Zhou Long
Encyclopedia
Zhou Long is a Pulitzer-prize-winning
Chinese American
composer
.
, he was forced to delay his piano studies and live on a state-run farm where he operated a tractor
. The deserted landscape with fierce winds and fires he experienced during the Cultural Revolution made a deep impression and influence his compositions even today.
Nearing the end of the Cultural Revolution, he was able to resume his musical studies in the areas of composition
, music theory
, conducting
and also traditional Chinese music. Only one year after the end of the Cultural Revolution, Zhou Long was one of one hundred students chosen from eighteen thousand applicants to study at the newly reopened Central Conservatory of Music
in Beijing in 1977. From 1977-1983, he studied composition with Wu Zu-qiang.
After graduating in 1983, Zhou Long was appointed with the position of composer-in-residence with the National Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra of China. With only a brief stay in this position, Zhou Long journeyed to the United States under a fellowship to attend Columbia University
and further his composition studies with Chou Wen-chung
, Mario Davidovsky
, and George Edwards, receiving a Doctor of Musical Arts
in 1993. Living in Brooklyn
, New York, he became the music director of Music from China, a group founded in 1984 with the aim of presenting concerts of traditional Chinese music in the United States. Under the direction of Zhou Long, Music from China expanded its original goals to also encompass contemporary Chinese works that reflect both Chinese and Western sound worlds and musical languages.
In 2002, Zhou Long served as the composer-in-residence Music Alive!, the Silk Road Project
Festival of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra
with Yo-Yo Ma
. He currently holds the position of Visiting Professor of Composition at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music. From 2004-2005, Zhou Long was invited to be the composer-in-residence at the Cleveland Institute of Music
. He has additionally provided many master classes and lectures at Brooklyn College
, Columbia University, UC Berkeley, the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, and several of the top conservatories in the United States. Zhou Long has expanded his works from the music world to reach other artistic genres, collaborating with H.T. Chen, Chiang Chin, Gao Xingjian
, Loni Ding, Ellen Perry
and several others.
After a decade of devoted artistic ingenuity, Zhou Long was given the ASCAP Adventurous Programming Award in 1999. He won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Music
for his opera, Madame White Snake, premiered on Feb. 26, 2010, by the Opera Boston
at the Cutler Majestic Theatre
. Zhou Long has been a citizen of the United States since 1999 and is married to the composer-violinist Chen Yi
.
, Bright Sheng
, and Chen Yi
, Zhou Long and his contemporaries all primarily entered conservatories in Beijing and Shanghai immediately following the Cultural Revolution. After their studies, they all arrived in the United States in pursuit of higher degrees and evolving their music by intertwining elements of their old and new musical cultures.
Considering himself as neither a solely Chinese nor American composer, Zhou Long draws upon influences from both musical spheres to create unique and unheard sounds in Western music circles. After arriving in the United States, a culture drastically different from China (especially in the years following the Cultural Revolution), the strikingly different music culture in America allowed Zhou long to explore his expressive world, expand his compositional techniques and obtain a versatile musical language of his own. He says, "Thinking about what we could do to share different cultures in our new society, I have been composing music seriously to achieve my goal of improving the understanding between peoples from various backgrounds. My conceptions have often come from ancient Chinese poetry
." In this regard, Zhou Long utilizes the resources of two different cultures’ sound spectrums and traditions as well as media and technology to provide so many artistic possibilities. He writes, “Verses of poetry may give you the frame; the movements of calligraphy
may give you the rhythm; an ancient dark ink painting may give you space, distance and layers; a variety of sound sources may give you the color. Finally, craft ensures your own full expression.”
As described in his own words, Zhou Long has been hailed for capturing Chinese timbre
s and folk theme
s, yet incorporating them with Western conceptions of harmony
, chromaticism
and angularity. He also frequently takes familiar sounds and tunes, alters them through dissonances
and thematic twists, making the familiar seem new and unheard. Known to sometimes create “otherworldly atmospheres” in his compositions, Zhou Long’s compositions imbue listeners with a sense of meditative calmness versus soporific melodies. Zhou Long is considered a pioneer in the area of combining ancient Chinese musical traditions with contemporary Western ensembles as his visions reach exciting and novel, yet common grounds.
Oxford University Press
exclusively publishes Zhou Long’s compositions.
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
Chinese American
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
.
