This Signum Classics release presents four orchestral works by Xiaogang Ye, one of the most prominent figures in contemporary Chinese music, performed by the RLPO under conductor Dane Lam. Recorded in February 2024 at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, the album brings together music inspired by Chinese history and personal memory.
The programme opens with The Backyard of the Village (2019), a vivid orchestral portrait of rural life on China’s Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, drawing on folk elements and evocative colour. The Memories of Mount Jing Gang (2019), for viola and orchestra, features Diyang Mei and reflects on the historical and symbolic significance of the Jinggang Mountains through a predominantly lyrical and contemplative sound world.
My Faraway Nanjing (2005), performed by cellist Guy Johnston, is a single-movement concerto commemorating the victims of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, unfolding in a dark, expressive narrative of remembrance. The album concludes with The Loquat in Five Colors (2024), an overture inspired by the landscapes and legends of Hebei province. These works highlight Ye’s distinctive synthesis of modern orchestral technique with Chinese cultural identity.