GE GAN-RU (b.1954): Fairy Lady Ming Jiang for Flute and Orchestra, Lovers Besieged - Suite.

Description: The aspects of Chinese music that are most notably embraced by Ge in his writing for western instrumental forces are a reduced emphasis on precise pitch, and a complex, improvisatory sense of rhythm. This fits very closely into western avant-gardism of the past few decades, and on encountering passages in these works written in this fashion - all rustling strings and exotic, unpitched percussion - one might be forgiven for thinking that Ge can be classified conveniently as a Darmstadt-type avant-gardiste with oriental antecedents. So it comes as a bit of a shock when he seamlessly integrates material of post-impressionist lushness and Romantic warmth as you'll hear in both of these works, both of which are basically musical narratives of (or reactions to) Chinese legends of the late 3rd century B.C. Particularly striking are the special flute techniques used in Fairy Lady (2008); a special credit is provided in the notes to the person who demonstrated them to the soloist. Sharon Bezaly (flute), Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León; Enrique Diemecke.