252:. Stanford was hosting a reception for Ligeti's visit to campus, which Dong attended. She remembers Ligeti walking up to her and asking directly and immediately, "How many students died during the student movement in China?" Dong answered, "Isn't one enough?", and walked away from him. Ligeti must have been moved or at least interested in her reply, because later in the day he found her and said that they should have lunch together. Although Dong admits that it is difficult to pin-point the direct influence of Ligeti on her musical compositions, she says that Ligeti affected her life in a more philosophical way on a deeper level. At the time, Dong's English was poor, but she never felt that the two had trouble communicating with one another. Although 40 years her senior, Ligeti's experiences in
148:, commissioned by the Central Ballet Group of Beijing. The music and choreography was completed for the piece in 1989, and it was premiered with full production and continued for the following two-year season. The reactions to the music of this ballet were a mix, ranging from rave reviews to being criticized as "too symphonic and complicated to function as traditional ballet music", "not Chinese enough", and "violent". Dong and many of her classmates were encouraged to continue their studies abroad, and she chose
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or justify herself. After that conversation, Dong began questioning her identity as a composer and why she felt the need to make her music recognizably
Chinese. This marked the beginning of Dong's compositions that began testing the boundaries of what was Chinese and what was Western in her music. In these pieces, she creates a clash between sounds of each culture rather than limit herself to writing "Chinese" music within a Western art music context. Dong's computer piece
471:, who both wrote music inspired based on the four seasons, solo piano in the case of John Cage, and a violin concerto in the case of Vivaldi. The first movement, "Spring", is based on a symmetrical chord structure based on the third (C, E) and gradually moving outward in thirds to expand the chord (A, C, E, G, then F, A, C, E, G, B). The entire piece basically moves from an Am7 chord to a F11 chord.
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who separated heaven and earth with a great swing of his axe. He held them separate for eighteen thousand years, then was laid to rest, his breath becoming the wind, his eyes the moon and the sun, his body the mountains, his veins the rivers, his sweat the rain, and the creatures carried by the wind
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Dong does admit one conversation with Ligeti that did directly affect her identity as a composer. When Ligeti asked her what kind of composer she wanted to be known as, she replied "a
Chinese composer". He then asked her why she wanted to be a Chinese composer. Dong could not provide a clear reason
180:(1994), experiments with algorithms. There is one main timbre in the piece, which sounds something like a metallic piano. Dong says she was attracted to the visual, abstract patterns of sound that the algorithms created. Moments in her later computer music would mirror this aesthetic.
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passages which create the flavor of
Chinese music, but in a more subtle manner than previous works. In these pieces, after being in the US for ten years, Dong finally seems to be able to amalgamate the influences that she has been exposed to and bring them together in a balanced way.
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When Dong began to compose more regularly again, she deems the pieces during this time as her "Chinese music" period. Being exposed to so many new types of music, Dong held on to the musical language she knew well to keep from becoming disoriented. Most of her pieces of this time use
303:(2001), which were based on Dong's piano improvisations. In these pieces, Dong takes inspiration from the five elements that make up the material world according to traditional Chinese beliefs, but is not seeking to write a programmatic piece. For example, Dong says that the piece
388:-like and at other instances evokes more of a twentieth-century harmony. When it was suggested to Dong that the piece did not sound stylistically "Chinese", she replied by saying that she is Chinese herself and asked how anything written by herself could possibly not be Chinese.
365:, by a friend of the composer named Denise Newman. Dong felt that these two texts balanced each other within the composition, and that her work would not be complete without one or the other. Written for mixed chorus and percussion, the piece was commissioned by the
141:. Every summer, the school also gave composition students a small amount of money to collect folk songs in remote villages. Dong says that hearing and collecting these songs would form a lasting impression on her and her music.
319:, the last movement, is the longest and most energetic not because of the element fire's importance in mythology, but because compositionally its length allowed previous themes to return and bring the work to a close. The
81:, China) is a Chinese-American composer, musician, and teacher. She is known for her music which has often incorporated traditional Chinese music into contemporary contexts, and is currently Professor of Music at
380:, which she still considers part of her "Fusion" period, but is moving in a new direction. The text of the piece is a 20th-century English poem written for children, which Dong has translated into
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After being told at the age of 15 by a teacher that she would never become a successful pianist or conductor because of her physical stature, Dong applied to the composers program at the
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After four years at the
Conservatory, Dong continued with the master's degree program. During these years Dong composed (with co-author Duo Huang) music for the three-act ballet
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rather than performance. After graduating from high school, she enrolled at the
Central Conservatory. Here, the main focus of her studies was Western art music, from
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and set for children's choir. Here, Dong is attempting to create a sense of timelessness and stylistic anonymity in the piece. At certain sections the piece is
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were similar to Kui's in China during the student movements, and when sharing their experiences, they often felt that "history was repeating itself."
