Huang Ruo paints with sound

Huang Ruo paints with sound

Huang Ruo paints with sound

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Is Huang Ruo a composer or a sound painter? He says he always starts a musical composition with an image in mind and builds from there.

Those who are used to music that tells a storywith a beginning, middle and endwill have to adjust to Ruo's compositions, such as "The Flag Project" which was recently performed on New York's upper west sideas part of the Symphony Space"Music of Now Festival."

Almost halfway through The Momenta Quartet's performance of Ruo's piece, the audience was treated to a sound never before heardTawian finger cymbals played with a violin bow. The high-pitched, fragile sound reverberated through Symphony Space like ethereal insects tickling the ears.

In the third movement, this gauzy film gave way to a pulsing beat of all four quartet instrumentsthe violin, the viola, the cellosawing at falling notes that relentlessly drove the image home. Was it a buzzing swarm of insects or the pulse of a marching troop advancing, advancing, advancing?

Either way, Ruo consistently forces the listener to reconsider what is possible in a string quartet, and he challenges conventional ideas of how a piece should develop. His compositions grow organically, with instruments stacking notes on top of each other without adhering to traditional rules of harmony.

Ruo is from China, and says he is torn between America and China when choosing which is his home. And though he may use sounds from non-Western sources, he does not consciously seek to explore his heritage.

"I always start with the image," he says.

His sound imagery has garnered him world recognition, including a performance of his mini opera, "The Painted Skin" inSwitzerland,concerts in Philadelphia and Peoria, and broadcast of his music on Chinese television and in a Chinese documentary. A documentary on Ruowas recently broadcast on Phoenix TV in Asia.

For those who want to explore what modern composers are doing with sound, Huang Ruo is a cutting edge place to start.

Continue reading on Examiner.com: Huang Ruo paints with sound - New York Local Music | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/local-music-in-new-york/huang-ruo-paints-with-sound#ixzz1FdKcbwDB

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