Awakening Lion
Symphony Orchestra
Dai Wei
About
The Awakening Lion is a Curtis-commissioned piece by Curtis alumna Dai Wei. Combining traditional Cantonese Lion Dance elements with Western orchestral music, the piece features the use of unpitched percussion instruments such as Chinese bass drums, which are commonly heard in the accompanying music of the Cantonese Lion Dance. “I aimed to create a sound reminiscent of the traditional Chinese instrument Guquin by having two cellos played with a guitar pick at the beginning of the piece,” shares Dai. “My intention was to connect the past to the future and bring different corners of the world together.”
Awakening Lion draws inspiration from the Cantonese traditional dance of the same name, which tells the story of a creature named Nian who terrorizes a village. The villagers turn to a lion for help. After a fierce battle, the lion wounds Nian, who flees and promises revenge. The following year, the villagers create a lion mask to scare away Nian. “The collaboration in the Lion Dance shares many similarities with that of a symphony orchestra,” shares Dai. “Both require a high degree of precision and coordination among the performers to achieve a cohesive performance. When writing the piece, I reflected on the fact that under that giant beast mask are ordinary people like you and me. Although we may not be familiar with the story of the Awakening Lion or the battle with Nian, we all face our own battles … this inner strength is present in everyone, regardless of where we come from, who we love, or our gender. The lion that we raise up with all our inner positive strength and optimism when facing overwhelming forces is the embodiment of Awakening Lion.”
Performance
| Dai Wei |
Awakening Lion |
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Duration
10:00 |
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Commissioning Year
2023 |
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Premiere
May 12, 2023 Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA |
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Recording Excerpt
May 12, 2023 Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA |
Artists
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Dai Wei Composition
Dai Wei is a composer and vocalist whose music often challenges the practice of labeling and explores untold social narratives from various communities. Recent works include a multimedia piece commissioned by Kronos Quartet and pipa virtuoso Wu Man, two chamber orchestra pieces commissioned by Albany Symphony, and an electroacoustic work commissioned by Ying Quartet. She is currently serving as Composer-in-Residence for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s 2024-2025 Sound Investment Composer.
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Curtis Symphony Orchestra
Comprised of outstanding talent and unmatched enthusiasm for musical collaboration, Curtis Symphony Orchestra stands as a cornerstone of the Curtis Institute of Music experience and a vital component of Philadelphia’s vibrant cultural scene. For 100 years, our exceptional students have sharpened their skills and broadened their musical horizons, as they prepare for professional careers with the world’s foremost orchestras and chamber ensembles.
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Osmo Vänskä Conductor
Performances of Mahler’s Symphony No.8 with Minnesota Orchestra in June 2022 provided a fitting culmination for Vänskä’s tenure as Music Director. Together they undertook five major European tours, as well as an historic trip to Cuba in 2015 – the first visit by an American orchestra since the two countries re-established diplomatic relations. They also made a ground-breaking tour to South Africa in 2018 as part of worldwide celebrations of Nelson Mandela’s Centenary – furthermore the first visit by an American orchestra — drawing together South African and American performers in musical expressions of peace, freedom, and reconciliation on a five-city tour. Vanska and Minnesota Orchestra also made an acclaimed return to the BBC Proms in Summer 2018.
This season he will conduct the symphony orchestras of Montreal, Gurzenich, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Philharmonia, Tokyo, Antwerp and Bergen Philharmonic. Vänskä will also return to his long-time partners- Minnesota Orchestra, Iceland and Lahti Symphony Orchestra.
Vänskä continues to develop a visiting and touring relationship with Curtis Symphony Orchestra, leading conducting seminars as well as tours in Europe, the US and Asia.
A distinguished recording artist for the BIS label, Vänskä has recorded all of Mahler’s symphonies with Minnesota Orchestra. The Fifth Symphony received a Grammy nomination in 2017 for Best Orchestral Performance. Vänskä and Minnesota Orchestra have also recorded the complete symphonies of Beethoven and Sibelius to critical acclaim, winning a Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance in 2014 as well as being nominated on several occasions. In 2021 they were voted Gramophone’s Orchestra of the Year.
Vänskä studied conducting at Finland’s Sibelius Academy and was awarded first prize in the 1982 Besançon Competition. He began his career as a clarinetist, occupying the co-principal chair of Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. He regularly performs chamber music, having been invited to La Jolla Summerfest, Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Naantali Summer Festival, Sysmä Summer Sounds and Music in Ruovesi, amoungst many others. He has recorded Bernhard Henrik Crusell’s three Clarinet Quartets and Kalevi Aho’s Clarinet Quintet for the BIS label and is in the process of recording several duos for clarinet and violin which he has commissioned with his wife, violinist Erin Keefe.
Vänskä is the recipient of a Royal Philharmonic Society Award, the Finlandia Foundation’s Arts and Letters award, and the 2010 Ditson Award from Columbia University and the Pro Finlandia medal awarded to him by the State of Finland. He holds honorary doctorates from the Curtis Institute of Music, and the universities of Glasgow and Minnesota, and was named Musical America’s 2005 Conductor of the Year. In 2013 he received the Annual Award from the German Record Critics’ Award Association for his involvement in BIS’s recordings of the complete works by Sibelius.
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