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over his body became human beings. The piece is not a narrative of the myth, but evokes an earthy sound with use of the alto flute and frequent
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229:(1993), written for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano, and inspired by a folk song collected in a remote village; and
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does not refer literally to soil, but rather is a spiritual representation of mankind that inhabits the earth. The movements
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299:, and they formed an ensemble called Trio. This would add another element to her compositions that we see in her work
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During her years studying at
Stanford from 1991 to 1994, Dong did not compose much. Her idea of modernity, which was
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are varied, unpredictable, and dissonantly opposed with one another, very different from her earlier computer piece
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576:"Dong: Earth, Water, Wind, Metal, Fire; Pangu's Song; Blue Melody; Crossing; 3 Voices. (Guide to Records)"
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that states a
Knowledge (XXG) editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic.
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is representative of this period. In this piece, the jarring juxtaposition between rock 'n roll
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but was deemed too difficult to perform by their conductor and was eventually premiered by
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refer to pencils and metal rods placed in the piano strings that create distinct timbres.
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Another piece that Dong considers part of this "Fusion" period is
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http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/July%202009/77/1002302/
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personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay
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351:. The texts for this work were the 11th century poem
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598:"Composers, Inc. Gets Down to Business with Rzewski"
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Compositional periods while in the US (1991–present)
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664:. San Francisco Classical Voice. Archived from
618:Clark, Philip (July 2009). Gramophone Magazine
176:. The first computer piece that Dong composed,
412:(popular for his song "You’re Beautiful"), to
280:character is in no way subtle. The timbres in
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748:NonPop composer profile with interview audio
225:. Other pieces during this period include
217:, which has a breathy timbre closer to a
62:Learn how and when to remove this message
697:. Gramophone Magazine US. Archived from
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491:Since When Has the Bright Moon Existed?
95:Since When Has the Bright Moon Existed?
836:Chinese emigrants to the United States
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427:One of Dong's latest pieces, entitled
291:In 1999 Dong began to improvise with
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262:Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia
816:21st-century classical composers
806:20th-century classical composers
400:listening spans everything from
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662:"San Francisco Classical Voice"
301:Earth, Water, Wood, Metal, Fire
766:Stanford bio and Flying Apples
376:In 2004, Dong wrote the piece
248:In 1998 Dong met the composer
188:imitation rather than western
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660:Langert, Jules (2003-06-03).
596:Kosman, Joshua (1995-11-30).
107:Central Conservatory of Music
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826:Chinese classical composers
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861:Stanford University alumni
349:Shui Diao Ge To & Song
856:Dartmouth College faculty
851:Women in electronic music
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361:and a contemporary poem,
600:. Chronicle Music Critic
276:guitar and a well-known
146:Imperial Concubine Young
771:Hands like Waves Unfold
578:. American Record Guide
481:Hands Like Waves Unfold
91:Hands Like Waves Unfold
846:Musicians from Beijing
841:Educators from Beijing
781:Stephen Brookes review
441:Del Sol String Quartet
402:classical Indian music
42:by rewriting it in an
574:Gimbel (2005-03-01).
526:"Department of Music"
475:Selected Discography
367:Dale Warland Singers
339:melodies as well as
323:shows influences of
233:(1998), written for
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392:Cultural influences
196:(1998) written for
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101:Background in China
135:Chinese folk music
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691:"Review of
495:Other Minds
485:Other Minds
449:Pacific Rim
445:Other Minds
429:The Seasons
422:The Seasons
410:James Blunt
260:during the
227:Blue Melody
115:composition
93:(2008) and
87:Other Minds
790:Categories
725:2024-08-12
720:"Kui Dong"
705:2009-05-19
672:2010-12-14
625:2010-12-14
604:2009-05-19
582:2009-05-19
554:"Kui Dong"
536:2024-08-12
512:References
337:pentatonic
198:alto flute
162:Stravinsky
634:cite news
465:John Cage
325:John Cage
274:slap bass
170:Prokofiev
457:dulcimer
282:Crossing
270:Crossing
125:through
97:(2011).
75:Kui Dong
507:, 2022)
443:on the
258:Hungary
254:Romania
131:Debussy
111:Beijing
79:Beijing
38:Please
505:Kairos
398:iTunes
359:Su Shi
241:, and
168:, and
166:Bartók
123:Mozart
119:theory
557:(PDF)
461:sheng
453:zheng
408:, to
404:, to
386:motet
371:Volti
313:Metal
305:Earth
235:zheng
206:Pangu
202:flute
139:opera
127:Ravel
647:help
467:and
363:Song
317:Fire
311:and
309:Wood
295:and
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239:erhu
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