Biography
Born into an artistic family, Zhou Long began studying piano from an early age. Due to the artistic restrictions implemented during the Cultural RevolutionCultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, he was forced to delay his piano studies and live on a state-run farm where he operated a tractor
Tractor
A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...
. The deserted landscape with fierce winds and fires he experienced during the Cultural Revolution made a deep impression and influence his compositions even today.
Nearing the end of the Cultural Revolution, he was able to resume his musical studies in the areas of composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
, music theory
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
, conducting
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
and also traditional Chinese music. Only one year after the end of the Cultural Revolution, Zhou Long was one of one hundred students chosen from eighteen thousand applicants to study at the newly reopened Central Conservatory of Music
Central Conservatory of Music
The Central Conservatory of Music is the national leading music school in Beijing, China.Founded in 1950, the Conservatory offers courses to both Chinese nationals and foreign students, and caters for all levels from primary up to postgraduate programmes...
in Beijing in 1977. From 1977-1983, he studied composition with Wu Zu-qiang.
After graduating in 1983, Zhou Long was appointed with the position of composer-in-residence with the National Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra of China. With only a brief stay in this position, Zhou Long journeyed to the United States under a fellowship to attend Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and further his composition studies with Chou Wen-chung
Chou Wen-chung
Chou Wen-chung , Shandong, China) is a Chinese American composer of contemporary classical music. He emigrated in 1946 to the United States where he lives.-Life:...
, Mario Davidovsky
Mario Davidovsky
Mario Davidovsky is an Argentine-American composer. Born in Argentina, he emigrated in 1960 to the US, where he lives today...
, and George Edwards, receiving a Doctor of Musical Arts
Doctor of Musical Arts
The Doctor of Musical Arts degree is a doctoral academic degree in music. The D.M.A. combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization with graduate-level academic study in subjects such as music history, music theory, or music pedagogy. The D.M.A...
in 1993. Living in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York, he became the music director of Music from China, a group founded in 1984 with the aim of presenting concerts of traditional Chinese music in the United States. Under the direction of Zhou Long, Music from China expanded its original goals to also encompass contemporary Chinese works that reflect both Chinese and Western sound worlds and musical languages.
In 2002, Zhou Long served as the composer-in-residence Music Alive!, the Silk Road Project
Silk Road Project
Silk Road Project, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization, initiated by acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998, promoting collaboration among artists and institutions, promoting multicultural artistic exchange, and studying the ebb and flow of ideas among different cultures along the Silk Road. The...
Festival of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra
Seattle Symphony
The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra's season runs from September through July, and serves as the pit orchestra for most productions of the Seattle Opera in addition to its own concerts...
with Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011...
. He currently holds the position of Visiting Professor of Composition at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music. From 2004-2005, Zhou Long was invited to be the composer-in-residence at the Cleveland Institute of Music
Cleveland Institute of Music
The Cleveland Institute of Music is an independent music conservatory located in the University Circle district of Cleveland, Ohio, United States and is overseen by president Joel Smirnoff and Adrian Daly, dean....
. He has additionally provided many master classes and lectures at Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
, Columbia University, UC Berkeley, the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, and several of the top conservatories in the United States. Zhou Long has expanded his works from the music world to reach other artistic genres, collaborating with H.T. Chen, Chiang Chin, Gao Xingjian
Gao Xingjian
Gao Xingjian is a Chinese-born novelist, playwright, critic, and painter. An émigré to France since 1987, Gao was granted French citizenship in 1997...
, Loni Ding, Ellen Perry
Ellen Perry
Ellen Perry is an award-winning film director, writer, producer and cinematographer. She attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts.Her first feature documentary, Great Wall Across the Yangtze, aired nationally on PBS in 2000. Narrated by Martin Sheen, the film investigates the Three Gorges Dam...
and several others.
After a decade of devoted artistic ingenuity, Zhou Long was given the ASCAP Adventurous Programming Award in 1999. He won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Music
Pulitzer Prize for Music
The Pulitzer Prize for Music was first awarded in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer did not call for such a prize in his will, but had arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year...
for his opera, Madame White Snake, premiered on Feb. 26, 2010, by the Opera Boston
Opera Boston
Opera Boston is an opera company in Boston, Massachusetts. It specializes in innovative repertoire and rarely heard works, along with opera education and outreach programs designed to bring opera education to children, in schools and after-school programs throughout the Boston area.Its home base is...
at the Cutler Majestic Theatre
Cutler Majestic Theatre
The Cutler Majestic Theatre at Emerson College, in Boston, Massachusetts, is a 1903 "Beaux Arts" style theater, designed by the architect John Galen Howard. Originally built for theatre, one of three theaters commissioned in Boston by Eben Dyer Jordan, son of the founder of Jordan Marsh, a...
