Composer: Tan Dun
Performer: Ralph van Raat
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Naxos
Catalogue: 8570621
Release: 2022
Size: 1.06 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
8 Memories in Watercolor
01. No. 1, Missing Moon
02. No. 2, Staccato Beans
03. No. 3, Herdboy’s Song
04. No. 4, Blue Nun
05. No. 5, Red Wilderness
06. No. 6, Ancient Burial
07. No. 7, Floating Clouds
08. No. 8, Sunrain
09. C-A-G-E-
Film Music Sonata
10. I. The Mask
11. II. After Tonight
12. III. Sword Dance
13. IV. Only for Love
14. Traces
15. The Fire
16. Blue Orchid
Tan Dun’s originality has been reflected in worldwide recognition of his music, which draws on both Chinese and Western musical languages. The Eight Memories in Watercolor are deft painterly reflections, while in Traces he balances sound with silence in this evocation of nature. The vibrant drama of Blue Orchid incorporates the opening motif of Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations.
In Film Music Sonata, which here receives its first recording on general release, Tan Dun draws on his score for the film The Banquet. The kaleidoscopic C-A-G-E-, strikingly Chinese in sound, is a tribute to his teacher and spiritual compass, John Cage. The Fire, written for Ralph van Raat, contains some of Tan Dun’s most virtuosic and dramatic piano writing.