KUAN, Nai-Chung: Memory of Mountain / HOFFMAN, J.: Nautilus Symmetry / Snow in Spring (Cho-Liang Lin, Taipei Chinese Orchestra, Li-Pin Cheng)

Nai-Chung Kuan’s Memory of Mountain, originally a banhu concerto and here recast for the violin, is inspired by the magnificent scenery and culture of Taiwan’s Alishan mountains, and explores three scenic topics employing native instruments to great effect. Joel Hoffman’s music draws from such diverse sources as Eastern European folk music and American bebop, remaining full of lyricism and rhythmic vitality. Nautilus Symmetry, his first work for full Chinese orchestra, and Violin Concerto No. 2 ‘Snow in Spring’, display a love of plucked string instruments and traditional Chinese melodies expressed in a style that is recognizably his own. Cho-Liang Lin is an internationally renowned performer, a creator and curator of music festivals and a teacher. Recent concert engagements include numerous solo appearances worldwide with prestigious orchestras. An advocate of contemporary music, Lin has enjoyed collaborations and premieres with composers such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Joan Tower and John Williams. On this recording Lin plays the 1715 ‘Titian’ Stradivarius and a 2000 Samuel Zygmuntowicz violin.