. Zhou Long has been a citizen of the United States since 1999 and is married to the composer-violinist Chen Yi
Chen Yi (composer)
Chen Yi is a Chinese composer of contemporary classical music. She was the first Chinese woman to receive a Master of Arts in music composition from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She is also a violinist....
.
Musical style
Zhou Long, along with several other Chinese-born composers of his generation, has contributed greatly to the sounds of new music in the United States. Accompanied by accomplished composers such as Tan DunTan Dun
Tan Dun is a Chinese contemporary classical composer, most widely known for his scores for the movies Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero.-Early life in China:...
, Bright Sheng
Bright Sheng
Bright Sheng is a Chinese-American composer, conductor, and pianist. He has lived in the United States since 1982 and is on faculty at the University of Michigan. In 1999, the White House commissioned Sheng to compose a piece to honor the Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji at a state dinner hosted by...
, and Chen Yi
Chen Yi
Chen Yi may refer to:* Chen Yi , Chinese communist military commander* Chen Yi , Chief Executive of Taiwan Province* Chen Yi , Chinese composer* Chen Yi...
, Zhou Long and his contemporaries all primarily entered conservatories in Beijing and Shanghai immediately following the Cultural Revolution. After their studies, they all arrived in the United States in pursuit of higher degrees and evolving their music by intertwining elements of their old and new musical cultures.
Considering himself as neither a solely Chinese nor American composer, Zhou Long draws upon influences from both musical spheres to create unique and unheard sounds in Western music circles. After arriving in the United States, a culture drastically different from China (especially in the years following the Cultural Revolution), the strikingly different music culture in America allowed Zhou long to explore his expressive world, expand his compositional techniques and obtain a versatile musical language of his own. He says, "Thinking about what we could do to share different cultures in our new society, I have been composing music seriously to achieve my goal of improving the understanding between peoples from various backgrounds. My conceptions have often come from ancient Chinese poetry
Chinese poetry
Chinese poetry is poetry written, spoken, or chanted in the Chinese language, which includes various versions of Chinese language, including Classical Chinese, Standard Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Yue Chinese, as well as many other historical and vernacular varieties of the Chinese language...
." In this regard, Zhou Long utilizes the resources of two different cultures’ sound spectrums and traditions as well as media and technology to provide so many artistic possibilities. He writes, “Verses of poetry may give you the frame; the movements of calligraphy
Calligraphy
Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
may give you the rhythm; an ancient dark ink painting may give you space, distance and layers; a variety of sound sources may give you the color. Finally, craft ensures your own full expression.”
As described in his own words, Zhou Long has been hailed for capturing Chinese timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
s and folk theme
Theme (music)
In music, a theme is the material, usually a recognizable melody, upon which part or all of a composition is based.-Characteristics:A theme may be perceivable as a complete musical expression in itself, separate from the work in which it is found . In contrast to an idea or motif, a theme is...
s, yet incorporating them with Western conceptions of harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
, chromaticism
Chromaticism
Chromaticism is a compositional technique interspersing the primary diatonic pitches and chords with other pitches of the chromatic scale. Chromaticism is in contrast or addition to tonality or diatonicism...
and angularity. He also frequently takes familiar sounds and tunes, alters them through dissonances
Consonance and dissonance
In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...
and thematic twists, making the familiar seem new and unheard. Known to sometimes create “otherworldly atmospheres” in his compositions, Zhou Long’s compositions imbue listeners with a sense of meditative calmness versus soporific melodies. Zhou Long is considered a pioneer in the area of combining ancient Chinese musical traditions with contemporary Western ensembles as his visions reach exciting and novel, yet common grounds.
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
exclusively publishes Zhou Long’s compositions.
External links
- Zhou Long's Oxford University Press site
- Living Composers Project biography of Zhou Long
- Music from China ensemble with Zhou Long as Music Director
- Living Composers Project bio
- Alpert Award in the Arts
- Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts
- NewMusicBox interview: Zhou Long and Chen Yi in conversation with Frank J. Oteri, February 2, 2006 and May 7, 2006 (includes video)