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Zhou Long (1953-    )

Zhou Long, composerZhou Long is internationally recognized for creating a unique body of music that brings together the aesthetic and musical elements of East and West. Deeply grounded in the entire spectrum of his Chinese heritage, he is a pioneer in transferring the idiomatic sounds and techniques of ancient Chinese musical traditions to modern Western instruments and ensembles. His creative vision has resulted in a music that stretches Western instruments eastward and Chinese instruments westward, achieving an exciting and fertile common ground. Zhou Long was born into an artistic family and began piano lessons at an early age. During the Cultural Revolution, he was sent to a rural state farm, where natural scenes of roaring winds and fierce wild fires made a profound and lasting impression. He resumed his musical training in 1973, studying composition, music theory, and conducting, as well as Chinese traditional music. In 1977, he enrolled in the first composition class at the reopened Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Following graduation in 1983, he was appointed composer-in-residence with the National Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra of China. He came to the United States in 1985 under a fellowship to attend Columbia University and received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 1993, having studied with Chou Wen-Chung, Mario Davidovsky, and George Edwards. After more than a decade as music director of Music from China in New York City, he received ASCAP’s prestigious Adventurous Programming Award in 1999. He is the recipient of the 2003 Academy Award in Music, a lifetime achievement award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In May 2002, he was Music Alive! Composer-in-Residence of the Seattle Symphony's Silk Road Project Festival with Yo-Yo Ma, supported by the American Symphony Orchestra League and Meet the Composer. He has received fellowships from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundations, in addition to recording grants from the Mary Flagler Cary Trust and the Aaron Copland Fund for Music. His awards include Masterprize (BBC, EMI, London Symphony) and the CalArts/Alpert Award in the Arts, as well as winning the Barlow International Competition, with a performance by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has been the recipient of commissions from the Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress, the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University, Meet the Composer, Chamber Music America, and the New York State Council on the Arts. Among the ensembles commissioning works from him are the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Singapore Symphony, the Tokyo Philharmonic, the New Music Consort, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the Kronos, Shanghai, Ciompi, and Chester string quartets, and the vocal ensemble Chanticleer.
-  University of Missouri-Kansas City

