Pi-Huang

"Pi-Huang" was composed between 1994 and 1995 and finalized in 2007, when it was also awarded the First Prize in the "Palatino Music Composition Competition”. The composer extracted three notes C, bB, and G from the traditional Peking Opera "Xi Pi" and "Er Huang" as the core tones, and permeated them through the melody and harmony. The entire piece is composed with the use of Peking Opera rhythm and structure variations and the elements of the sound effects of different instruments in the Peking Opera orchestra. The composition is clear and concise, with a strong Peking Opera flavor in the acoustics and, at the same time, it focuses on the writing, space, and fantasy. The coda expresses the heroic sentiment described in the poem “Ode to the Plum Blossom” where the poet wrote, “Her petals may be ground in the mud, but her fragrance will endure.”