“Our countries have moved further apart. Most people are so immersed in their own life experience that they don’t even try to understand the culture of other societies … but by comparing these two works people can see the double picture – how Europeans feel about love, pleasure, and death, and how the Chinese feel about the same things.” Long Yu. Centuries-old Chinese poetry is brought vividly to life in a new recording from Long Yu and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. Their second album for Deutsche Grammophon, The Song of the Earth, is set for international release on 13 August 2021. The world premiere recording of the contemporary The Song of the Earth by Ye Xiaogang is presented alongside Gustav Mahler’s classic symphony. Ye’s ambitious new work expresses the grandeur and beauty of the original Tang Dynasty poems that Mahler set in German translation, fusing a contemporary style with centuries’ worth of traditions from both east and west. Long Yu, who commissioned Ye’s work, conducts the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in this fascinating meeting of histories and cultures.
Earth and Fire are legends of the Dutch rock scene, first making an impression with their debut single in 1969. They quickly established themselves as an international act thanks to the excellence of their material and the powerful vocals of Jerney Kaagman. In 1971 the band released arguably their finest work, 'Song of the Marching Children', a Mellotron soaked masterpiece that was a major selling album throughout Europe.