Impressions of Chinese Opera

Gene Koshinski

General Info

Year of Published: 2012
Publisher: Bachovich Music Publications
Difficulty: Professional
Cost: $30.00

Movements

1. Chang he Zuo
2. Nian
3. Da

Instrumentation

Player 1: Marimba & Opera Gong & Wood Block (Piccolo) & Crotales & 3 Chinese Drums (shared) & Bass Drum (shared) & Jing Cymbals & Timpano & Chinese Board
Player 2: Tunes Pipes, 3 Chinese Drums (shared) & Chinese Cymbals & Jing Cymbals & Chinese Gong & Crotales & Timpano & Mark Tree

Program Notes

Impressions of Chinese Opera, scored for percussion duo, depicts the four major elements of Chinese Opera: Singing, Dancing, Dialogue, and Martial Arts. By fusing together Chinese and Western percussion instruments, playing techniques, and compositional methods, a hybrid sound is created – a representation of “East meets West." While some of the musical material is closely related to actual practices in Chinese Opera, the work itself should only be considered an impression of the art form from an “outsider’s" perspective. Impressions of Chinese Opera was also inspired by other Chinese musical art forms, aside from Opera. Such an example is the Kuai Ban (fast board) tradition, an art form that features spoken word (in storytelling format) accompanied by a pair of Chinese boards, which can be seen in movement II, Nian.

This work would not be possible without the help of Jianpeng Fent (a native of Beijing, China), who opened the door for me to the wonderful musical traditions of his country. After several years of learning about this music I have gained a great amount of appreciation of these unique musical practices. My hope is that this piece is bring the "sound" of China to a broader audience.

Impressions of Chinese Opera was "previewed" on a concert tour of the East Coast United States in March 2012 by Gene Koshinski and Benjamin Toth. It was officially premiered at the Chinese National Conservatory of Music in Beijing on June 16, 2012 by Gene Koshinski and Jianpeng Feng.

Works for Percussion by this Composer

Mallet Solo

Afternoon in March - Marimba
Caleidoscópio - Marimba
Memento - Marimba
Punchline
Prelude Nuevo
Variations (after Viñao) - Marimba

Snare Drum Solo

Homage to Carter
Swerve
Tom-Tom for Tom

Multiple Percussion Solo

Captions
Echo Song
Farewell
SyNc

Solo with Ensemble

BeyonD the bEnd - Multiple Percussion, Percussion Quintet
Concerto for Marimba and Choir with Percussion - Marimba; Percussion Trio; Choir
Jing Fling - Jing Cymbal; Percussion Sextet (Optional)
Prelude Nuevo - Marimba

Percussion Duo

And So the Wind Blew...
As One
Ceci N'est Pas Un Jouet
Impressions of Chinese Opera
Long Exposure
Ingrained
Sammy's Scales
Song and Dance
Together & Not
Whiz-Bang

Chamber Ensemble

BeyonD the bEnd
BOOMeRANG - 4 Players
Circuit Breaker - Percussion Sextet
Quench - Percussion Quartet
Ragtime Collection - Marimba Quartet
Rattle the Cage - Mallet Ensemble
Stir Crazy - Percussion Quartet
Streamline - Percussion Ensemble - (Hand Drums)
The Electric City - Percussion Trio

Works with Other Instruments

Free Spins - Percussion Duo; Bass Clarinet
Get It! - Multiple Percussion; Bassoon
Killjoy - Multiple Percussion; Guitar
Sky Songs - Multiple Percussion; Voice
soniChroma - Percussion Duo; Orchestra