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Solo Works by Jay Zhong |
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Madrigal in A Minor for Solo Violin (2005) |
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Written in 2005 before his own wedding, this solo violin piece is a dedication to Zhong's bride, Lisa S. Lhee, an accomplished violinist in her own right. It is single movment work. Duration: appr. 8 minutes. |
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Suite for Violoncello (2002) |
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Composed between 1998 and 2002, the first movement was sketched in Colombia, South America, where Zhong was teaching at the Bogota International Music Festival. The first movement, titled "Adagio" is Zhong's reflection on J.S. Bach's writing, and was intended to stand on its own as a intermezzo-like movment in a recital. The later three movements, Scherzo, Air, Tarantella, were added to make up a complete suite. Duration is 15 minutes. |
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Sonata for Violin Solo (2000) |
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Composed in 2000. This work was written as a gift to the talented female violinist Lisa S. Lhee, with whom Zhong eventually will marry. Besides the unmistakable baroque character in the composition, the work also explores the possibility of tonal distortion. The violinistic elements of the work is exposed and technically challenging for an accomplished violinist. This piece was premiered in 2003 at the New Music Festival of Western Illinois University, by the composer, due to a conflict in schedule that prevented its dedicatee from performing it. The work is in four movement, with duration of 15 minutes. |
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Cadenza for Paganini's Violin Concerto No.1 |
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Zhong's cadenza for Paganini Concerto No.1 was first heard by the public in New York when the then 14 years old violinist performed the challenging concerto with a pick-up orchestra formed and directed by Julius Grossman, a former member of the famous Toscanini NBC Symphony. The notion of writing one's own cadenza was attractive to the young violinist. Zhong's cadenza is concise and virtuosic, requires refined music taste just as much as hair-raising virtuosity. The origin of the creativity? Zhong confesses that it was owed to "at-the-moment improvasition". |
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The Images of China for violin and piano |
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Three character pieces forms this collection that brings the essence of Chinese music to the mix with a western tradition of concert music. The pieces are intended for recital programming, titled "Dance", "Ballade", and "Consolation". The dance movment is cheerful and nimble, with Kreislerian display of musical violin virtuosity. The Ballade is based on musical elements of Peking Opera, with contrasting dramatic chromaticism from the piano. The Consolation is aimed to reveal the calmness and reflection one can achieve in meditation, an intimate imagery that Zhong was too familiar with from his studies of Buddhism. |
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