The Music of Chou Wen-chung

By: EricC. Lai

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Synopsis: Chou Wen-chung is one of the most influential musical figures of our time. His rich cultural background, his studies with Edgard Var and his interest in the genuine rapport between Eastern and Western musical traditions have been the major influences on his career. Although he is active in various artistic and cultural circles that include scholarship, education and cultural preservation, his major calling has always been composition. As a composer, Chou has created a group of works whose stylistic innovation and technical profundity are distinctive among composers of his generation. His music, which has received critical acclaim around the globe, documents his creative journey, especially in the realization of re-merger - the fusion of Eastern and Western music that has become a new mainstream in art music. Through extensive focus on sketch study, Eric Lai examines Chou's music to contribute to an understanding of his aesthetic orientation, his compositional technique, his role in the development of new music, and his influence upon the younger generation of composers.