Integrating Different Cultures: A Study of Zhou Long's Confluence for Solo Flute and Su (Tracing Back) for Flute and Harp

Abstract

This project aims to introduce the Chinese-American composer Zhou Long (1953-), and provide an analysis of his Su (Tracing Back) for Flute and Harp and flute solo Confluence.

Zhou Long is one of the most influential living Asian composers of his generation. Ever since he began his musical studies at Columbia University in 1983, Zhou has dedicated himself to building a connection between traditional Chinese Music and Western Classical Music. After winning Pulitzer in 2011, Zhou gained international recognition, for his synthesis of Chinese art forms and western musical language, as one of the most distinctive Chinese composers. Indeed, Zhou's idiosyncratic approach to composition is evidently reflected in his Confluence for Solo Flute (2015) and his Su (Tracing Back) for Flute and Harp, both of which are widely regarded as hallmarks of Zhou's exquisite fusion of Chinese ideologies and western compositional techniques. Thus, to better learn about Zhou as a sophisticated composer and to better understand his enigmatic compositions, this project will investigate the traditional Chinese elements in Zhou's pieces and the Buddhist philosophy that has influenced Zhou's compositions. Analysis of the compositional techniques within western traditions will also be included. As a result, this document will be a valuable resource for western audiences and performers to understand and perform these works.


Flute DMA Recital I, Flute DMA Recital II, Flute DMA Recital III, Flute DMA Recital IV. Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Katherine Hover, Alfredo Casella, Robert Muczynski, Paul Schoenfield, Niccol  Paganini, Sigfrid Karg-Elert, Andre  Jolivet, Philippe Gaubert, Claude Debussy, Madeleine Dring, Zhou Long

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Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Katherine Hover, Alfredo Casella, Robert Muczynski, Paul Schoenfield, Niccol  Paganini, Sigfrid Karg-Elert, Andre  Jolivet, Philippe Gaubert, Claude Debussy, Madeleine Dring, Zhou Long

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