COMPOSITIONS                                           Zhou Long Links     ~ ~ ~     Works by Genre    ~ ~ ~    Zhou Long on Zhou Long
Ballade of the Sea, song-cycle, soprano and piano (1979) [text: Tuo Huang]
Fisherman's Song, symphonic poem, orchestra (1981)
Words of the Sun, tenor and chorus (1982; rev. 1997) [text: Ai Qing; translated by the composer]
Song of the Ch'in, string quartet (1982) [also incorporated into both versions of "Poems from Tang"]
Dong Shi (ballet), orchestra (1983)
Guang Ling San Symphony, orchestra (1983)
Valley Stream, di zi (Chinese bamboo flute), guanzi (Chinese oboe), zheng and percussion (1983)
Taiping Drum, violin and piano (1983)
Wu Kui, piano (1983)
Su, flute and huqin (bowed Chinese instrument) (1984) [also version for flute and harp or pipa, 1990]
Green, di zi and pipa (1984) [also version for flute/shakuhachi [bamboo flute] and pipa, 2001]
Triptych of Bell-Drum Music, percussion (1984)
Green (vocalise), soprano and pipa (1984) [also version for soprano and guitar, 1991]
The Moon Rising High, pipa and ensemble (di zi, yangqin, zheng, erhu, daruan and percussion (1986)
Heng – Eternity, di zi, pipa, yangqin, zheng, erhu and percussion (1987)
Soul, string quartet (1987)
Wu Ji, piano and tape (1987) [also versions for piano, zheng & percussion; harp, piano & percussion; piano & percussion]
Ding (Samadhi), clarinet, zheng and double bass (1988) [also version for clarinet, double bass and percussion, 1990]
Li Sao Cantata, soprano and ensemble (14 players) (1988) [text: Qu Yuan]
Sheng Sheng Man, incidental music for a dance show, soprano and Chinese ensemble (1989) [text: Li Qing-zhao]
Variations on 'A Poetess' Lament', Chinese ensemble and tape (1989)
A Poetess' Lament, soprano, pipa, erhu and zheng (1989; rev. 2000)
Dhyana, flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (1990)
Shi Jing Cantata, soprano, fl, ob, cl, bsn, pf, str qt & db (1990) [text: from Book of Songs] [also ver. of 2 parts: Two Poems, chorus]
Da Qu, percussion, orchestra (1991) [also version for percussion and Chinese orchestra, 1991]
King Chu Doffs His Armour, pipa and orchestra (1991)
Wu Ji, zheng, piano and percussion (1991) [vers. of pf work; also vers. for harp, piano, perc, 1991; or piano, percussion, 2000]
You Lan, erhu and piano (1991)
Pipa Ballad, soprano, pipa and cello (1991) [text: Bai Ju-yi]
Tian Ling, pipa, small orchestra (14 players) (1992)
Soul, pipa and string quartet (1992)
Secluded Orchid, violin, cello and piano (1992) [also version for pipa, erhu, cello and percussion, 2000]
Wild Grass, cello (or viola) (1993)
Flying to Heaven/Butterfly, dance music, tape (1994)
Hidden Voices, dance music, 4 players and tape (1994)
Beijing Drum, pipa and orchestra (1994) [original title: "Peking Drum"]
Five Maskers, brass quintet (horn, 2 trumpets, trombone and tuba) (1994)
The Ineffable, flute/piccolo, pipa, zheng, violin, cello and percussion (1994) [also version for flute, zheng & percussion, 1994]
Poems from Tang, string quartet and orch (1995) [ver. of str qt wk; 3rd & 4th mvts may be performed as "Two Poems from Tang"]
The Ineffable II, 2 di zi, cello and 2 percussionists (1995)
Poems from Tang, string quartet (1995) [also version for string quartet and orchestra]
Konghou Fantasia, soprano, pipa, zheng, erhu and string orchestra (1995) [text: Li He]
Metal, Stone, Silk, Bamboo, di zi, flute/piccolo, clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, cello and percussion (1996)
Sizhu, Silk and Bamboo, di zi, xun (Chinese clay flute), viola and cello (1996)
Ancestors in the Americas: Coolies, Sailors, Settlers, film score (1996)
Two Poems, chorus (1997) [version of 2 sections of "Shi Jing Cantata"]
Tales from the Cave, huqin and 4 percussionists (1998)
Chinese Folk Songs, string quartet (1998) [also version for string orchestra, 2004]
Spirit of Chimes, violin, cello and piano (1999)
Concerto, saxophone and orchestra (1999-2000)
Out of Tang Court, pipa, zheng (Chinese zither), erhu and orchestra (1999-2000)
Rites of Chimes, cello and Chinese ensemble (2000)
Partita, violin and piano (2000)
The Future of Fire, children's/mixed chorus and orchestra (2001)
Jin-Shi-Si-Zhu, ensemble of Chinese instruments (pub. 2001) [also arr. for soprano sax and ensemble]
Emperor's New Suit, baritone and piano (2001) [text: Yan Li]
The Rhyme of Taigu, orchestra (2003) [see also chamber work "Taigu Rhyme"]
Two Poems from the Book of Songs, chorus (pub. 2003) [text: from The Book of Songs, China's earliest anthology of poetry]
Harmony, string quartet (2003)
Taigu Rhyme, clarinet, violin, cello and 3 percussionists (2003)
The Five Elements, fl/piccolo/claves, A-clarinet/claves, vln, vc, pf & perc (2003) [also vers. for di zi, cl, pipa, erhu, vc, perc, 2003]
The Immortal, orchestra (2004)
Four Seasons, female chorus (pub. 2004) [text: ancient Chinese poems]
Mount a Long Wind, di zi, pipa, zheng, erhu and percussion (2004)
Su (Tracing Back), flute and harp (pub. 2004)
The Enlightened, orchestra (pub. 2005)
Concerto for Taiko and Timpani (pub. 2005)
Bell Drum Towers, chamber orchestra (pub. 2006)
Pianogongs, piano, also playing 2 Chinese opera gongs (pub. 2007)
The Farewell, chamber orchestra, w/pipa and erhu (pub. 2009)
Temple Fair, alto saxophone and cello (pub. 2009)
Madame White Snake, opera in 4 acts (2010) [libretto: based on an ancient Chinese myth]
The Deep Deep Sea, alto flute/piccolo and chamber orchestra (pub. 2010)
Mongolian Folk-tune Variations, piano (pub. 2010)
Green Song, soprano and pipa (or marimba) (pub. 2010)
Gazers, string quartet (pub. 2011)


WORKS BY GENRE                                                 Zhou Long Links    ~ ~ ~    Zhou Long on Zhou Long     ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
Dong Shi (ballet), orchestra (1983)
Sheng Sheng Man, incidental music for a dance show, soprano and Chinese ensemble (1989) [text: Li Qing-zhao]
Flying to Heaven/Butterfly, dance music, tape (1994)
Hidden Voices, dance music, 4 players and tape (1994)
Madame White Snake, opera in 4 acts (2010) [libretto: based on an ancient Chinese myth]

