Symphonic dance,
The Legend of Monkey King, a new piece by composer Liu Sola, was staged during the Beijing Music Festival on Oct 5.[Photo provided to China Daily]
'I haven't left my house in five years. Now, here I am, on the stage of the Beijing Music Festival and I am a little bit nervous," says Liu Sola, a renowned Chinese composer, whose symphonic dance, titled The Legend of Monkey King, was performed by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the Liu Sola and Friends Band, under the baton of conductor Zhang Jiemin, on Oct 5 in Beijing.
As part of the program of the ongoing, combined 25th and 26th Beijing Music Festival, the capital's largest annual music event which falls every October, the music was presented along with the screening of videos of the classic Chinese animation, The Monkey King: Uproar in Heaven.
"This piece was like a surprise to me, because the theme is very special and the animation itself inspired me," says Liu. "The music featured in the animation was mostly Chinese folk music and traditional Chinese opera — Peking Opera. I tried to write music that will make people want to dance by using traditional Chinese percussion, pipa, as well as elements of jazz music."
"It is true that traditional Chinese music is a big inspiration for contemporary music composition," she adds.
The Monkey King, or Sun Wukong, is a character from the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West, by Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) writer Wu Cheng'en. The story follows the adventures of a Tang Dynasty (618-907) monk and his three disciples during their journey to obtain Buddhist scriptures.
Produced and released by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio during the 1960s, the animated film The Monkey King: Uproar in Heaven has become one of the best-known "superhero" animations in China, and is still enjoyed by both children and adults today.
Composer Liu Sola was awarded the Artist of the Year of the Beijing Music Festival, by conductor Yu Long (right), who is the founder of the festival, and Zou Shuang (left), artistic director of the event.[Photo provided to China Daily]
Living in her studio located in Beijing's eastern suburbs, Liu, an internationally renowned, pioneering composer, vocalist, writer and artist, is recovering from a severe illness that has kept her bedridden for about four years.
She was invited to compose the new piece, The Legend of Monkey King, a project which took her eight months to finish.
In the beginning, Liu could only work for 30 minutes a day, gradually building up to one hour. She calls the new work "a celebration of life".
The premiere of the piece was staged by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the Liu Sola and Friends Band, under the baton of conductor Zhang, in Shanghai on Oct 6, 2022.
Before the concert in Beijing, Yu Long, founder of Beijing Music Festival, and Zou Shuang, artistic director of the festival, presented Liu with an Artist of the Year award, acknowledging her contribution to China's music scene.
"During the past 40 years, she has released a large number of successful works, covering a wide range of art forms, such as opera, dance drama, musical, symphony and film scores. She is also a pioneer, creating a musical style of her own by absorbing a diversity of genres, such as classical, jazz and rock," says Yu of Liu.
Under the baton of conductor Zhang Jiemin, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the Liu Sola and Friends Band performed the symphonic dance,
The Legend of Monkey King, in Beijing.[Photo provided to China Daily]
"In her musical world, she shows her unlimited imagination, just like the Monkey King's magical power, making 72 changes to his shape and size, turning himself into different animals and objects."
Born in Beijing, Liu learned to play the piano as a child. In 1978, she and her classmates, including Tan Dun, Chen Qigang and Guo Wenjing, were among the first group of students to be admitted to the Central Conservatory of Music after the "cultural revolution" (1966-76). They've also become the first generation of Chinese composers to enjoy recognition among Western audiences.
In 1985, she achieved fame with her novella Ni Bie Wu Xuan Ze (You Have No Choice), depicting a group of highly gifted, but frustrated music students.
In 1987, she visited the United States, where she met and worked with jazz and blues musicians. Later, she lived in London, before moving to New York in 1993.
One of her best-known albums, Blues in the East, was released in 1995. It was her debut album, which saw her collaborate with top jazz and blues musicians in New York, such as Bill Laswell, Henry Threadgill and Umar Bin Hassan. Liu's follow-up album, China Collage, in 1996, saw her compose for pipa and voice.
