Zhou Long's Nine Odes premieres at the Forbidden City Concert Hall. Photo: Courtesy of Beijing Music Festival

Zhou Long Photo: Courtesy of Zhou Long

The first Asian winner of the Pulitzer prize for music, composer Zhou Long, premiered his new symphonic epic, Nine Odes (Jiu Ge), at the Forbidden City Concert Hall on October 19.

A challenging, atonal composition with polyphonic vocal duets and quartets, tenor Warren Mok describes it as the most difficult piece he's ever sung.

The premiere was played by the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Lin Daye, and sung by tenor Mok, soprano Huang Ying, mezzo-soprano Liang Ning and baritone Yuan Chenye.

Zhou told the Global Times the day after the performance that he was "satisfied" and had received positive feedback.

Based on a long poem by Qu Yuan (340BC-278BC), Nine Odes was commissioned by Yu Long, chairman of the Beijing Music Festival Arts Foundation, for this year's festival, which continues until October 31.

Blending cultures

Another commissioned work, Madame White Snake, done for the festival and Opera Boston in 2010, won Zhou the Pulitzer prize for music in 2011.

A Chinese folk story turned into an English-language Western opera, Madame White Snake tells of a magical snake who marries a man and helps him become a reputable doctor with her friend, a green snake fairy.

Compared with Madame White Snake, Nine Odes is a fresh and brave effort for Zhou. The 11-chapter poem is long and obscure, and without any clear plot.

Without using any traditional Chinese instruments, Zhou conveys distinctly Chinese sounds and philosophies.

Zhou said Nine Odes could be called the masterpiece of Songs of the South (Chu Ci), a collection of poetry dating from the Warring States period (475BC-221BC).

The poem describes gods and goddesses in detail but also delves into the nature and spirit of the supernatural, he explained.

Zhou doesn't worry about whether audiences will understand the meaning of the epic.

"Even I can't say that I understand the exact meaning Qu Yuan wanted to express over 2,000 years ago," he said. "It is an artistic creation rather than a history book, so people can interpret the spirit in various ways."

Literature lover

Zhou, now 60, finds inspiration for many of his symphonies in Chinese traditional literature, including folk legends, poems and historic stories.

When Zhou moved to the US in 1985, he strongly felt the cultural gap. He stopped composing for two years and immersed himself in meditation, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. He found peace in reading ancient literature.

"I was afraid of losing myself … but I could not avoid being impacted by [the new culture]. You could still find some traces of the [American Big Band style] in my work today. But I needed something to help me create my own style," Zhou said.

When Zhou was working as a freelance composer, his focus on Buddhism seeped into his work, with atmospheric, sparse compositions. These early pieces earned him international prizes: the Ensemblia in Mönchengladbach in 1990 for Ding (Samadhi), the d'Avray in 1991 for Chan (Dhyana), Barlow in 1994 for Tian Ling (Nature and Spirit) and Masterprize for 1998's Two Poems from Tang.

Even when working on commissioned pieces, Zhou continues to carry the spirit of Chinese literature.

"It is my style and my preference," he stated.

Precious opportunities

Born into an artistic family in Beijing in 1953, Zhou inherits his musicality from his mother, who taught voice. He quickly found he had a passion for classical music.

Like many in his generation, Zhou was sent to work on a farm in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province at the age of 16.

After suffering a head injury in an accident three years later, he left the farm and joined a musical troupe in Zhangjiakou, a city in Hebei Province, as an accordion player. He then began to write music for the troupe and to study under composers in Beijing.

In 1977, after collecting folk songs in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Zhou heard the news about the resumption of the university entrance examination while on a train. He was elated.

Zhou's life changed dramatically that year, not only because he was enrolled at the Central Conservatory of Music to study musical composition, but also because in his classes he met Chen Yi, who later became his wife. A smart student from Guangdong Province, Chen caught Zhou's eye with her outgoing personality.

For Zhou and his classmates, the opportunity to study musical composition was precious. Many of his class members went on to have key roles in Chinese music.

"In fame, music composition, teaching and many other fields, Chen is much better than me," Zhou said proudly.

After graduation, Chen and Zhou married and went to Columbia University for further studies and have lived in the US since then.

Both distinguished professors at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, the couple is happy where they are. Zhou received offers from other universities after his Pulitzer win, but stayed put for the sake of his wife. "We enjoy the peaceful life here in the middle of the US," said Zhou.

Naturally, Zhou has dedicated Nine Odes to his wife for her 60th birthday.