Jan 23 - 29 Lang Lang, Tan Dun & others perform at "China in New York: A WQXR Festival”

WQXR Celebrates Chinese New Year with

“China in New York: A WQXR Festival”

January 23 – 29

An Exploration of China’s Rising Classical Music Scene

With LANG LANG, HUANG RUO, TAN DUN, among others

In Partnership with the New York Philharmonic, Queens Council on the Arts and Crossing Art

(January X, 2012 - New York, NY) – As China grapples with its relationship with Western culture, one Western art form is booming: classical music of the European canon.  Approximately 50 million children study classical instruments, new concert halls have appeared in major cities and provinces, and an increasing number of Chinese artists are gaining international recognition.

From Monday, January 23 – Sunday, January 29, WQXR will ring in the Year of the Dragon with CHINA IN NEW YORK: A WQXR FESTIVAL, an exploration of the work of Chinese-born composers and musicians now active in New York, as well as some of the economic and political issues surrounding classical music in China, through live events, radio specials, and online exclusives available at www.wqxr.org/china.

CHINA IN NEW YORK will be book-ended by two special live events at WQXR’s event venue, The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space.  The first, on January 23 at 6pm, is Chinese New Year with Lang Lang and the Quintessenso Choir.  In this preview of their New York Philharmonic concert, the renowned Chinese pianist Lang Lang will perform with a children’s choir from Mongolia.  On January 27 at 7pm, Written on the Wind, curated by Huang Ruo, is an evening of new music from Chinese and Chinese-American composers performed on traditional and Western instruments.

On Sunday, January 22 at 3pm, the eve of the festival, the Shanghai String Quartet will help kick offCHINA IN NEW YORK with a special free performance in the community, at Crossing Art, a gallery in the heart of Flushing’s Chinatown.

CHINA IN NEW YORK is presented in partnership with the New York Philharmonic, Queens Council on the Arts, and Crossing Art gallery.

“The classical music landscape in China has boomed in recent years, with a significant number of Chinese musicians going on to mark their mark in New York and forge new paths on the global stage,” said Graham Parker, Vice President, WQXR. “Thanks to vital support from our cultural partners, CHINA IN NEW YORKwill celebrate the way these artists have added their voices to the classical music world, fusing Chinese traditions, instruments and styles with a potent, universal sense of experimentation and discovery.”

For more information on CHINA IN NEW YORK, visit www.wqxr.org/china.

Also scheduled as part of CHINA IN NEW YORK:

• “Conducting Business,” WQXR’s weekly podcast dedicated to industry news and trends, will look at the growth of classical music in China and the challenges – artistic, professional, political – contemporary composers and musicians currently face.

• A slideshow and report on new developments in concert hall construction in China, as well as a report on the growth of China’s piano manufacturing business.

• A Mandarin-language special hosted by composer Huang Ruo entitled, “New York Present: North to South,” a Q2 Music program devoted to the breadth of contemporary music-making and prominent, adventurous venues in New York City, with live recordings from Miller Theater and Lincoln Center (“north”) and Le Poisson Rouge and the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden (“south”).

• Two 24-hour marathons presenting traditional and contemporary music from Chinese-born composers on Q2 Music.

• An introduction to Chinese-born composers and musicians who are making their mark in NYC, through audio portraits of Lang Lang, Shenyang, composers Tan Dun, Chen Yi, Huang Ruo, Zhou Long, Chou Wen-chung, Du Yun, Lei Liang and Min Xiao-Fen, among others.  Presented on WQXR and Q2 Music.

• A live WQXR broadcast of the New York Philharmonic concert featuring Lang Lang and theQuintessenso Choir, oboe soloist Liang Wang, and conducted by Long Yu.

LIVE EVENTS

China in New York Kick-Off at Crossing Art, Flushing

Sunday, January 22 at 3pm

WQXR kicks off CHINA IN NEW YORK in the heart of Flushing’s Chinatown at Crossing Art, a gallery representing select Chinese and international contemporary artists.  The Shanghai String Quartet will perform traditional Chinese arrangements alongside works from the Western canon.

Chinese New Year with Lang Lang and the Quintessenso Choir in The Greene Space
Monday, January 23 at 6pm
In a preview to their New York Philharmonic concert the next night, superstar pianist Lang Lang andQuintessenso, a children’s choir from Mongolia, will perform traditional songs and Chinese New Year favorites.  The event will be hosted by WQXR’s David Garland and broadcast live on 105.9 FM WQXR.  A live video webcast will be available at www.thegreenespace.org.

