Trace-1

Trace

(2013)   |   14 minutes

Commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony

SCORING 3(picc) . 3(corA) . 3(Eb.Cl) . 3(cbn) / 4331 / timp / 3 perc: glockenspiel, crotale, vibraphone, chimes, triangle, cymbals, gong, tamtam, bass drum / hp / pno(cel.) / str

PREMIERE 
22-24 March 2013, Music Hall, Cincinnati, OH.
The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Mei-Ann Chen, conductor

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Programme Note

Trace tells a musical story of a vanishing past as a result of industrialization. It features prominent solo passages from the concertmaster – a musical narrator of the piece. The work opens with a brisk and light introduction, unveiling many of its foundational elements. It then delves into a palette of orchestral colors and timbre, spanning from purity to darkness, and from epic to intimate moments. After reaching a climactic point, the work closes with an airy coda, which grows more and more distant measure by measure, until it vanishes with a sigh.
©Zhou Tian

周 天(1981-)

《纹》(2013)

时长:14分钟

《纹》用音乐描绘了一个在工业发展中日渐消逝的老城和它的记忆。作品中多次出现的小提琴独奏仿佛是历史的叙述者——她穿梭于庞大的乐队编制中,将一段段故事缓缓道来。乐曲在清新、活泼的气氛中开始,通过管弦乐多变的色彩和织体而逐渐地转折、发展,最后消逝在飘逸的尾声中…

《纹》由辛辛那提交响乐团委约,于2013年由陈美安指挥该团在辛辛那提音乐厅首演。
—周天

 

“这是本季音乐厅最富创意且最令人愉悦的音乐会之一。周天的《纹》由辛辛那提交响乐团委约创作,以一曲华美而新印象主义的音符开启音乐会。这部作品唤起了因工业化而消逝的老城记忆。乐队首席提姆西·利斯担任了作品中诸多的小提琴独奏,在两个如咏史般的乐章中赋予作品灵魂……在末尾处插入的一曲欢快、民族风的旋律为作品涂上了怀旧的色彩。年仅30岁的周天亲临现场,受到观众热烈的掌声。”
—玛丽·艾琳·赫顿,《辛辛那提问询报》乐评

“当晚的开场曲比你能想到的任何序曲都更引人入胜且更为实质。任教于密歇根州立大学的作曲家周天创作的《纹》是一幅浓密、多层次的记忆和意象的画卷,旨在唤起在工业化浪潮下被推倒的古老地方和生活方式……一系列万花筒般的,令人舞动的音乐模块犹如生命的马赛克。管弦乐队以宁静的优雅应对了一系列复杂的曲折、转折和情绪变化,给予周天充满活力的风格一种琥珀般的光辉。结尾片段中出现了精致的打击乐和木管乐器的蝴蝶云,独特而令人难忘,仿佛涌动着更大的力量。”
— 兰辛《脉冲》报乐评

Reviews

“It made for one of the most creative – and most enjoyable – concerts heard at Music Hall this season. Zhou’s [Trace], a CSO commission, opened the concert on a lush, neo-impressionistic note. The work recalls a vanished China, one replaced by industrialization. Concertmaster Timothy Lees was the soloist, giving the work its heart in two aria-like episodes…A playful, folk-like tune inserted toward the end sealed it with nostalgia. Zhou, 30, was present to receive the crowd’s warm applause.”
—The Cincinnati Enquirer

“The night’s opener was more absorbing and substantial than any overture you could name. ‘Trace,’ by MSU faculty composer Zhou Tian, was a dense, multilayered tapestry of memories and images meant to evoke ancient places and ways of life bulldozed under China’s relentless industrialization…A kaleidoscopic series of carnival outbursts and dance patterns suggested a limitless mosaic of life. The orchestra negotiated a complicated series of twists, turns and shifts in mood with a quiet grace that gave Zhou’s vibrant style an amber glow. Fleeting episodes featured an intricate battery of percussion and a butterfly cloud of woodwinds that flickered distinctly and memorably, despite the bigger forces surging around them.”
—Lansing CityPulse

Other Media

"Trace" premiered by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mei-Ann Chen. Photo: The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Zhou Tian talks about the inspiration of his "Trace," with conductor Mei-Ann Chen, composer Jennifer Higdon, and CSO associate conductor Robert Trevino. Photo: The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

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