Update Title: 81314F79-A04B-4783-8E9F-229D31609DC8

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In celebration of the 40th anniversary of China-U.S. diplomatic relations and in hope to support the promotion of Chinese culture abroad, Peng-Peng Gong (b. 1992)’s Tenth Symphony, subtitled “Peking Fantasy” (Op. 55) was co-commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra in 2017. The world premiere of the 2018 original version was presented by the SPO in April of the same year in Shanghai, while the world premiere of the 2019 revised version was presented by the Philadelphia Orchestra in January at its home venue with the combined forces of both orchestras side-by-side.
 
Inspired by the artistic power of Peking Opera – the crowning heritage of Chinese traditional performing arts, the symphony strives to translate the emotional and philosophical experience of the art form for international audiences and to explore the Western orchestra’s expressive abilities in capturing the Eastern spirit. The 2018 original version ran as long as 76 minutes, before the composer extensively revised the score down to 40 and presented it in a single movement without pause. The work is scored for a huge orchestra of over 100 players. Main materials that inspired the music are from the traditional Peking Opera repertory: "The Drunken Beauty", "Farewell My Concubine", "In Pursuit of the General", and "The Chancellor and the Advisor" (lit. "Cao Cao and Yang Xiu"). 
 
“'Peking Fantasy' is in a sweet, direct musical language...It’s a work of highly original sounds presented in a series of vivid episodes."
-Peter Dobrin, The Philadelphia Inquirer

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In celebration of the 40th anniversary of China-U.S. diplomatic relations and in hope to support the promotion of Chinese culture abroad, Peng-Peng Gong (b. 1992)’s Tenth Symphony, subtitled “Peking Fantasy” (Op. 55) was co-commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra in 2017. The world premiere of the 2018 original version was presented by the SPO in April of the same year in Shanghai, while the world premiere of the 2019 revised version is being presented by the Philadelphia Orchestra in January at its home venue with the combined forces of both orchestras side-by-side.
  Inspired by the artistic power of Peking Opera – the crowning heritage of Chinese traditional performing arts, the symphony thrives to translate the emotional and philosophical experience of the art form for international audiences and to explore the Western orchestra’s expressive abilities in capturing the Eastern spirit. 
        The 2018 original version ran as long as 76 minutes, before the composer extensively revised the score down to 40 and presented as a single movement without pause. The work is scored for a huge orchestra of over 100 players. Main materials that inspired the music are from the traditional repertory The Drunken Beauty, Farewell My Concubine, In Pursuit of the General, and The Chancellor and the Advisor (lit. Cao Cao and Yang Xiu). The composer incorporated numerous different styles of writing to capture different emotions and atmospheres of the subject matter, and among their distinctive features include the offstage trumpet mourning for the heroine of The Drunken Beauty, the quoting of the ancient zither composition “Mad for Wine”, an imaginary portrayal of Peking Opera legend Mei Lanfang’s New York visit in 1930, a variation on Mei’s signature Sword-Dance from Farewell my Concubine, the repeating, thundering percussion strikes typical in traditional Peking Opera performance and a grandiose brass chant on Cao Cao’s concubine Qianniang’s pre-death aria from Chancellor over a huge organ chord which ends the piece. Preceding the ending first comes a melancholy and deeply expressive Adagio section, and then followed by a rock-n-roll-like battle scene suggesting the inner dramas and spiritual sufferings of the respective characters. (October 2018)

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