Written on the Wind: New Music from China and New York in The Greene Space
Friday, January 27 at 7pm
Composer Huang Ruo draws equal inspiration from Chinese folk, Western avant-garde, and rock and jazz and has been called “one of the most intriguing of the new crop of Asian-American composers” by The New Yorker.  Ruo will join WQXR host David Garland to curate an evening of new music from Chinese and Chinese-American composers that explores notions of place and tradition.  The program includes music by New York composer/performers Ruo and Min Xiao-Fen; Chen Xing-Ruo from Beijing; and Shen Ye from Shanghai, all performed on traditional Chinese and Western instruments.  The event will be broadcast live on 105.9 FM WQXR, streamed at Q2 Music (www.wqxr.org/q2music/), and available as a live video webcast atwww.thegreenespace.org.

Q2 MUSIC

Q2 Music, WQXR’s online station devoted to music of living composers, will offer insight into the sounds of contemporary Chinese music as filtered through a New York perspective.  Every weekday at noon, Huang Ruowill conduct a one-on-one interview with various Chinese-born composers who have resided in the United States and impacted the New York arts scene.  Composers such as Zhou Long, Du Yun, Lei Liang, Min Xiao-Fen, and Chou Wen-chung will discuss their aesthetic and musical journeys. 

In addition, Q2 Music will showcase the diverse and dynamic historical arc of the Chinese musical landscape during two 24-hour marathons.  On Wednesday, January 25 and Saturday, January 28, the online station will stream traditional Chinese music and music by contemporary composers born in China.  Full Q2 Music schedule available at www.wqxr.org/q2music. 

ONLINE at WQXR.org

WQXR.org will offer an array of features, including Café Concert videos of bass-baritone Shenyang – discovered in China by Renee Fleming – and the Beijing Guitar Duo; an intimate video of eminent Chinese composer Chou Wen-chung in his West Village apartment, bequeathed to him by mentor Edgard Varèse; “Top 5 at 105” video features that include Lang Lang’s top five favorite Liszt pieces and Huang Ruo’s top five favorite Chinese folk songs; a Conducting Business podcast looking at the growth of classical music in China and the challenges it faces there; a report on the growth of China’s piano manufacturing business, which includes the world’s largest piano factories and caters to the 30+ million young people who are studying piano in the country; a feature on Chinatowns in New York, focusing on both Manhattan and Flushing; and aslideshow and report on new developments in concert hall construction in China.

ON AIR at WQXR 105.9 FM

Ring in the Year of the Dragon with WQXR and the New York Philharmonic!  WQXR will broadcast the New York Philharmonic Chinese New Year concert featuring Lang Lang, the Quintessenso Choir, oboe soloistLiang Wang, and conductor Long Yu on Tuesday, January 24 at 7:30pm.   This live broadcast hosted by WQXR’s Midge Woolsey from Avery Fisher Hall will include traditional Chinese pieces and Liszt’s bravura first piano concerto. 

Throughout the week, WQXR will celebrate eight musicians who have played a major role in the rise of classical music in China and are embraced in New York musical circles: pianists Lang Lang and Yuja Wang, conductorLong Yu, bass-baritone Shenyang, New York Philharmonic principal soloist Liang Wang, and composersChen Yi, Huang Ruo and Tan Dun (the composer of the score for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”).  In an in-depth musical portrait hosted by David Garland, each artist will tell his or her own story, citing important influences along the way.

WQXR 105.9 FM and www.wqxr.org is New York City’s only all-classical music station, immersing listeners in the city’s rich musical life. WQXR presents new and landmark classical recordings as well as live concerts from the Metropolitan Opera, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and the New York Philharmonic, among other city venues. WQXR broadcasts essential shows such as the Metropolitan Opera Radio Saturday Matinee Broadcasts, the New York Philharmonic This Week on Thursday evenings, the McGraw-Hill Companies Young Artists Showcase on Wednesday evenings, and Symphony Hall each weeknight. For listeners in search of the new, WQXR also operates Q2 Music, an online music stream dedicated to contemporary classical composers, cross-genre adventures, and performances from New York City's edgier venues. WQXR.org provides essential playlist info for online listening, as well as original content, host blogs, NYC cultural news, and videos. The free WQXR App allows listeners to take WQXR with them wherever they go.