About this work:
Dedicated to the memory of New York firefighters who sacrificed themselves for protecting thousands of fellow citizens at the 9.11 tragedy in 2001, to express the composer's compassion for the victims and their families, to denounce terrorist acts, and to call for the peace of the future. The work was premiered by the Women's Philharmonic, who commissioned the piece with support from the NEA for the new millennium commissioning project, in its farewell concert on March 7, 2004 at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco, conducted by Anne Manson, as part of a state-wide festival promoting women composers and conductors throughout the month
. It was recorded in October of 2002 on the BIS CD “Momentum: Orchestral Music of Chen Yi”,
by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Lan Shui, conductor, released on CD in 2003 (Bis 1352), and distributed by Qualiton in the States.
The Chinese character Tu could be related to burning, poison and fiery...
For further information, please contact: Theodore Presser Company <https://www.presser.com/chen-yi?p=2>.
The wind ensemble version was premiered subsequently on April 8, 2004, by UMKC Wind Symphony conducted by Dr. Sarah McKoin.
Alt. version for symphonic wind ensemble (2003)
(2 Fl, 1 Picc., 2 Ob, 2 Bsn, 1 C.Bsn, 2 Cl, 1 B.Cl, 4 Sax (SATB), 4 FH, 3 Tp (Bb), 2 Trb, Baritones, 1 B.Trb, 1 Tuba , Hp, 4 Perc. D. Basses)