Orchestra
Fisherman's Song, symphonic poem, orchestra (1981)
Guang Ling San Symphony, orchestra (1983)
Da Qu, percussion, orchestra (1991) [also version for percussion and Chinese orchestra, 1991]
Tian Ling, pipa, small orchestra (14 players) (1992)
The Rhyme of Taigu, orchestra (2003) [see also chamber work "Taigu Rhyme"]
The Immortal, orchestra (2004)
The Enlightened, orchestra (pub. 2005)
Bell Drum Towers, chamber orchestra (pub. 2006)
The Farewell, chamber orchestra, w/pipa and erhu (pub. 2009)

Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
King Chu Doffs His Armour, pipa and orchestra (1991)
Beijing Drum, pipa and orchestra (1994) [original title: "Peking Drum"]
Poems from Tang, string quartet and orch (1995) (ver. of str qt wk; 3rd & 4th mvts may be performed as "Two Poems from Tang")
Concerto, saxophone and orchestra (1999-2000)
Out of Tang Court, pipa, zheng (Chinese zither), erhu and orchestra (1999-2000)
Concerto for Taiko and Timpani (pub. 2005)
The Deep Deep Sea, alto flute/piccolo and chamber orchestra (pub. 2010)

Chorus w/Orchestra
The Future of Fire, children's/mixed chorus and orchestra (2001)

Choral
Words of the Sun, tenor and chorus (1982; rev. 1997) [text: Ai Qing; translated by the composer]
Two Poems, chorus (1997) [version of 2 sections of "Shi Jing Cantata"]
Two Poems from the Book of Songs, chorus (pub. 2003) [text: from The Book of Songs, China's earliest anthology of poetry]
    - Peach Tree
    - Gathering Plantain
Four Seasons, female chorus (pub. 2004) [text: ancient Chinese poems]

Chamber
Song of the Ch'in, string quartet (1982) [also incorporated into both versions of "Poems from Tang"]
Valley Stream, di zi (Chinese bamboo flute), guanzi (Chinese oboe), zheng and percussion (1983)
Su, flute and huqin (bowed Chinese instrument) (1984) [also version for flute and harp or pipa, 1990]
Green, di zi and pipa (1984) [also version for flute/shakuhachi [bamboo flute] and pipa, 2001]
Triptych of Bell-Drum Music, percussion (1984)
The Moon Rising High, pipa and ensemble (di zi, yangqin, zheng, erhu, daruan and percussion (1986)
Heng – Eternity, di zi, pipa, yangqin, zheng, erhu and percussion (1987)
Soul, string quartet (1987)
Ding (Samadhi), clarinet, zheng and double bass (1988) [also version for clarinet, double bass and percussion, 1990]
Variations on 'A Poetess' Lament', Chinese ensemble and tape (1989)
Dhyana, flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (1990)
Wu Ji, zheng, piano and percussion (1991) [vers. of pf work; also vers. for harp, piano, perc, 1991; or piano, percussion, 2000]
Soul, pipa and string quartet (1992)
Secluded Orchid, violin, cello and piano (1992) [also version for pipa, erhu, cello and percussion, 2000]
Five Maskers, brass quintet (horn, 2 trumpets, trombone and tuba) (1994)
The Ineffable, flute/piccolo, pipa, zheng, violin, cello and percussion (1994) [also version for flute, zheng & percussion, 1994]
The Ineffable II, 2 di zi, cello and 2 percussionists (1995)
Poems from Tang, string quartet (1995) [also version for string quartet and orchestra]
Metal, Stone, Silk, Bamboo, di zi, flute/piccolo, clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, cello and percussion (1996)
Sizhu, Silk and Bamboo, di zi, xun (Chinese clay flute), viola and cello (1996)
Tales from the Cave, huqin and 4 percussionists (1998)
Chinese Folk Songs, string quartet (1998) [also version for string orchestra, 2004]
Spirit of Chimes, violin, cello and piano (1999)
Rites of Chimes, cello and Chinese ensemble (2000)
Jin-Shi-Si-Zhu, ensemble of Chinese instruments (pub. 2001) [also arr. for soprano sax and ensemble]
Harmony, string quartet (2003)
Taigu Rhyme, clarinet, violin, cello and 3 percussionists (2003)
The Five Elements, fl/piccolo/claves, A-clarinet/claves, vln, vc, pf & perc (2003) [also vers. for di zi, cl, pipa, erhu, vc, perc, 2003]
Mount a Long Wind, di zi, pipa, zheng, erhu and percussion (2004)
Su (Tracing Back), flute and harp (pub. 2004)
Temple Fair, alto saxophone and cello (pub. 2009)
Gazers, string quartet (pub. 2011)

Instrument and Piano
Taiping Drum, violin and piano (1983)
You Lan, erhu and piano (1991)
Partita, violin and piano (2000)

Solo Instrument
Wild Grass, cello (or viola) (1993)

