In conversation with CCOM composers
1. How would you describe your music to someone who is not familiar with it?
There is no more effective way to describe music than by listening to it directly. I composed these pieces with specific intentions, sources of inspiration, and sonic imagery, but I don't believe these are necessary conditions for appreciating the works. If I must label my music in simple terms, I would describe it as: a multi-directional temporal experience, a continuous reflection on history, and a critique of presentism (Note: uncritical adherence to present-day).
2. What is your educational background and training in music composition?
Among my peers, I did not start professional music education particularly early. Before the age of seven, almost all of my family's efforts were focused on treating my congenital glaucoma. Despite these efforts, my vision deteriorated rapidly.
At the age of seven (in 1995), I began studying music under Professor Chen Mingda at Changchun University. He was an energetic, passionate, and empathetic teacher. Besides teaching piano, he offered courses in sight-singing, ear training, harmony, counterpoint, and score reading to his students.
This broad-based teaching cultivated my wide-ranging interest in music, but the downside was that all my studies lacked rigor and depth.
Consequently, the following year, I switched to studying piano with Professor Liu Shangkun at the Jilin Academy of Arts. At that time, he was the best piano teacher in our province. During the four years I studied with him, I built a solid foundation in piano. He also guided me in analyzing musical structures and considering interpretive strategies while performing large-scale works.
In 1997, I began studying harmony with Mr. Wu Daming from the Changchun Film Studio. As my studies progressed, he also introduced me to composition, Western music history, and orchestration. He exposed me to a vast array of musical works, including many avant-garde pieces from the post-World War II era, allowing me to encounter the works of Boulez, Ligeti, Lutosławski, and Rihm before the age of ten. He also cultivated my good musical taste, particularly in the appreciation of records, prompting me to consider the various possibilities of musical expression.
In 2001, I was admitted to the Composition Department of the Central Conservatory of Music's affiliated high school.
In 2005, I was admitted to the Composition Department of the Central Conservatory of Music two years ahead of schedule, studying composition under Professor Ye Xiaogang until I obtained my doctoral degree in 2018. Professor Ye had unique insights into French art songs and a vast amount of chamber music from the 19th and 20th centuries. He was dedicated to helping me find clear ways of expression within complex musical languages. During my time at the conservatory, I also took many courses in piano performance, including piano performance, chamber music performance, orchestral art direction, piano art history, and Baroque music historical performance.
From 2015 to 2016, I briefly studied harpsichord with Professors Sheng Yuan and Raymond Erickson.
3. Why did you decide to become a composer?
No one can clearly articulate what force drove me to resolutely pursue composition at the age of nine. In my teenage years, I could already feel the joy that creating music brought. However, this does not mean that I have an endless stream of inspiration or an unceasing desire to compose. On the contrary, I have always found writing music to be a very challenging process, filled with confusion and frustration.
What I enjoy is the process of discovering beauty. As I grow older, I increasingly feel that composition is not about creating something from nothing but about uncovering hidden beauty in the world. My beloved composer, Nikolai Medtner, expressed a similar view. It is akin to mathematicians discovering fractal structures. If there is any mundane reason that led me to decide to become a composer, I think it might be the hope that my very limited life can leave behind something for future generations to savor.
4. Can you walk us through your process of composing a piece?
I do not have a fixed pattern for composing. Therefore, each piece has a different creative process. Typically, a certain sonic image forms in my mind, and I try my best to capture it, explore its various possibilities, and then organize it into a complete work.
5. What are your main sources of inspiration?
My sources of inspiration are numerous, often originating from within music itself, but also from outside of it. This stems from my reading habits. I read a large number of historical works as well as serious literary works. In popular literature, I only read tales of the supernatural. They often provoke my thoughts and occasionally help me choose musical structures. Out of my love for Borges, I have composed pieces based on his stories. I also keep up with current events and sometimes express my views through music, such as in "Prisoner's Womb". In recent years, due to my academic research on musical temporality, I have increasingly composed music based on human perception and awareness of time, paying more attention to people's historical context and historical identity.
6. In what ways has UE influenced your compositional process?
It helps me publish my works globally in a more convenient and streamlined way.
7. Who is your favorite composer or what is your favorite piece, and why?
It's hard to say definitively, but overall, I am significantly influenced by the masters of Central and Eastern Europe, such as Lutoslawski, Szymanowski, Bacewicz, Janacek, Weinberg, Schreker, and Schnittke. However, I draw inspiration from various sources. The works of Rautavaara, Revueltas, Ohana, Roslavets, Silvestrov, and Toru Takemitsu also often inspire me. I find the beauty of structure in the works of Chopin, Brahms, and Messiaen; the allure of nonlinear time in the music of Bruckner, Mahler, and Berg. Additionally, I am fascinated by Bach, Rameau, and early Baroque composers, particularly Biber, Froberger, Schütz, and Monteverdi. Currently, I am paying close attention to composers like Alexander Lokshin, Pawel Mykietyn, Helena Tulve, Beate Furrer, and Tiensuu.
8. What advice do you have for aspiring composers?
Study the works of the masters throughout history more, and don't focus too much on the present. Appreciate art with an open mind and create music with rigor. Aim to write high-quality music, rather than always trying to produce music that is merely distinctive.
9. In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge composers are facing today?
They are being abandoned by the history of art music, and overwhelmed by presentism.
10. What do you think one should know before becoming a composer?
Music is not omnipotent. However, within it lies a world that embraces all phenomena.
11. What do you think audience members should know or understand?
I never judge the audience, and I believe it is the moral duty of a composer not to impose requirements on them. However, I firmly believe that in music, there are always some individuals who resonate with me, who are touched by similar musical elements and sonic imagery. My assessment of listeners' engagement with music falls within the phenomenological realm rather than a neurological perspective.
12. What is the greatest pop song of all time?
The Girl from Ipanema or Chega De Saudade. Apart from Bossa Nova, when I listen to pop music, I tend to focus more on the arrangement and overall design of the music. Some of my favorite singers include Anna Maria Jopek, Yasmin Levy, and Elina Duni.
13. What would be your dream venue and performers for a world premiere?
Any musician who loves music and approaches it seriously is what I anticipate. I can experience extraordinary charm in many places and discover different temporal awareness shaped by diverse historical contexts. Therefore, I do not have specific preferences for the venues where my works are performed.
14. Which do you prefer – working on piano or orchestral compositions?
I write both, as well as chamber music, choral works, and art songs. I have no genre preferences.
Any musician who loves music and approaches it seriously is what I anticipate. I can experience extraordinary charm in many places and discover different temporal awareness shaped by diverse historical contexts. Therefore, I do not have specific preferences for the venues where my works are performed.
15. Do you prefer composing on paper or digitally?
When I still had faint vision, I enjoyed composing by hand as the act of writing itself held cognitive significance, and the blank staff paper created an imaginative space for sound construction. After losing my sight completely, composing with music notation software became my only option.
When screen reader assistance was not yet fully developed, I dictated every detail of the score to my family, who helped me record it using music notation software. Now, I am able to transcribe music myself. However, no assistive technology can produce rehearsal-ready scores independently for blind individuals. Therefore, my students assist me in refining the scores.
16. Coffee or tea?
I mainly drink coffee and only occasionally tea.