with half of his programme are chinese repertoire).

Yin also transcribes, adapts, or composes some well known chinese folk songs to piano. I have recording of his, and other chinese pianists playing the chinese repertoire. I should say the effect is a mixture. Some songs sound quite nice on the piano, but some songs are just not meant to be played on piano. Chinese traditional instruments have  avery different timbre compare with western instruments. Yin also transcribed some modern chinese opera, which surprisingly wonderful.

Some well-kown chinese repertoire you can check out are: Shepherd boy and piccolo, Moonlight over spring river, Clouds chasing the moon. You may like to check out Yin's playing on the piano concerto 'The Yellow River'. I suppose Lang lang also play that concerto in some of his concert. Anyone heard them b4??