Piano
Wu Kui, piano (1983)
Wu Ji, piano and tape (1987) [also versions for piano, zheng & percussion; harp, piano & percussion; piano & percussion]
Pianogongs, piano, also playing 2 Chinese opera gongs (pub. 2007)
Mongolian Folk-tune Variations, piano (pub. 2010)

Vocal
Ballade of the Sea, song-cycle, soprano and piano (1979) [text: Tuo Huang]
Green (vocalise), soprano and pipa (1984) [also version for soprano and guitar, 1991]
Li Sao Cantata, soprano and ensemble (14 players) (1988) [text: Qu Yuan]
A Poetess' Lament, soprano, pipa, erhu and zheng (1989; rev. 2000)
Shi Jing Cantata, soprano, fl, ob, cl, bsn, pf, str qt & db (1990) [text: from Book of Songs] [also ver. of 2 parts: Two Poems, chorus]
Pipa Ballad, soprano, pipa and cello (1991) [text: Bai Ju-yi]
Konghou Fantasia, soprano, pipa, zheng, erhu and string orchestra (1995) [text: Li He]
Emperor's New Suit, baritone and piano (2001) [text: Yan Li]
Green Song, soprano and pipa (or marimba) (pub. 2010)

Incidental/Film
Ancestors in the Americas: Coolies, Sailors, Settlers, film score (1996)

Electronic
Wu Ji, piano and tape (1987) [also versions for piano, zheng & percussion; harp, piano & percussion; piano & percussion]
Variations on 'A Poetess' Lament', Chinese ensemble and tape (1989)
Flying to Heaven/Butterfly, dance music, tape (1994)
Hidden Voices, dance music, 4 players and tape (1994)


ZHOU LONG  LINKS                                          Works by Genre    ~ ~ ~    Zhou Long on Zhou Long     ~ top of page ~
About Dr. Zhou Long (The Delos Insider/InstantEncore)
Classic Tale Retold (Mu Qian, China Daily)
Composer Interview - Zhou Long (Cornelius Dufallo, Urban Modes)
The Impact of Buddhist Thought on the Music of Zhou Long (Edward Green)
UMKC Professor Zhou Long Wins 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Music (Kansas City Star)
Work Commissioned by Opera Boston Wins Pulitzer (David Stewart, The Boston Globe)
Zhou Long Wins 2011 Pulitzer Prize (Frank J. Oteri, NewMusicBox)
Zhou Long Wins Music Pulitzer For Fairy Tale Opera (Tom Huizenga, NPRmusic)

Composer website (@ Oxford University Press)    . . .   contact Zhou Long:  Zhoulong(at)aol(dot)com
Composer website (@ The Living Composer Project)

Zhou Long @ Wikipedia
Zhou Long @ American Music Center
Zhou Long @ Art of the States    also     here
Zhou Long @ ASCAP
Zhou Long @ CalArts Alpert Award in the Arts
Zhou Long @ Carnegie Hall
Zhou Long @ Classical Archives
Zhou Long @ Classical Net
Zhou Long @ ClassicsToday
Zhou Long @ composition:today
Zhou Long @ Facebook
Zhou Long @ IMDb (Internet Movie Database)
Zhou Long @ InstantEncore
Zhou Long @ The Living Composer Project
Zhou Long @ Madame White Snake
Zhou Long @ Modern Classical
Zhou Long @ Music From China
Zhou Long @ MusicWeb International
Zhou Long @ MySpaceMusic
Zhou Long @ Naxos
Zhou Long @ New World Records/DRAM Online
Zhou Long @ The New York Times
Zhou Long @ The Pulitzer Prizes
Zhou Long @ University of Missouri-Kansas City

Publisher
Zhou Long @ Oxford University Press
Zhou Long @ Edition Peters

Streaming Audio
Zhou Long @ Art of the States
Zhou Long @ Classical Archives
Zhou Long @ last.fm
Zhou Long @ MySpaceMusic
Zhou Long @ Rhapsody.com
Zhou Long @ WGBH Boston

Recordings
Zhou Long @ ArkivMusic
Zhou Long @ ClassicsOnline

Video
Zhou Long @ YouTube
Zhou Long @ Google Video
Zhou Long @ Vimeo

                                                                                                                                                                                           ~ top of page ~
Zhou Long on Zhou Long: He Said, She Said: Zhou Long and Chen Yi (VIDEO)
Zhou Long, composerComposers Speak on the Web at Pytheas
                            ~ click on composer picture to listen ~







 Zhou Long on Zhou Long: On Madame White Snake/WGBH (streaming audio)
Zhou Long, composerComposers Speak on the Web at Pytheas
                            ~ click on composer picture to listen ~





. . . and check out more    Composers Speak on the Web    at Pytheas

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