Chen Yi: Symphony, 'humen 1839'

The unique selling point about this disc is that it contains the first recordings of a man considered China’s leading contemporary classical composer, Zhou Long. A Pulitzer Prize-winner, he has lived in America for many years, teaching and composing widely. His music has been performed by orchestras worldwide – The Immortal (not on this disc) was played by the BBC Symphony at the Royal Albert Hall in London and The Enlightened was commissioned and first performed by the Kansas City Symphony. Zhou employs Chinese idioms vividly, not least percussion, and blends them with Western harmonies to create a very personal sound world.